12nd April 2015. Several international NGOs in support of migrants (between them: Oronias, Meidamiroir and Reseauinternational) have denounced that Egyptian military navy has bombarded and sunk a boat direct to European coasts with 600 Africans migrants aboard, meanly Somalis and Eritreans.Till now the number of victims is unknown. The news has been diffused by the Egiptian branch of Africa and Middle East Assistance (AMERA), a UK Charity Association founded on January 2003 to provide legal aid for refugees in countries where such services are non-existent or limited and where legal representation might assist them in actualizing their rights.
AMERA-Egypt provides legal assistance and representation for asylum-seekers in their refugee status determination process in collaboration with the UNHCR. AMERA Egypt also participates in policy development and public education initiatives on refugee protection concerns by collaborating with and providing cross-training to Egyptian lawyers, community organizations, and international organizations on issues of refugee protection under international and domestic legal standards. The news has been dismissed by Egyptian government and almost ignored by international media. It’s the first time that Egyptian military navy attack a migrants boat and the action represent a crime against humanity worst than the one done by Israel Army against the Turkish boat Marmara transporting Palestine cause’s international supporters attempting to force Gaza sea-block and bring humanitarian help to the population.
Anyway it’s not first time that Egyptian defense forces illegally kill African migrants. A long series of cold blood mass murders has been regularly done by Egyptian army since 2006 without U.N. or International Community open inquires or condemn this crime against humanity. Even the West Medias after the first news on 2008 2011 has been involved in a conspiracy silence over the Egyptian Defense use of lethal force against African migrants. The first African migrant murders by Egyptian police have been reported on international press on 2006. Most of these murders have take place on Israel borders. The two countries have signed a secret security pact where Egypt is responsible of the security on its borders with Israel. The responsibilities include the respect of Gaza economic block and avoid that illegal migrants enter in Israel trough Egyptian borders. Naturally Israel government has never ask to Egypt to kill migrants but if lethal incidents will happen during the duty to protect the borders, Israel government has never officially protest for a simple reason: African migrants fate is not Tel Aviv concern. What is important is avoid they can enter in Israel territory. Since the first international reports on 2006, 122 African have been murders by Egyptian police. These causalities seem a poor percentage of hundred of murders that gone unnoticed.
Egyptian Army is not the only lethal risk for migrants. The people-traffickers often kill their clients. On September 2014 migrant boat was deliberately sunk by people-traffickers in Mediterranean sea, killing 500. According to the account comes from the two Palestians rescued by another boat and taken to Sicily a midway of the voyage from Egypt to Sicily, near Malta the people-smugglers, who travelled in a separate boat, ordered the migrants, who came from Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Ethiopia, to switch to a smaller, less seaworthy vessel. When the migrants refused to do so the traffickers became so enraged that fire on migrants and sunk the boat. Malta’s armed forces rescued only seven survivors who were suffering from hypothermia and brought them to a hospital in Crete.
The Spanish military marine is suspect too of illegal attacks against migrant boats that try to reach Spanish coasts. On October 25 2003 a migrants motorboat has been mysteriously sank in high seas off the coast of Cadiz. The migrants’ boat past near the joint US-Spanish naval and air base of Rota, home of the US Sixth Flee and the Spanish navy. Shortly afterwards the boat disappeared beneath the waves. There were heavy suspects that Spanish military navy has attacked the migrants’ boat. What is well documented is the strange refusal from Spanish and US military navies to participate of sea rescue operations done by untrained volunteers forced to hire private tugboats. Over the next three weeks, 36 decomposing bodies were washed ashore of the beaches around the Bay of Cadiz.El Pais described the vents as the greatest recorded tragedy of “clandestine” immigrants in Spanish history. On November 12, Spain’s national lawyer,Enrique Mugica, announced that an inquiry have been launched into the horrifying events of October 25. The inquiry has soon been classified by Spanish authorities. Several other times Spanish military navy has been suspect to sink migrant’s boats without rescue the migrants.
