AN makes 10 proposals on illegal migration

Since Malta could not take more illegal immigrants, it should declare a state of emergency, Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat said this morning.

Presenting 10 proposals aimed at dealing with the problem of illegal migration, Dr Muscat said that Malta was the country most affected by the illegal migration problem and it was the smallest and most densely populated country in the EU.

He said that once the country was declared to be in a state of emergency, Malta should renouced its Dublin II and Geneva conventions obligations which regulated the treatment of refugees. This problem had become one of national security and the government's primary obligation should be to protect the country and its people.

Another AN proposal is for illegal immigrants to be put in a detention centre indefinitely until they decided to return to where they came from. This should be a message to their compatriots not to come to Malta.

Illegal immigrants intercepted at sea should be told the situation they would be faced with if they continued on their way to Malta. If they opted to go to another country, they should be given all necessary assistance and provisions to be able to continue on their way in peace.

Illegal immigrants in detention centres should, after a few days of rest, start doing maintenance work that was needed in the country under supervision. This would entitle them to food, drink, electricity, water and clothing. They should also be told that things they damaged in the centre would not be replaced.

Another AN proposal is that illegal immigrants should not be given Maltese citizenship under any circumstance, even if they married Maltese citizens.

Malta, Dr Muscat said, should not allow anyone from any country or organisation to examine detention centres and dictate to Malta what it should do. Those wanting to dictate should take the immigrants to their own countries.

The Maltese government should also give EU states an ultimatum that unless an agreement on obligatory burden sharing or a common repatriation treaty with the countries of origin was reached within a stipulated time, it would withdraw its cooperation in the formulation and implementation of European legislation. It would use the veto at every opportunity since the country had the duty to protect its interests.

Irrespective of European legislation, those caught employing illegal immigrants without a permit should automatically lose their business license while those caught human trafficking should automatically get life imprisonment.

AN's final proposal is for the repatriation process of illegal immigrants in open centres to be accellerated.