Libyan campaigners have dismissed concerns by the Refugees Commissioner that a petition asking for the two Libyan pilots who defected to Malta to be granted asylum could jeopardise the safety of their families back home.
“I assure (Refugees Commissioner) Mario Friggieri the petitioners are painfully aware of the threat to not only the families of the pilots but to Libyans generally. By no means do we wish to endanger anyone but the suggestion that the Libyan authorities are somehow unaware of the identities of air force personnel who disobeyed orders and ran off with fighter jets is borderline absurd,” said Abdulla Darrat, an expatriate Libyan activist helping to run the pro-reform campaign Enough.
The claim only served as a justification for Malta’s inaction in the face of mounting injustices, he said.
The pilots defected to Malta in their jet fighters claiming they refused to follow orders to bomb civilians on February 21. Both airmen are seeking political asylum and their request is now before the Refugees Commissioner.
Mr Friggieri said last week the petitioners behind the campaign “are not considering the harm that can be done to their (the pilots’) families in Libya”.
Almost 35,000 people signed the petition promoted on www.change.org, which reads: “Refugees Commissioner Mario Guido Friggieri has not yet made clear whether the pilots will be granted asylum. If the pilots are sent back to Libya, they will likely be executed.”
Mr Friggieri would not even comment on whether the pilots had applied for asylum or not.
The campaigners are insisting the Libyan government knows full well the identity of the pilots and could exact revenge independently of any campaign. On the other hand, granting the pilots asylum and making it known would send a message to other pilots or soldiers considering defection.
“Recent aerial bombardments in the east of Libya suggest hesitancy among some pilots who seem to be purposefully missing targets.
The Maltese government has the power to offer hope to these Libyans, who, as things stand, have few options but to obey orders despite their better judgment,” Mr Darrat insisted.
Change.org’s director Weldon Kennedy stressed that the Maltese government had done a brave job protecting the identity of the two pilots and turning away a Libyan crew sent to retrieve the jets a week after they landed here.
“I sincerely hope they will continue this kind of leadership by listening to what Libyan grassroot activists are asking of them and grant asylum to the two pilots they are already protecting.”
Granting asylum to the two pilots would send a powerful message to other military people that if they defect there would be a safe haven for them, he insisted.