A number of people turned up for the gathering 'Ports of Hope' "to remember those who have been lost out at sea and to acknowledge those who continue to make the journey in their hope of seeking asylum in Europe."
At the gathering, that took place this evening at Marsamxett Harbour, Valletta, it was announced that a demonstration in solidarity with NGO vessels will be taking place next Saturday at 1pm in front of the law courts in Valletta.
Speaking at the event, Maria Pisani, one of the organisers behind 'Ports of Hope', said that the recent intensification of EU policy will only result in more deaths in the Mediterranean, and must not continue to be normalised and justified."
On social media, the group of organisers said that, "We feel the need to provide a space and opportunity to remember those who have lost their lives in their desperate effort to cross the Mediterranean Sea, hoping to seek asylum, to reach security and a better tomorrow. The horrific loss of life in the Mediterranean continues - somebody's child, parent, brother, sister, friend, spouse. Their lives mattered to their loved ones, and they matter to us. Respect towards life and the innate dignity of each and every human being needs to remain central in political disputes and political discourse, in the search of solutions for this human tragedy.
This ongoing tragedy must never be normalized. Death should not be an accepted side effect of seeking asylum. Europe must find solutions that honour life and not facilitate death. We know that there is no one solution, but options for seeking asylum without loss of life must be found.
Concerns have been rising over a potential influx of asylum seekers during summer as Italy elected populist political parties who scrambled to form a coalition following months of negotiations.
Italy's new Home Affairs Minister and Leader of the junior coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, has been openly hostile to international obligations and has outright refused any entry from migrants boats not carrying the Italian flag, complimenting in two high-profile diplomatic standoffs, most notably with the Aquarius, which was only solved with Span's intervention.
MV Lifeline, an NGO-owned vessel, was also at the centre of an international controversy in the last few weeks after both nations refused to allow it to dock and take responsibility for the migrants after the vessel ignored orders to return the migrants to Libya.
The stalemate was eventually broken after eight EU countries and Malta entered into an ad hoc agreement, promising to take a share of the migrants on board. The ship then docked in Malta on Wednesday last week. The EU Council has been steadfast to back Malta its decision
Lifeline Captain Claus-Peter Reisch, 57, born in Munich Germany, was charged with entering Maltese territorial waters illegally and without proper registration and a licence. The prosecuting officers are also requesting the court to order the confiscation of the ship.
Since the Lifeline incident, Maltese government said it would not be allowing NGOs to sail in and out of its harbours until it checked whether any international laws were being broken.
On Tuesday Sea-Watch International claimed that their vessel had been detained in Malta, without any legal grounds by authorities, while people were dying at sea. The EU Council has been steadfast to back Malta it's decision, with Council President Donald Tusk expressing the EU's support following the Council meeting a week ago.
"Since the Sea-Watch 3 is not registered in the sport boat register, as is the case for LIFELINE and SEEFUCHS, but is listed in the royal shipping register as a Dutch seagoing vessel, fully entitled to fly the Dutch flag, the lack of permission to sail from Malta turns out not to be a registration issue, but a political campaign to stop civil rescue at sea," a statement on the NGO's website read.
On Thursday, the same NGO had said that the Maltese authorities had also barred its spotter plane from taking off, with a government spokesperson saying that Malta's Search and Rescue authority had not requested any surveillance missions by third parties to be conducted within its SRR and FIR.
A Dutch investigator has been sent to examine the situation.
Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was also in attendance.
Photos and video by Alenka Falzon
