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Neville Gafa: ‘I Stopped Thousands Of Migrants From Reaching Malta From Libya And Prevented A National Crisis’

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Former OPM employee Neville Gafa has said his recent work in Libya prevented thousands of irregular migrants from reaching Malta’s shores, therefore avoiding the escalation of a “national crisis”.

“The number of irregular migrants who would have entered Malta between July 2018 and January 2020, the period during which I  was coordinating these operations, would have been phenomenal,” Gafa said in a Facebook post.

“With regards the national interest, had those regular visits to Libya not taken place, the coordination between the competent authorities wouldn’t have remained strong and therefore wouldn’t have left the results it did, a failure that would have led to a national crisis. I say this with responsibility.”

“My work also left impressive results from a human aspect as thousands of migrants, including pregnant women and children, were saved from drowning. This was one of a number of things I worked on in silence despite the unjust criticism I was faced with. I am proud of doing what I did in the national interest.”

Gafa’s role within the Office of the Prime Minister has been the subject of much speculation in recent years, particularly after a photo emerged of him in Libya alongside Libyan militia leader Haithem Tajouri. He is a childhood friend of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and a close friend of Muscat’s former chief of staff Keith Schembri, who he said he meets on a near-daily basis.

Gafa first spoke of his work in Libya yesterday, under oath, during the public inquiry looking into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and he repeated his statement in a Facebook post.

He endorsed Robert Abela as Prime Minister and attended his swearing-in ceremony but resigned from his government role shortly after Abela was sworn in last month.

While his exact role in Libya remains unclear, irregular migrant arrivals to Malta have certainly surged in recent weeks, with at least 754 people reaching Malta’s shores since the start of 2020.

READ NEXT: How Malta Ended Up With Just One Pharmacy Opening On Sunday Afternoons And Public Holidays

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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