Egyptian immigrants deported

All the Egyptian boat people who landed at Cirkewwa last week were deported on Friday as the Armed Forces of Malta continued its search for a "ghost" ship allegedly carrying 600 illegal immigrants.

In the meantime, the Emigrants' Commission and the Jesuit Refugee Service voiced their concern about the proposed amendment to the Refugees Act, which would allow authorities to repatriate asylum-seekers to their country before their appeal has been decided, saying it could mean people are thrown back into the arms of their persecutors.

About 70 of the 150 illegal immigrants who landed in Malta last Sunday were flown to Cairo on Monday and the rest followed suit on Friday, the police said. None had applied for refugee or humanitarian status.

It was immediately apparent when the immigrants landed that the group hailed from North Africa because of their complexion.

In a joint statement on the repatriation of the Egyptian immigrants, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said efforts are being made to deport other illegal immigrants according to established procedures.

They publicly thanked the Egyptian Ambassador, Abdel Karim Soliman, and the Egyptian Foreign Minister for their full co-operation in repatriating the Egyptian immigrants.

The cooler weather has not diminished the flow of people in search of a better life on the European continent and the AFM is on full alert as reports persist that more illegal immigrants are heading in Malta's direction from Libya.

On Friday, the Italian authorities alerted the AFM that an anonymous caller had informed them that around 600 illegal immigrants left Libya on their way to Europe. An Arab had informed Milan police about the clandestine journey, but attempts to retrace the call failed.

On receiving the report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly informed the Libyan Ambassador. A landing of such numbers would effectively spell catastrophe for the immigration authorities, one AFM source said.

The AFM immediately dispatched a helicopter to survey Maltese territorial waters but the vessel was never sighted. An AFM spokesman told The Sunday Times that sea patrols were being carried out practically around the clock.

A boat carrying 118 immigrants, including 34 children, was spotted by the AFM on Friday but it proceeded steadily towards Lampedusa. Another 30 immigrants landed on the Italian island a few hours later.

In a joint statement issued yesterday, the Emigrants' Commission and the Jesuit Refugee Service called on the government to see that there are sufficient guarantees in place to ensure that all those in need of protection are recognised and granted refuge.

They welcomed the authorities' commitment to find more efficient ways of dealing with the increase in applications for refugee status, but added that any true solution will be one that retains all the present safeguards on basic principles of protection.

Much has been done to strengthen the Office of the Refugee Commissioner, which functions "efficiently and professionally" in spite of the very real limitations of its resources.

The current high standard will be maintained only if the additional commissioners, or assistant commissioners, nominated are people who have significant professional expertise in the field and if there is a mechanism to ensure consistency and uniformity within the decision-making procedure, the commission and JRS said.

It was important that people arriving in Malta in search of protection are allowed access to procedures for the determination of their applications for refugee status. They must also be granted effective protection from forced return throughout the duration of the proceedings for their application's examination.

The proposed amendment to legislation is cause for grave concern, the organisations said, strongly urging authorities to remove it.

"We believe that the grounds being proposed for this harsh decision, that the Refugee Commissioner determines that an application is 'manifestly unfounded', are too weak to warrant the loss of a real right to appeal.

"Human life has inestimable value. We believe that to send even one person back to a country where he will face persecution or other serious human rights violations is too high a price to pay," JRS and the Emigrants' Commission said.