Maltese MEPs And Candidates Plead For Humanity As Desperate Asylum Seekers Enter 19th Day Stranded At Sea
Photo: Sea-Watch 3
As 49 people remain stranded on two NGO-run vessels off the coast of Żurrieq, Maltese MEPs have ramped up the pressure on EU authorities to provide an immediate solution.
Labour MEP Miriam Dalli said 19 days is far too long a time for people to be left stranded at sea, saying Malta should help pressure the EU to find a solution for the people on board.
“I believe in Malta and I believe in humanity,” she said. “We are small with limited resources but can help find a solution for people who have been left stranded out at sea for far too long now. We are not the Italian government who ignores its responsibilities and obligations. The European Commission and the EU as a whole has to step up and put in place real policies.”
Meanwhile, PN MEP David Casa emailed all MEPs to urge them to pressure their respective governments to grant a safe port to the asylum seekers on board.
“While Malta appears within its legal rights to refuse entry, it is my contention that safeguarding human life at this stage must be prioritised above setting legal precedent,” Casa wrote. “However, the responsibility for this impasse falls on all of us.”
“No member state has pledged to take in any of these vulnerable people. I have sat through 15 years of declarations in this house on safeguarding human life and solidarity with southern European member states. This is the time to put those words into action. Not through more declarations, but by using your influence with your respective governments to show true solidarity and offer refuge to the vulnerable people on board the Sea Watch vessels. Their situation is deteriorating rapidly and I urge you to take action now.”
Meanwhile, PN MEP Roberta Metsola reiterated her call on EU government to show some humanity to the asylum seekers trapped on board the NGO-run vessels.
“49 vulnerable people remain stranded at sea – in the biting wind and high seas,” she said. “We need Prime Ministers to agree on a European approach, but in the meantime cold, hungry, human beings should never be used as political pawns. Populist arm-wrestling must take a back seat. Now is the time for humanity.”
PN MEP candidate Michael Briguglio endorsed a statement made yesterday by a group of Maltese NGOs which urged the Maltese government to allow the vessels to dock in Malta.
“Being strong with the weak is not on,” Briguglio wrote. “49 migrants have been freezing at sea for days. Malta and the EU deserve better than linguistic acrobatics and cowardly politics.”
However, Labour MEP candidate Fleur Vella played down concerns, arguing that Maltese people who had immigrated to Australia after World War II had to put up with worse conditions.
“The Maltese used to spend over a month on board a ship and they started working as soon as they landed,” she said.
Two NGO-run vessels, the Sea-Watch 3 and the Professor Albrecht Penck, who between them have 49 asylum seekers on board (including a baby and children), have been left stranded in the Mediterranean for 18 days. Italy has refused to let them dock and no country has volunteered to take them in but Malta allowed them to enter its waters last week due to bad weather. However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has warned that Malta will not let the asylum seekers in as doing so could set a precedent for future rescues carried out by NGO-run vessels.
In a statement yesterday, the Maltese government said it is closely monitoring the situation of the two vessels and will grant any assistance in case of emergency.
“Malta is once again being called to take upon itself responsibilities which are beyond its remit when it comes to showing European solidarity in practice,” the government said. “Malta had no legal competence in the rescue of migrants by Sea Watch 3 and Prof. Albrecht Penck. Both NGO vessels intercepted migrants in the Libyan SRR, closer to Libya, Tunisia and Italy. The NGOs were denied entry in other European and non-European safe ports and proceeded to loiter in Maltese territorial waters.”
“While these cases were happening, Malta rescued a further 249 migrants, fulfilling all its obligations as it has always done.”
“Now Malta, the smallest European Union member state, is being called on to disembark migrants on these NGO boats. Similar cases happened a few months ago with Malta taking an active role in providing effective solidarity.”
“In this context, Malta believes that the discussion on ad hoc relocation should not be limited to the persons on board the two NGO vessels but extended to a portion of the persons who have been rescued and are already in Malta, as a sign of goodwill. Discussions are undergoing in this context and the Maltese Government would like to see them concluded in the coming hours. A long-term European solution for similar issues in the future should be a priority in order to avoid a repeat which puts even more burden on a member state like Malta which always abides by its obligations.”
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