Libya to curb illegal migration
2009-04-08 20:16
Tripoli - Interior Minister Abdelfattah Yunis al-Obeidi on Wednesday ordered stricter supervision of Libya's coastline as part of moves to curb illegal migration to Europe.
He called for "continued surveillance of Libyan beaches and setting up of control points in the zones from which illegal crossings to Europe are organised", the state news agency JANA reported.
"More stringent measures are needed against the people traffickers", he said, as well as controls on the movements of fishing boats and on workshops used to build the makeshift trawlers used for the trafficking.
More than 200 illegal migrants were feared drowned after their boat sank in a violent storm off the Libyan coast on March 29.
On Tuesday, the European Union urged Libya to boost co-operation in the fight against illegal migration, but said the price Tripoli was asking was too high, EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.
"Libya is asking for funding and logistical means for the surveillance of its southern border" with Niger, he told AFP, after talks in Brussels with Libya's EU Ambassador Al Hadi Hadeiba.
"But meeting these demands is very difficult. It's not certain that African countries would accept that a fund for problems linked to immigration be filled from the European Development Fund," he said.
Libya is major transit point for illegal migrants
Libya is a major transit point for African would-be illegal immigrants heading to Europe in search of better lives. Tripoli says about 80% of those entering Libya to get to the Mediterranean come from Niger.
Barrot wants to keep open communication lines with Libya and has not ruled out going on a fact-finding mission. "The human traffickers must be stopped," he said.
The EU's top justice official said it was important to step up maritime surveillance through the bloc's border agency Frontex, given the number of people trying to make the perilous crossing to Europe.
Barrot added that Tripoli estimated that around two million people in Libya were wanting to emigrate to Europe.
With 1 770km of coastline, Libya has become a favoured transit point for migrants seeking a better life in Italy and other EU countries.
In mid-May, Italy and Libya are due to launch joint sea patrols aimed at stopping the illegal traffic.
- SAPA