Italy's new hard-line policy to immediately return migrants to Libya was welcomed by Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat, who said he just hoped the move was not a mere electoral stunt.
"I hope that this policy will continue after June 6. Solidarity from other EU countries on the issue of migration has been lacking and so I agree that immigrants should be sent back to Libya immediately," Dr Muscat said.
His stand echoes that of the government which feels the new policy will help break the criminal rings that traffic in humans.
The similar stands taken on this issue come after the government had lambasted the opposition for breaking the political consensus on immigration. Dr Muscat had attacked the government for being spineless when a Maltese patrol boat returned to Malta with rescued immigrants after being refused entry to Lampedusa two weeks ago.
Yesterday, Dr Muscat was speaking in the wake of a fresh incident when Malta turned back an Italian military frigate that had rescued 69 migrants, also off Lampedusa.
The frigate was returning to Italy after having taken 162 migrants to Tripoli on Sunday under the new policy, when it encountered another boatload. The migrants were eventually transferred to Sicily.
The Maltese government has also welcomed the policy despite criticism from the UNHCR, the Vatican and other humanitarian organisations that it breached international law.
The Council of Europe yesterday criticised the immediate return of migrants to Libya. Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg said the policy was a "very sad initiative" and urged Italy to abandon it.
Former President Eddie Fenech Adami has also expressed concern at the policy saying last week it risked breaching the fundamental human right of migrants to ask for protection.
Last Thursday Italy returned the first boatload of 227 rescued immigrants to Libyan shores.
According to Italian Home Affairs Minister Roberto Maroni, the policy has led to the immediate return of 500 migrants over the past week.
While agreeing with the push-back policy, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici urged caution when speaking to The Sunday Times. He said Malta would be proposing the setting up of a checkpoint in Libya to monitor the flow of fleeing Africans. Such a move, he suggested, would significantly reduce human trafficking while at the same time respect human rights.
"Should Libya, the EU, and pivotal humanitarian organisations like the UN Refugee Agency come on board, the initiative could go a long way towards solving the illegal immigration problem," Dr Mifsud Bonnici had said.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici, Mr Maroni and EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot are scheduled to meet their Libyan counterparts soon.
Under Dr Mifsud Bonnici's proposal, Africans seeking protection as well as economic migrants would have the right to make a formal application at a base in Libya manned by the UNHCR, Libyan officials and the EU.
All those eligible for protection would have the right to be transferred to EU countries, according to the each member state's refugee quota. The EU's proposed new "blue card" scheme to attract skilled migrants should be readjusted so as to enable economic refugees to resettle in EU states which need particular skills.
Due to the EU's Dublin Regulation, refugees who land in Malta currently do not have the right to apply for the same status in another EU state.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com