Prime minister accepted migrants on his own responsibility

Speaking in the customary Sunday morning interview on One Radio, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat explained the whole background to the decision taken on Saturday that Malta accepts migrants from the Libyan fishing vessel which has now split its boatload of migrants on two ships.

The two-tiered boat had 450 migrants on it. At the beginning of the saga, it was in international waters but in an area under the responsibility of Malta. Prime Minister Muscat explained that this meant that Malta would be monitoring the ship, ready to help in an emergency but with no authority to order the ship around or to tell it to go in this direction or that.

The ship replied it was going on to Lampedusa and then entered Italian territorial waters. At this point, the Italian authorities were demanding that Malta takes on the entire ship.

Malta replied that it was following international rules and that this meant it could not order the ship to go here or there and that the ship itself signalled it was going to Lampedusa.

Deputy Prime Minister Salvini said at this point the ship would not be allowed in Italy. Malta replied by reiterating its arguments.

Then, late last night, Muscat said, Italian Prime Minister Conte called him. The prime minister said Conte acknowledged that Malta’s position was the right one but he also asked Malta to show solidarity just as Italy had shown solidarity in the MV Lifeline case.

The Lifeline case was a different one, the prime minister explained, since it was a case where the NGO captain disobeyed orders.

Prime Minister Muscat said that at that point he told Conte he had no problem offering solidarity. Malta had expressed solidarity many times in the past and was one of six countries to show solidarity in the Lifeline case and took in its share of migrants. (Malta accepted to take in some of the fishing boat migrants)

Dr Muscat said he took the decision by himself. That is what a prime minister is for – to take decisions in a time of crisis. He took the decision in the national interest. Those who are short-sighted cannot understand this. But if Malta had a crisis and approaches other prime ministers for solidarity it would not do to be told that Malta had refused to show solidarity in similar cases in the past.

In such cases, the prime minister said, you have to take decisions by yourself.

He revealed that at that very moment, another group of migrants from the Lifeline was at the airport boarding a plane to Luxembourg. This was unprecedented. This was in Malta’s medium and long-term national interest.

The Lifeline captain is facing charges because he disobeyed international orders. Malta does not allow other countries, big or small, to tell it what to do, the prime minister said.