ISIL is expanding its presence in Libya, once more beheading tens of Christians, this time from Ethiopia, in their latest propaganda video. As the violence intensifies, more and more people are fleeing from their lives, trying to escape from the failed state that the US and NATO brought upon them after the 2011 War on Libya. As ISIL rises, fleeing migrants tragically sink in the Mediterranean.
In an article entitled “How the fall of Qaddafi gave rise to Europe's migrant crisis”, carried by the Christian Science Monitor, Dan Murphy writes that:
“Libya's lawlessness has made traveling through the country even more dangerous and unpredictable. The videotaped mass execution of Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants carried out by the so-called Islamic State makes that clear enough. Yet still people go, and the UN refugee agency is now calling the recent shipwreck the deadliest it has ever recorded.”
He then notes that:
“It's hard to imagine that boatloads of African migrants are being filled in Tripoli without some of the militias that control the city taking a cut from the people smugglers.”
Ivan Safranchuk, Professor at the Moscow Institute of International Relations, Editor-In-Chief, Great Game: politics, business, security in Central Asia (studio guest), Dr. Alice Mesnard, a Reader in Economics at City University, London and Programme Director of the MSc Development Economics, Jeff Steinberg, US-based Executive Intelligence Review Senior Editor and Hafsa Kara-Mustapha, London-based journalist and political analyst commented on the issue.
Ivan Safranchuk, Professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Editor-In-Chief of The Great Game, politics, business and security in Central Asia:
The roots of the problem lay in the region’s politics, meaning that in the last 7 years, we’ve seen regimes in the Middle East and in Northern Africa being purposefully undermined and then collapsing. However we see that only one type of regime is failing, and these are regimes of the so-called Third Way, these are semi-capitalists, semi-socialists regimes which came out of the military coups of the 1960s. What I want to stress is that we came to the point to think that in the last 10 years those dictatorships are the worst regimes in the region, however that is not true! Because Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and some other regimes, they were making most of the social-economic progress, meaning access of ordinary population to healthcare, medicine, education and rights for women.
Dr. Alice Mesnard, a Reader in Economics at City University in London and Programme Director of the MSC Development Economics.
Andrew Korybko: Could the EU’s visa issue maybe have something to do with the spike in human trafficking?
Dr. Alice Mesnard: Yes, as we saw that they took very strong measures against human smuggling and human trafficking. About the refugees, my research is about trying to eliminate human smuggling and dealing with refugees: in fact, the two issues are related but they are quite separate. So there are different types of reasons: some migrate because they try to seek political asylum, and others are also trying to migrate to improve their lives from an economic view point. A lot of the business of traffickers is fueled by the very large demand from migration which comes from poor countries.
Jeff Steinberg, US-based Executive Intelligence Review Senior Editor.
Andrew Korybko: Some are saying that there is a clear correlation between increase ISIL and terrorist violence and more refugees flooding to Europe. What’s your opinion?
Jeff Steinberg: It’s clear that ever since the decision was made by the US, Britain and France to overthrow Gadhafi and install a network of Al-Qaeda-linked organizations into power in Libya, not only has the Libyan situation degenerated more and more into complete chaos, but the flow of weapons out of Libya has increased the level of violence and boosted the resources of Al-Qaeda and now ISIS in Syria, Iraq and also throughout the African continent.
