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Karl Schembri
The Maltese government yesterday strongly rebutted claims made by the Italian judiciary that it was “not collaborating” with the Italians in the investigations into the fatal illegal trafficking of Chinese immigrants to Sicily.
“These words are gratuitous, unfounded and should be retracted,” the government said in a Note Verbale presented to the Italian government yesterday evening, referring to allegations made by Modica’s prosecutor, Domenico Platania. “The Maltese authorities remain, as in the past, fully committed to extend full collaboration and cooperation with the Italian authorities.”
The police are still searching for the two Maltese traffickers who reportedly left from Malta to Sicily last Thursday with a powerboat carrying 15 Asian immigrants, six of whom were found dead and three were still missing after they were forced to jump off the boat at gunpoint miles off the Sicilian coast in freezing waters.
But reports appearing in the Italian press suggesting that four Maltese were arrested in Malta were denied by the police.
“We’re still awaiting information from the Italians,” said Police Commissioner John Rizzo. “We still don’t have any names or details about this particular incident, nor do we know for certain that they left from Malta.”
Contradicting Platania’s allegations, the government said that information received from Italian police regarding previous arrivals of immigrants in Sicily “did not provide concrete evidence” substantiating allegations that immigrants had left from Malta.
“The particulars of the Chinese nationals provided by the Italian Police authorities do not correspond to the details in possession of the Maltese police authorities,” the government said.
In view of this, Rizzo has asked Italian police to provide photos of the Chinese nationals in question, in order to compare them with the ones which have been attached to visa application forms.
Malta police authorities have so far confirmed that three Colombian nationals and one Chinese national who had disembarked in Sicily earlier this year were issued with a visa to enter Malta prior to their being caught in Sicily. Government yesterday asked for their repatriation to Malta so that they could assist Maltese police in their investigations.
Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said he was “ready to stop Chinese visas” if it is confirmed that visas issued by the Maltese embassy in Beijing were being used by criminal rings for Chinese nationals who are supposedly coming here to study English.
Investigations into the alleged irregular issuing of visas from the Maltese embassy are still ongoing, although so far the police have established no “foul play” according to the Foreign Ministry.
Labour MP Leo Brincat had alleged in Parliament last December that embassy officials were involved in a racket with Chinese tourism agents in procuring visas for Chinese nationals who wanted to come to Malta as a steppingstone to Europe.
The foreign ministry however said that visas are only granted by Maltese immigration police and that the embassy was “only a conduit” for visa applications.
“We are committed to stop illegal immigration and I deny all claims made by the Platania, which are very harmful to the excellent relations we have with Italy,” Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said. “We may have to tighten visa procedures, but as far as we know there’s nothing irregular going on. Stopping them completely should only be a last resort.”
But Italian Ambassador to Malta Alvise Memmo, told the Italian press that he was “still waiting for the effective collaboration of the Maltese with Italian authorities” on the Chinese immigrants’ tragedy.
Speaking about the possible termination of visa procedures from China, Memmo said: “It’s about time. I hope the Pozzallo tragedy opens a new phase of effective collaboration on the part of Maltese authorities.”
Brincat said yesterday: “It seems the Chinese visitors we are getting are not bona-fide tourists or English language students, but stopping all visas to the Chinese would not make sense either. We should be clamping down on illegal gangs, not on bona-fide Chinese travellers.”
Labour Spokesman for Home Affairs, Gavin Gulia, appealed to the government to intensify investigations and to put an end to human trafficking by applying the maximum possible penalties for those found guilty of illegal trafficking.
“This tragic incident, which is highly embarrassing, proves – if proof ever was needed – that there is a strong organised ring of Maltese criminals operating in this illicit trafficking business,” Gulia said yesterday. “It is obvious that despite all the attention of the security forces, Maltese traffickers are transporting immigrants from Malta to Sicily.”
Commissioner Rizzo expressed his surprise at the Italians’ declarations, saying that only last December, a team of Italian investigators spent a whole month in Malta working with the police against illegal trafficking.
“Far from being a tool for traffickers, Malta is itself a victim of illegal immigration, including this new phenomenon of trafficking of Asian immigrants,” Rizzo said.
From the results of an autopsy on a Chinese woman found at sea off Pozzallo among the victims, Italian authorities concluded that she was severely beaten on her head, probably with a revolver. She probably died even before being thrown overboard.
A Chinese survivor – one of six – told Italian police that the boat left from Malta with two Maltese traffickers on board, one of them armed. The immigrants allegedly paid around US$1,000 each to be taken to Sicily.
Malta police however are still awaiting details from their Italian counterparts to be able to pursue the alleged Maltese traffickers.
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