イタリアとリビア難民問題

イタリアとリビア難民問題 現在、難民はリビアからイタリアに向かうルートが主流になっている（以前は、圧倒的に、 トルコからギリシアに向かうルートであったが、これはＥＵとトルコとの取り決めで収束している）。 　７月、８月、リビアからイタリアへのルートで渡る難民の数は昨年に比べて８０％もの減少を見せた　（それでも、９月末現在で１０万人である。昨年は同期間に１３万人）。 　このルートだが、リビア自体が周知のようにカダフィ体制の崩壊のあと、無政府状態におかれている（国連が支援している政府なるものがあるが、支配地域は限られている）。出発港はSabratha　である。 　難民の数が大きく減少した原因としてあげられているのが、１つは、イタリアで訓練を受けたリビアの沿岸警備隊が、サブラタ港を出て地中海を渡る船の６０％を強制的にリビアに戻したという点である。そしてもう１つが、イタリア政府が、サブラタを支配する５００人ほどの密航業者ギャングと秘密の取引を行っている、というものである。出港を抑える代りに、政治的地位と金銭を与えるという取引である。 　ところが、この取引を知った民兵グループがそのうまみを求めて抗争を始めており、この取引は破たんしそうな気配になっている。皮肉なことに、このグループは、国連が支援している政府から給与をもらっているとのことである。この抗争で死者や負傷者が多数発生しており、そのことと連動してこのところ、イタリアに渡ろうとする難民の数が急増している、とのことである。 　この取引には、もう１人、最近力を示してきたリビア国民軍のトップが反対している。この人物は、イタリアとフランスがリビアの混乱を収拾する中心人物として厚遇している のだが、一般に問題の多い人物であるとみなされている。彼はある新聞とのインタヴューで次のように述べている。「難民の数を抑えるには、われわれは十分の兵力の提供が可能だ。だが、それには交換条件として、援助、ドローン、ヘリコプターが必要だ」と。 ＊＊＊ これらの難民問題は、イタリアだけの問題ではない (ギリシアだけの問題でもない)。この問題はＥＵの問題である。しかし、これまでＥＵはこの難民対策において、著しい管理不備を曝してきてしまっており、極右がＥＵで大きな力をもつ大きな原因になっている。これら難民の処理を、イタリア（やギリシア）という、たまたま一番近い場所にある国に押し付けたままなのである。そのうえ、わずかの受け入れ難民数を設定したうえ、それをメンバー国に割り当てる政策を打ち出したが、周知のように、それはほとんど実行できないままである。ハンガリーやポーランドなどは、受け入れそのものに反対したままである。 こうして、EUは、難民危機において、組織としての亀裂・弱体性を曝すことになっている。 *** Italy's deal to stem flow of people from Libya in danger of collapse Number of people crossing Mediterranean rises again amid power struggle between rival factions in Libyan human-trafficking port • Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor Tuesday 3 October 2017 05.00 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 3 October 2017 22.00 BST A key pillar of the Italian government’s effort to stem the politically toxic issue of people crossing the Mediterranean from Libya to southern Italy is in danger of collapse as a result of a bloody power struggle in the key Libyan port of Sabratha, the epicentre of human trafficking to Italy. The Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, had hailed an 80% drop in the number of migrants reaching Italy in July and August, but the number of migrants suddenly started rising again last month as the Sabratha power struggle unfolded, suggesting rival gangs, fighting for control of the profitable business, may not prove reliable partners for the Italians. The strategy to stem the flow of people from Libya – largely masterminded by the Italian interior minister, Marco Minniti - is seen by the governing Democratic party (PD) as critical to its fortunes in elections next spring. The PD is under assault from an array of anti-migrant populist parties which, if victorious, would wreck pro-European leaders’ plans for a stronger, more integrated EU. The summer fall in migrants reaching Italy from Libya was attributed to many factors, including a better and more aggressive, Italian-trained Libyan coastguard turning back 60% of ships leaving the coastline. But the Italians had also reached an understanding with militia to clamp down on smuggling in Sabratha, a town 40 miles (70km) west of Tripoli that is seen as the smugglers’ main port of departure. Members of a Libyan migration force man a checkpoint in Sabratha, Libya’s main departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe. Photograph: Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images There have also been repeated reports of a clandestine deal struck by the interior minister with a powerful 500-strong smuggling gang in Sabratha, the Amu brigade, led by Abu Dabbashi, also known as the Uncle. The Dabbashi clan, controlling three main detention camps for migrants in the area, reportedly agreed to shelve its profitable business in return for political status and cash. The Dabbashi militia has been repeatedly cited in UN and European government reports as one of the linchpins of the smuggling business. But the deal appears to have sparked a wider power struggle in the city, notably between Dabbashi on one side and the counter Isis-operations room and rival al-Wabi militia on the other. Ironically, all the groups are on the payroll of ministries of Libya’s UN-backed government in Tripoli. In the past three weeks 26 people have been killed, 170 wounded and thousands displaced from the city centre. To the alarm of the Italian government, the number of migrants reaching Italy from Libya also suddenly started to creep up again, suggesting the deal was crumbling. The agreement has also been criticised by Gen Khalifa Haftar, the increasingly powerful leader of the Libyan national army, a figure now courted in both Rome and Paris as they seek a political solution to end six years of chaos that has exhausted and impoverished Libyans. The west has tended to regard Haftar as anti-democratic and brutal, but he has recently been courted by the Italians despite allegations he has ordered his troops to commit war crimes. Haftar is trying to present himself to the Italians as the man who can bring the trafficking under control, and said in a weekend interview with Corriere Della Sera: “For the control of the borders in the south, I can provide manpower, but the Europeans must send aid, drones, helicopters, night-vision goggles and vehicles.” He said it was a mistake for the Italians to strike any deal with the militia to curb the flow of migrants, saying the Italian government was in danger of being deceived. “Paying them means entering a vicious circle. Tomorrow they will fight one another for the rewards and then ask for more money. It will lead to infinite blackmail.” The Italian government insists it has only given aid to the UN-backed government in Tripoli or to the Sabratha council, but not directly to any militia. Matteo Villa, the head of the migration programme at the Italian thinktank Ispi, said the recent upsurge in migrants may be caused either by the Dabbashi militia losing its grip on the city, or because of an attempt by the militia to send a message to Rome that it can turn the flow of migrants on and off like a tap. Minniti is struggling to mollify Italian public opinion, which is furious that 600,000 migrants have reached Italy from north Africa since 2014. More than 12,000 have died trying. The latest figures show total arrivals in Italy to 21 September 2017 were 103,318, 21.5% lower than reported for the same period of 2016 (131,683). The UNHCR estimates that 80% of those reaching Italy are economic migrants, and therefore due for deportation because they are not eligible for asylum. An Ipsos poll this week showed 70% of Italians agree with the statement that immigration from Libya is too high, and has damaged public services. Villa said there were concerns that a reduction in the number of boats leaving Libyan ports, combined with the successful blockade being mounted by the Libyan coastguard, is producing a backlog of migrants trapped in inhumane Libyan detention camps.