The government has all but declared open war on the NGOs plying the Mediterranean to save lives by blocking rescue ships in port, arraigning their captains and banning others from entering. It has even grounded an NGO aircraft used to spot boats in distress.

About that aircraft, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia has even gone so far as to have bragged that the government has stopped an airplane that was “spying for immigrants”.

Now there have been some absurd statements in recent weeks as the menace of irregular migration reared its head in Malta’s direction once again after so many years, but this one takes the cake.

A close contender was Farrugia’s other televised statement on Friday night, when he insisted: “We have our own armed forces and air wing that are trained to carry out search and rescue operations.”

The only problem, however, is that they are not fulfilling that function and in the meantime the government is preventing NGOs from doing just that.

Now either the minister has a sick sense of humour, is completely unaware of the gross misdeeds being committed by him and his government, or he takes his audience for fools.

We reckon the third scenario is the correct one.

In the meantime, the Pope and the United Nations have both condemned Malta’s actions.

Roughly one in every six migrants setting out in traffickers’ unseaworthy boats from Libya perished at sea last month, the United Nations said on Friday. The period corresponds to crackdowns launched by Malta and Italy against rescue ships operating in the area.

UNHCR officials noted that in the first six months of 2018, one of every 19 migrants setting out at sea from Libya died, compared to one of every 38 in 2017. They cited the effects of Malta’s and Italy’s crackdowns combined with the poorly equipped Libyan coastguards’ struggles to conduct successful rescues as factors in making the crossings more perilous than before.

“In the current situation, the search-and-rescue ability has been clearly and severely reduced. This is having an immediate impact on survival,” the UNHCR said. “Any vessel with the capability to assist search and rescue operations should be allowed to come to the aid of those in need and subsequently allowed to disembark at the nearest appropriate safe port. If vessels are denied permission to disembark, shipmasters may delay responding to distress calls while considering the possibility of being left stranded at sea for days on end. There is a genuine risk this could jeopardize lives at sea.”

This is all being done by the government in the people’s name; this is unacceptable.

On Friday, Pope Francis specifically thanked aid groups that rescue migrants at sea and denounced the ‘sterile hypocrisy’ of governments that turn a blind eye to people seeking security and dignified lives.

In what was an indirect criticism of policies of countries such as Italy and Malta, the Pope celebrated a special Mass for migrants and the activists who rescue and care for them.

Among those invited to the Mass was Oscar Camps, founder of Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms. The group’s ship brought 60 migrants to Spain this week after Italy and Malta refused it entry.

This, too, should be unacceptable to so many Maltese who, even if they do not care for what the UN has to say about the matter, would imaginably give the words of the Pope himself some weight.

The Maltese government’s actions may be welcomed by some in society, but the moral majority is recoiling in horror at the thought of people drowning out there because the government has blocked their would-be rescuers.

This is a stain on the country’s collective conscience, and this is unacceptable too.

We are well and truly back to the initial days of Joseph Muscat’s reign – of pushback threats, Air Malta planes on standby to readily deport newly arrived irregular migrants, and cease and desist orders from Brussels.

And in the meantime, the Maltese government’s actions were protested against yesterday in 13 German cities – many of which are core tourism markets for the country – by thousands of people.

Along with those German cities, there was a parallel protest in Valletta, right at the same time as the Prime Minister’s wife was in the midst of her yearly charity swim. And it was more than a tad ironic that Mrs Muscat was escorted by the same Armed Forces of Malta search and rescue vessels that we have not sent out on actual rescue mission for so long now.

This, however, is charity and we will not begrudge this unfortunate timing of an event planned well in advance.

But if Malta is to keep NGO ships in port and planes at the airport, impounded for all intents and purposes, the least it could do would be to offset their search and rescue lacuna by sending out a couple of our own patrol boats to cover their beat. That way some of the slack could be picked up while Malta figures out what to do with the rescue vessels. And if we were to intervene in a rescue or two in the meantime, it would all be in the interest of good public relations.

But it seems we are failing miserably on that front when we allow virtually anyone with a million euros and a passing interest in the country to purchase citizenship while we let the penniless die seeking safety and as we arraign captains and block the rescue of people drowning in our backyard.