All these lethal incidents are taking place on the middle of Mediterranean sea far from witness. Since 2010 several Sicilian fishermen have testify to found daily dead bodies on deep waters. The International Organization of Migration(IOM) informs that about 2,900 migrants have been killed on Mediterranean sea by unknown forces in 2014. This number has drastically increased the migrants causalities registered on 2013: 700 people murder. West Media silence over Egyptian systematic murders of African migrants and the unwilling International Community to open international inquires, is pushing some African political analysts to theorize macabre secret agreements between Europe and some North Africa countries like Egypt that accept to stop illegal migration to Europe with all means included mass murder well tolerate and cover by West. In change this countries receive financial aid and political support. Every news of new strange massacre on Mediterranean sea reinforces the horrendous suspect.
Italy, one of the European countries most affected by illegal migration, is not absent of responsibility. At the contrary Rome is full involved in border protection agreements that inevitably bring to atrocities and human rights violations committed by North African countries. On 2009 Italian government signed a pact with Geddafi Regime of borders security. The pact, called: “Pushed Back Pushed Around” forecast Libyan responsibility to stop illegal migration to Italian coast from Libyan ones. Doesn’t matter the way. The important was to decrease the illegal migration pressing over Italy. Libyan government has utilized heavy and unnecessary force against African migrants with several murders unnoticed. A big percentage of Africans migrants captured has been reduced in captivity and forced to became free manpower for public works, prostitution and forced service in the Libyan Army. Italian government or Italian opposition parties have never open Parliament inquire in order to stop the mass human rights violation.
At the contrary on 2009 Italian government has donated to Libyan counterpart three military patrol boat in order to increase Libyan military navy ability to intercept migrants boat on Mediterranean sea. The migrants able to avoid Libyan interception were captured by Italian military navy and forcibly forced to return back to Libya without an appropriated screen necessary to individuate refugees status and other vulnerable migrants. On the other side of Mediterranean Libyan army, informed by Italian authorities, was waiting the modern slave cargos. Italian authorities have never been concerned about illegal migrants fate in Libya.
With the collapse of Geddafi’s regime ISIL terrorists have been unofficially replace the Libyan government duty to decrease illegal migration to Europe. West Press has spread false news about ISIL strategy to encourage African migrants to invade Europe in order to create chaos. Statistics show another reality. ISIL terrorists are very concerned to intercept African migrants in order to transform them in financial sources. When it’s possible they ask money to the family in order to free the hostages. Most of the time male African migrants become slave on logistic support of ISIL war operations in Libya, and female just sold to prostitution market in Arab countries. Cynically we can observe that ISIL is doing a good service to Europe. This new terrorist network, more aggressive and better financed than Al-Qaeda, in theory represents a direct menace to European security, meanly Italian one. This doesn’t explain why the Italian government has been very active on United Nation Security Council to block the Egyptian proposal to invade Libya in order to destroy ISIL and reinforce democracy in the country. Many African observers have the impression that ISIL is not a real menace for Europe but a useful tool on fight against illegal migration.
Anti migration agreements suspects are involving Europe and Morocco. The psychopathic Morocco Army determination to intercept African migrants that try to reach European coast reinforce these suspects. Morocco Army show a total absence of human rights respect. Since 2008 Maroccan navy has been accused of killing African migrants by deliberately sinking their boats. The last documented crime has been commited on April 2008 when Maroccan Navy has sank a boat with 70 African immigrants aboard as reported by The Guadian The immigrants, mostly from Nigeria and Mali, had paid traffickers €100 (£79) each to reach Spain. Their boat was intercepted by a Moroccan naval patrol launch on April 28. Like over Egypt and Libya human right violations the Western Media have stopped to report the ones done by Morocco. A deep and maybe criminal silence is cover all these mass murders of humans been.
If anti migration agreements really exist unlucky they are for the moment protected by absence of concrete probes. Anyway it’s strange that European Union doesn’t react with the same aggressive attitude adopted against migrants with the Western Mafia’s network that organize this modern slave market. Mafia’s boss involved in human traffic are all well known by European polices from Italy to UK. There is not any plausible explanation than can justify why this human traffickers are free and their goods (African migrants) are dying on Mediterranean sea… It’s time for United Nation to open an independent inquire in order to verify if a genocide network has been created by European Union and North Africa countries against migrants. If this kind of network really exist should be considered as crime against humanity and the responsible persecuted despite if they are terrorist, traffickers, regular armies or the self proclaimed West Democratic Governments.
Fulvio Beltrami
Kampala, Uganda
@Fulviobeltrami
