Spotting immigrant boats

Sunday newspaper MaltaToday is now updating it's website more promptly - this is good news for bloggers. The papers published by the Independent, the Times and the Union Press have been quicker in their online updates. Unfortunately, unlike the rest, the online content of the Times remains online for just a few weeks. A report by Karl Schembri on yesterday's MaltaToday quotes sources in the Maltese Armed Forces complaining about the activities of the Italian authorities in relation to illegal immigrants:

AFM sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, questioned the cooperation agreements between Malta and Italy which they hold to be effectively working against Maltese interests. They say the Italians are utilising sophisticated air surveillance equipment to spot boats in the middle of the Mediterranean that would potentially end up in Italian waters unless they are restrained in search and rescue operations by the AFM’s maritime unit.

“The Italians are informing their Rome office of any suspect boats in our rescue region, which in turn informs Maltese headquarters that there are boats in distress, and we would have no other option but to go out for them, even though in fact they would not need to be rescued” a source said. “They are effectively bringing over immigrants who would otherwise have gone elsewhere.”Malta’s search and rescue region spans over a staggering 250,000 km squared, stretching as far as the south of Crete.

In the middle of immigration woes - an interview