Libya Will Invite EU Into Backyard

Wikileaks released a restricted document today that details the EU's ongoing military action in the Mediterranean Sea called "Operation SOPHIA" designed to nip the migrant and refugee crisis in the bud - the human trafficking a smuggling.

The document is a report drafted by Enrico Credendino, Operation SOPHIA Commander and Rear Admiral of the Italian Navy. Essentially, Credendilo has conveyed that SOPHIA is ready to move forward militarily into the operation's next phase, but is being held back by political discourse. The report urges the EU to strike some kind of deal with Libya so that they may continue with military action against human smugglers.

Phase 1 of the operation was gathering of intelligence regarding routine merchant and fisherman traffic, smuggling networks, embarkment locations, smuggler habits, etc. Operation SOPHIA is presently stuck in it's second phase of operation, or phase 2A (high seas). They have succesfully rid most of the Central and Western passageways from attempted people smuggling, and are now left to dealing with the Eastern passage, through Libyan waters.

 

The Eastern Passage

"One of the main elements within the report is the planned, but still pending transition from Phase 2A (operating in High Seas) to Phase 2B (operating in Libyan Territorial Waters) due to the volatile government situation in Libya, where the building of a 'Government of National Accord' (GNA) is still under way," the document said. Phase 3 is slated to continue operations onto Libyan soil.

When the smugglers first began sending refugees and migrants across the Mediterranean they did not accompany them. This was called phase one, or the "unescorted phase," according to the report. The smugglers were forced into phase 2 of their business-model, or "escorted" phase, since the dinghys and wooden-boats were being stopped on their voyages, and the refugees were being looted by other smugglers.

Smugglers are now in their third phase of adaptation, "territorial escorted," since they have been confined to the Libyan waters to avoid and prevent international banking law from being able to enforce SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) infractions, arresting and prosecuting the smugglers under Italian Organized Crime laws, and of course commandeering and/or destroying their vessels.

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"At the height of the surge, nine surface units, a submarine, three fixed wing maritime patrol aircraft, five helicopters and one tactical UAV were deployed to OP SOPHIA."

"Territorial escorted" is necessary for the smugglers since Operation SOPHIA has all but ended any notion of slipping through international waters with perceived undesirable intent. For the massive majority of refugees and migrants, that intent is  to escape poverty, famine, genocide, and war-torn and bomb-riddled communities. While the SOLAS convention was born of benevolent dispositions, using it as justification to prevent human beings from obtaining ultimate safety and security is tragic.

Chapter 5 of the SOLAS convention - which is under the umbrella of the International Maritime Organization:

Chapter V - Safety of navigation

Identifies certain navigation safety services which should be provided by Contracting Governments and sets forth provisions of an operational nature applicable in general to all ships on all voyages. This is in contrast to the Convention as a whole, which only applies to certain classes of ship engaged in international voyages.  

 The subjects covered include the maintenance of meteorological services for ships; the ice patrol service; routeing of ships; and the maintenance of search and rescue services.

 This Chapter also includes a general obligation for masters to proceed to the assistance of those in distress and for Contracting Governments to ensure that all ships shall be sufficiently and efficiently manned from a safety point of view.

 The chapter makes mandatory the carriage of voyage data recorders (VDRs) and automatic ship identification systems (AIS).

The items in bold above are the major issue here. A contract from the Libyan government is required for the EU to have any authority to molest sea-faring vessels in their own waters. The EU has no jurisdiction to enforce maritime law on Libya, or any vessel sailing under the Libyan flag in Libya's waters, if they are not engaged in commerce or business together. They cannot be in business together unless a contract is signed, but a contract cannot be signed if there is not an established government to sign it. A "government of national accord" must be established before the UN can officially negotiate with Libya.

EU HRVP Federica Mogherini and Rear Admiral Enrico Credendito

Credendino's dilemma is that he can no longer use the SOLAS justification, and needs a new UN resolution to arbitrarily grant unprecedented legal authority to prosecute smugglers in Libyan waters without Libya's consent, or cut a deal to get that consent. The smuggling operation is reported to be bringing in roughly €250-300 million annually, so it's got to be something better than cash.

"In November, I held my first meeting with representatives from the Libyan Coastguard in Tunis which was arranged and sponsored by the EU Delegation in Libya," Credendino said. "It is clear from these discussions that they expect the EU to engage more closely with them and develop both their capability and capacity to be able to better manage their borders and tackle irregular migration coming from Libyan shores."

So there it is, not money, but guns, and boats. The EU wants to prop up the "approved" government of national accord with guns, and then they will expect that propped-up and approved government to invite them into their regional waters (Phase 2B)... and then on their land (Phase 3).

 

Migrants waiting to be "rescued" by the EU Naval Force 

Credendino said, "Indeed, through the capability and capacity building of the Libyan Navy and Coastguard we will be able to give the Libyan authorities something in exchange for their cooperation in tackling the irregular migration issue."

Even if the EU can't circumvent their own presently constructed laws (they probably will), they will still know that they can organize multi-faceted operations that include everything of Psyops to clandestine intelligence work.

"In this respect the main message to the International Community is that the EU is capable of launching a military operation in record time, displaying a strong resolve and remarkable unity of intent, as demonstrated by the 22 Member States participating in the operation," Credendino said.