What are the social and human costs of the relationship between Rome and Tripoli? Who are the players? And, davvero, isn't there a possible alternative to the sternalization of the border? We asked Mattia Toaldo, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations (Ecfr) in London
What are the social and human costs of the relationship between Rome and Tripoli? Who are the players? And, davvero, isn't there a possible alternative to the sternalization of the border? We asked Mattia Toaldo, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations (Ecfr) in London
ROME - The latest denunciation comes from the international president of the NGO Medici Senza Frontiere (Msf) Joanne Liu. In a letter addressed to the president of the Consiglio, Paolo Gentiloni, Liu clearly speaks of "ipocrisy" and "criminal business" in the Italian operation to stop the departures from Libya. But what are the social and human costs of the agreement between Rome and Tripoli? Who are the players? And, of course, isn't there a possible alternative to the sternalization of the border? We asked Mattia Toaldo, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations (Ecfr) in London and a Libyan expert.
Toaldo, let's start with the meeting last Monday between Minister Marco Minniti and General Khalifa Haftar. What does it mean and what will it achieve?
However, it is astonishing that this visit will be made by the Italian Minister of Internal Affairs, and not, for example, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or of Defense. Obviously, this will create a question in Libya: who should we talk to? The other question is that it was decided to meet an authority not known to everyone. More generally, Minniti's visit confirms that things are moving in two directions: that of maintaining good relations with Egypt and that of taking forward the immigration agenda. It's not just a case of the return of Ambassador Cantini to Cairo a few months ago, that Minister Alfano spoke about the Regeni case and that in the last few weeks there have been no more Haftar's complaints against Italy, when just a month ago the only issue was that of sparing the ships. It's clear that the Minniti line is prevailing in Rome, where the aim of immigration is to slow down departures and standardize borders. And the meeting with Haftar serves to ensure that the flows blocked off on the west coast of Libya don't leave from the east coast.
What are the real costs of the piano to block departures to our country?
We're talking about Italian money given to the Libyan militias. But more generally, we see a shift: the blockade of the parties on the one hand, the immunity and the arms on the other. In this specific case, immunity means being able to devote oneself to other work. The biggest smugglers dedicate themselves to irregular immigration as one activity among the others. Among these is the smuggling of suspected benzine, which costs 3 cents a liter in Libya, and is sold in Tunisia, Malta and Sicily at much higher costs. This is the speculation on the value: basically, the traffickers get euros from the central bank with the excuse of importing goods from abroad, they import a ridiculous amount, the invoices are earned and the euros are sold on the black market. A third most dangerous sector is that of arms and drugs. When a militia capo told the Times of London that he had received "immunity" from the exchange with the Italians, did this mean that no one would pursue these traffics in exchange for a blockade of the parties?
But do you think that the flow from Libya will really pick up, or will new rotations appear?
In part, a small part of the shares could be invested in Tripoli, but this does not include the infrastructures and the large banks that are being invested. It's more likely that a system will be set up whereby the smugglers will find other sources of income in the sectors that we first mentioned, and they will realize that the best guarantee for them is to lock up the barconi. It's the gun that's aimed at Italy. Moreover, it is not surprising that the detention centers are themselves a source of income for the militias, regardless of whether or not the migrants live in Europe. This is because the migrant is released only after paying a risk. Therefore, the increase in migrants in detention centers creates a climate of uncertainty for criminal groups that was less stable before.
The Italian Minister of Internal Affairs continues to say that "human rights will be respected", but is this possible in a context like Libya?
I would also be credible if you said that you were happy to return to work after your injuries. The system of detention centers in Libya is run by mafia organizations. It's like saying that the mafia wants to respect human rights. Even the fact that there are going to be centers of asylum in Libya is a statement that only serves to justify those who in fact are forced punishment and treatment. Libya has not ratified the Ginevra Convention and abuses have been documented inside the centers.
The sternalization of the border is presented as the only way to put an end to sea travel to our country. But is there a possible alternative to the migrant bloc in Libya?
Thus, an alternative policy based on two channels was possible: the first deals with asylum seekers and has already been made available by the United Nations through the use of the resettlement program already implemented in the USA, Canada and Australia. Refugees are selected on the basis of certain standards in centers close to their country of origin so that they can then move to other countries legally. This piano was presented in Tunisia in July, and it talks about 20,000 people throughout the EU, a figure that is certainly sustainable. The second channel covers economic migrants and provides for an exchange with the country of origin, based on returns for irregulars in exchange for visas for the regulars. With this system, for example, Italy would have had fewer migrants in total and would have been able to say that we no longer accept those who come irregularly across the Mediterranean, because there are legal channels. Today, however, the system that underpins all of our policy in the Mediterranean is based solely on the fact that the cost of freedom is blocked. (Eleonora Camilli)
Source: http://www.redattoresociale.it/Notiziario/Articolo/545544/Libia-il-patto-che-regala-immunita-ai-contrabbandieri-a-danno-dei-migranti 11.09.2017
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