Thousands sign petition to grant asylum to pilots

A petition for the granting of asylum to the two Libyan fighter pilots who deserted the army after they were ordered to attack civilian protesters by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been signed by thousands calling on Malta to give the two men protection.

ENOUGH! is a new voice of dissent against the Gaddafi regime, based on grassroots leadership to promote the ability of the Libyan people to overcome the limitations imposed upon them by an illegitimate and unjust government.

"We call on the Maltese government to grant asylum to these two pilots, which will save their lives and encourage more pilots and ship captains to refuse to attack civilians," the petition reads.

According to Darrell Pace, spokesperson for the ministry of justice and home affairs, the government is aware of the petition. "We are aware of a number of emails being sent to our accounts, and we appreciate that this case is raising a lot of international attention, but I cannot comment on this case and I’ve been refusing many requests for comments on this case," Pace told Change.org.

"The problem is this: our Refugee Act prohibits anyone to speak about the case until it is decided. So at this stage it will be difficult for me, the commissioner or the minister to comment about this specific case. All I can say is that the request is being accessed according to its merit," he said. "The process is pretty clear in our law and follows the Geneva Convention."

"There is no specific timeline, the maximum is one year but I don’t think that will be the case here," he added. "It’s more a question of a few weeks or months."