Ignoring colonial responsibilities at Valletta's migration summit

Malta has been propelled into the spotlight during the past week with its hosting of the Valletta Summit.

Representatives of European and African countries, as well as international organisations, sought to reach a deal over record levels of international migration.

The meeting resulted in an action plan on migration - through which a number of projects will be launched in 2016, alongside the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

As expected, differences between European and African leaders were evident. While European leaders stressed the importance of border control, carefully masked by the rhetoric of opportunity and human rights, African leaders stressed the need to eliminate exploitation of the continent's resources.

Yet little attention was given to the historical colonial ramifications and the current imperialist interference in the Middle East, particularly since the so-called Arab Spring - which has triggered swiftly mutating violence, supported by Western upholders of alleged democratic intent.

The recent surge of refugees seeking entry to Europe triggered an outpouring of statistical analysis accompanied by the usual political hyperbole aimed at instilling alarm and purported concern regarding instability and unsustainability.

Neither the action plan nor the emergency trust fund fail to address the root causes of human trafficking and migration

Reactions by European countries differed from opening the borders to constructing fences along territorial demarcations.

However, an analysis of the agreements reached during the summit, as well as the speeches given by leaders portrays the intent of restriction and selectivity, under the guise of humanitarian and security concerns.

During the first year of his tenure in 2013, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat threatened to repatriate a group of African migrants to Libya - a move that was countered by NGOs and resulted in a European Court ruling preventing the forced repatriation.

Malta has now pledged €250,000 ($266,000) towards the trust fund, yet the emphasis on repatriation and selectivity remains, disguised through the rhetoric of fighting human trafficking.

In televised comments, European Parliament President Martin Schulz emphasised the intention to grant asylum to high-skilled migrants, in line with agreements that promote voluntary repatriation of those seeking refuge in European countries.

Despite extensive detail, both, the action plan and the emergency trust fund, fail to address the root causes of human trafficking and migration, thus rendering the summit a vague gathering of leaders embarking upon the usual grandiose yet inane rhetoric.

Clearly, there was no intention to open discourse that shifted towards acknowledging responsibility and accountability for the colonial wars that rendered Africa subservient to Western greed for natural resources, or the eagerness with which several European countries embarked upon the destruction of Libya through NATO under the auspices of the United Nations.

Neither was the reality of arming extremist groups in Syria and Libya discussed.

The result was a series of detached declarations and elaborate ceremonies that provided ample alienation, thus allowing the EU to continue in its charade of both oppressor and benefactor - the latter always at a lesser grade in order to sustain the cycle of dependency.

While based upon premises that ostensibly seek to address root causes of migration, the action plan drawn up for the summit omits any direct references to colonialism or the interventions that have destroyed countries and resulted in forced displacement.

The root causes are vaguely inferred to through a general discussion of the need to eradicate poverty and invest in social services and infrastructure, as well as creating opportunities to reduce the need to migrate. However, the EU has failed to take its role as aggressor into consideration and unfortunately, found little objection from African leaders participating in the summit.

An exception would be Senegalese President Macky Sall, who denounced fraud and the exploitation of Africa's natural resources - but failed to provide a formidable challenge to EU complicity in the subjugation of African countries.

Likewise, the emergency trust fund, which should be considered in relation to the action plan, aims "to help foster stability in the regions and to contribute to better migration management". While "conflict prevention" is mentioned, the document focuses more upon economic programmes and reintegration of asylum seekers - thus flaunting the EU's intention to repatriate a percentage of those seeking refuge.

A day after this latest summit, France has once again expanded its war on terror by bombing Syria

Participating countries have been asked to pledge funds to match the initial 1.8 billion euros ($1.92bn), ostensibly towards sustainable development. Nothing has been mentioned about the cycle of debt and the prolonged "War on Terror" that is again being used as a euphemism for further military intervention in the region.

A key point of African demands was the "modernisation of Africa" - articulated coherently by African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma - who suggested investment to decrease migration statistics. Zuma also reminded the delegations present of the first summit discussing the ramifications of violence and migration, which took place in Tripoli, Libya, on February 8, 2006.

A day after this latest summit, France has once again expanded its war on terror by bombing Syria in retaliation for the terror attacks in Paris. The timing is hardly a coincidence, considering the initial reaction by French President Francois Hollande to close the country's borders to refugees, thus fuelling right-wing hysteria as well as promoting the concept of foreign intervention in Syria under the guise of fighting terrorism.

As can be seen, the cycle has its own perpetrators, notably countries aligned to the imperialist agenda. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy can be credited with initiating NATO's destruction of Libya in 2011. Hollande is not shying away of following in his footsteps.

France's action might be the most prominent within this brief span since the summit, however it is clear that, despite the pompous rhetoric from Western leaders, the two-day meeting in Malta can be counted as yet another endeavour that shields the countries responsible for creating the conditions of forced displacement.

What has emerged from the summit is not an historic collaboration, but rather an affirmation of colonial and imperialist impunity.

Ramona Wadi is an independent researcher, freelance journalist, book reviewer and blogger specialising in the struggle for memory in Chile and Palestine, colonial violence and the manipulation of international law.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.