Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said Malta has guaranteed that if it is proved, as the Italian authorities are alleging, that the Chinese immigrants who were landed in Sicily came directly from Malta, they would be repatriated here.
From here, he added, they will then be repatriated to China. The Chinese Embassy is helping in this regard.
Dr Borg last week told The Sunday Times that there were two groups with about 45 persons involved in the two landings off Sicily. "The Maltese authorities are sharing information with their Italian counterparts and the co-operation between the two sides is going well," he said.
"Apart from Malta's image, if someone in Malta was involved in this incident, Malta has jurisdiction if a local vessel was involved in the crime," Dr Borg explained.
Following protests from the Procurator of Modica, Sicily, quoted also on Italian media, that the Maltese authorities were not co-operating in the investigations, Dr Borg said Malta sent Italy a note verbale stating that each time there was an extradition request from Italy, even if Maltese nationals were involved, Malta had acceded to this request.
"There are no pending extradition requests from Italy," he added.
As soon as the incident involving the murder of the immigrants by the traffickers was reported, Dr Borg said, the local police had started their investigations in Malta. They had not waited for the Italian authorities to extend the invitation for their Maltese counterparts to go to Sicily.
Assistant Commissioner Andrew Seychell and Immigration Inspector Sandro Zarb had gone to Sicily although the Chinese survivors were no longer on the island but had been taken to a detention centre near Rome.
"I have great confidence that the police are doing a good job in their investigations and that this could lead to a positive outcome," Dr Borg said.
Italy has 300,000 Chinese nationals. Most European Union governments, including Italy, have encouraged the entry in their countries of Chinese for tourism and study purposes. Dr Borg described this as a "very good market" and, he added, "I am informed that the Maltese Government, through the Ministry of Tourism, has always encouraged this market".
A relatively small number of these Chinese have abused of the system and, because of this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior are reviewing this matter to guarantee as far as possible that no one abuses of the system would be permitted to use Malta as a stepping stone to enter the EU.
Issuing of visas suspended
Dr Borg said all visas to Chinese nationals for study purposes have been suspended until a revision of the conditions required to obtain a visa is concluded.
The two areas that need to be clarified are the Chinese provinces from where some of these applications are made and the need for a more stringent interview procedure for a visa to be issued.
Turning to the issue of detainees in Malta, Dr Borg said the numbers have now fallen from 800 in December to 300 this month. There are two detention centres, one at the Armed Forces of Malta barracks at Safi, where 60 per cent of the detainees are kept and 40 per cent at police headquarters.
"Last January I said that there was the need to improve the living conditions of detainees at Safi," he recalled. "I did not want to see people living in tents, unless there is an utter emergency.
"Therefore, some newly built sheds in the AFM Safi complex are being converted into living quarters for the refugees, housing at least 200, until a complex for a further 200-300 will be built instead of the nissen hut and tents currently being used."
The worst time of the year for dealing with detainees, he said, was the autumn, when the processing of applications for asylum reached a peak. "This is no easy task," he said.
"Each and every person has to be interviewed to ascertain that they are from Eritrea or Somalia - as they claim. They are tested for their physical appearance, and knowledge of geography and local topography, since none of them have any documents to prove their provenance.
"To accelerate the process, two appeals boards have been appointed," he added.
Media access
Asked about media access to the detention centres, Dr Borg said his ministry was in the process of drawing up guidelines to grant journalists access on "special occasions". One such occasion he mentioned was as part of a campaign to combat racism or xenophobia.
The Malta Institute of Journalists, in a meeting with Dr Borg late last month, made a number of recommendations so that any protocol for application by the media to visit the detention centres would cover:
how to get permission for a visit;
times of visits;
duration of visits;
restrictions on the use of cameras in certain areas and circumstances, or in case of objection by a detainee;
security measures during visits; and
respect for the privacy of detainees and security personnel.
"Nowhere in the world are journalists allowed to visit detention centres as a rule," Dr Borg said. "These visits are only an exception," adding that the government had checked with the UK, the US and Australia.
Malta has also discussed the possibility of organising joint repatriation flights with the UK and Belgium.
Along with these detention centres, there are a number of open centres, run by both Government and Church institutions which currently house a thousand refugees. Of these 70 per cent are in two Government centres at Hal Far and Lister Barracks, with a third planned to be opened at the Marsa school.
The remaining 30 per cent are either at the Good Shepherd Convent in Balzan, scattered in homes and at the Peace Lab in Hal Far.
"All those in open centres have the right to work and can be approached by the media," Dr Borg said. "They are free to come and go from these centres as they please.
"They are granted free meals and free accommodation, free treatment in Government hospitals and free education in State schools, but we feel that if they get a job they should contribute to the expenses of keeping them.
"We also give them a travel document according to the Geneva Convention of 1951."