[WATCH] No horse-trading with Italy on Salamis discussions – Muscat

Prime Minister says refusing access to oil tanker that did not go back to Khoms was ‘matter of principle’

Italian prime minister Enrico Letta with Joseph Muscat (file photo)
Italian prime minister Enrico Letta with Joseph Muscat (file photo)

Reporting by Jurgen Balzan and James J. Piscopo

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said there was no horse-trading involved in eleventh-hour discussions with Italy yesterday to take in 102 asylum seekers stranded aboard a Liberian-flagged oil tanker, the M/T Salamis.

The tanker drifted in the Mediterranean outside Maltese territorial waters and under watch by the Armed Forces of Malta for two days after rescuing the migrants just 45 nautical miles from Khoms, the Libyan port it had departed from last Sunday with a gasoil consignment for Malta.

But Muscat today said that Malta was adamantly opposed to allow the tanker access to Malta, saying the government had "documented evidence" that the Salamis's shipmaster had refused Italian guidance to turn back to Libya with the rescued migrants, "because of commercial reasons".

PHOTOS • M/T Salamis adrift in the Mediterranean

Muscat said thanked Italian prime minister Enrico Letta for accepting the migrants, saying that Italy had been the country to initially coordinate the Salamis's rescue and that it had also directed the tanker to turn back to Libya.

"Our government had a strong and legitimate position, and we sent a clear signal: we will abide by our international obligations, but we don't be anybody's mat," Muscat said.

The prime minister also said that Libya had showed its disposition to accept the tanker back into Khoms. In a similar episode occurring on Monday evening, another Turkish vessel had rescued a group of migrants which were then also returned to Libya, Muscat said.

The prime minister brushed aside claims that Malta's reputation had been tarnished with this latest attempt at refusing humanitarian assistance to the stranded migrants.

"Malta's reputation is that of a country which carries out its duty, abides by international obligations, but that does not take the burden that is of others to carry. I respect the European Commission's and Commissioner Cecilia Malmström's position," he said of Brussels's call yesterday asking him to receive the migrants.

"This is not a question of taking in just 100 stranded people, but a matter of principle. We would have undermined the search and rescue regime... we would not have accepted the boat even if it was carrying one person, because the shipmaster refused orders to turn back to Libya," Muscat said.

He added that Malta would have only accepted medical evacuations in such a case.

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Those illegals were safe and sound on the Salamis. They would be much safer in Libya than in Naples, Palermo, Calabria, Berlin, Central Frankfurt and so on. The only time Libya was not safe was when it was heavily bombarded by the West.
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The EC is NOT God almighty, and nor is Commissioner Malmstrom! I am very pro EU, but it does not mean that we have to agree on every single stance...! If we have sinilar such cases which are a breach of international maritime regulations, we will do the same thing again for as many times as necessary... Malta is not the EU's toilet paper! The EU had better concentrate on how they are going to lend a hand in solving our extremely serious space problem in view of this enormous (for us) influx of migrants. They have plenty of space, and we don't!
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Mark Fenech
Italy has no problems to allow irregular emigrants to disimbark on its shores. Italy has no big problem they just allow irregular emigrants to move freely to other EU States and that's that. Malta cannot do the same.
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Whatever anybody says, no need to be told, you as Prime Minister of Malta, were always right. We had shown the EU that we do not only bark but that we can also bite. This means that we are not to be, if it were so, considered the chihuahuas of the EU.
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How would PM Muscat describe Italy's decision to take the immigrants? Humanitarian? Muscat has singlehandedly undone all the great diplomatic work carried out by successive PN governments to gain respect as a modern democracy instead of a third world village. We have reversed the clock - prosit eh!
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Short memory Mr. Prime Minister? You were the one who actually fired off the first published 'undiplomatic' comments to Commissioner Malmstrom. If there is a spiritual leader for the xenophobic mob, which is heaping insults on the EC, than it can only be our own PM. Humanitarian Law is not subject to interpretations and loopholes. If the ship's captain was ordered to pick up the irregular immigrants, taking them back to Khoms would have been a 'push back' action.