PM chides international community over 'indifference' to irregular migration

The United Nations must be ready to answer to any call of intervention in Libya which does not mean boots on the ground but offering help to the different factions and aiding genuine national reconciliation.

Addressing a high-level meeting called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to discuss the situation in the region, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat reiterated that peace in Libya will not be attained unless unconditional disarmament and genuine national reconciliation among the different factions take place.

"It is unacceptable that militias continue to keep cities hostage against the will of the absolute majority of the civilians," he said, adding that laws had to be changed if stability had to be reached.

Muscat, in a call which he has been making for the past year, said the United Nations must be prepared to answer any calls for intervention in Libya. 

"The UN has an important part to play if security is to be reinstated in Libya. The UN must be ready to offer its help and bring together the different factions around one table and give the legitimate armed forces the necessary sources," the PM said.

Muscat said there are "very active parties who have a vested interest" in seeing that the chaotic situation in the North African country prevails. Calling for this "hypocrisy" to be brought to an end once and for all, Muscat said Malta will not stop appealing to the highest levels in the international community.

"Malta is suffering because Libya is suffering. We feel the Libyans pain," he said.

Muscat pointed out that the crisis in Libya was causing increases in irregular migration to Europe: "Every night I receive calls from our armed forces that there are boats with hundreds of people crossing the sea, at risk of drowning. I feel that this situation is a direct result of lack of action by the international community. Innocent persons are dying because of this indifference," he said.