Rule of law in EritreaAttard Montalto Speaks On Eritrean Refugee Saga
19 November 2004 19:30 by maltastar.com team
Labour MEP John Attard Montalto spoke during the European Parliament’s debate on the rule of law in Eritrea, during the plenary session in Strasbourg.
Dr Attard Montalto said that Eritrea is one of the youngest Sovereign States. Unfortunately it has a distressing history which is becoming worse on an almost daily basis.
The resolution proposed by 6 main political groups mentions Malta and Libya as having repatriated Eritrean's and these repatriations ended up in atrocities being perpetrated on the refugees. Unfortunately the Eritrean's which had come to Malta refused to apply for refugee status and consequently technically and legally they had to be repatriated but morally it was a wrong decision.
Those who managed to escape from Eritrea by informing International aid agencies brought to light the atrocities suffered by the Eritreans who where repatriated from Malta. At first they where placed incommunicado and then a substantial number were tortured and the whereabouts of many is still unknown.
“I believe that Eritrea does not understand dialogue and has become one of the most repressive countries in the world. In my opinion one can only deal with such regimes by being hard, such as withdrawing any aid or financial assistance. Such as to invoke certain sections of the Cotonou - agreement,” said Dr Attard Montalto.