Libya orders NGOs to stay out of its territorial waters
“They waited for the boats half an hour ahead of their arrival. They called the traffickers”17 June 2017
This accusation comes from the Libyan Coast Guard which intercepted wireless calls and later identified the trafficker boats with 570 migrants.
The spokesman of the Libyan Navy Admiral Ayob Amr Ghasem explained how "wireless calls were detected half an hour prior to the identification of the boats. The calls were placed to international non-governmental organizations who were claiming to rescue illegal migrants in proximity. It appeared that the NGOs - he said - waited for the boats to board them. The Coast Guard contacted the NGOs and ordered them to leave Libyan territorial waters”. He said: "the behavior of these NGOs increases the number of illegal migrants and the audacity of human traffickers".
He also mentioned that one of the migrants was already killed by traffickers in the past few days. “They know well that the way to Europe is easy thanks to these organizations and their illegal presence. Additionally, the medium used for communications, the wireless calls are difficult to detect and allow for hiding of contact evidence between traffickers and NGOs.”
The accusations made by Frontex regrading NGO activities in the last few months and resumed criminal investigation by the Italian prosecutor Zuccaro and three of his colleagues now appear to have a solid foundation.
The ships accused of being in the area at the time of communication are the “Prudence” operated by Doctors Without Borders (who incidentally admitted to crossing several times the boundary of Libyan territorial waters), Spanish Proactiva Open Arms - “Golfo Azurro”, Jugend Rettet – “Iuventa” and Sea-Watch – “Sea Watch 2” both German.
Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 73,189 in 2017; 1,808 Deaths
The UN Migration Agency (IOM) reports that 73,189 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 11 June, with almost 85 per cent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain. This compares with 211,433 arrivals across the region through 11 June 2016.
Source:
* Il Giornale – I libici fermano le Ong: "Chiamano gli scafisti": http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/i-libici-fermano-ong-chiamano-scafisti-1407924.html
* La Sicilia – Marina Libica respinge navi delle Ong: "Erano stati avvertiti e aspettavano i migranti": http://www.lasicilia.it/news/catania/87887/marina-libica-respinge-navi-delle-ong-erano-stati-avvertiti-e-aspettavano-i-migranti.html
* Analisi Difesa – “Meno male che ci sono i libici a sparare ai trafficanti e allontanare le Ong”: http://www.analisidifesa.it/2017/06/meno-male-che-ci-sono-i-libici-a-sparare-ai-trafficanti-e-allontanare-le-ong/
