Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has doubled down on a statement he made last week that NGO rescue boats are a pull factor for migrants looking to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
“When I said that I believe that NGOs at sea are a pull factor I think I was right,” Camilleri said on Thursday.
Camilleri first made the statement as he reacted to a decree issued by the Italian government which features measures to fine NGOs that rescue migrants at sea and impound their ships.
Asked on Thursday by a Malta Independent journalist if the Maltese government would follow suit, Camilleri said that the government had always been clear in its policy towards irregular migration and would keep implementing it.
“Our policy is as clear as day,” Camilleri said. “We believe in prevention, burden sharing and returning those who do not qualify for asylum.”
Video: Matthew Mirabelli
The new Italian policy will require rescue ships to seek harbour immediately after rescue, rather than staying at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress.
The policy shift was decried by 20 search and rescue NGOs in a joint statement. They said the price will be paid by people fleeing across the...
