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Funerals were held on Thursday for refugees who drowned in the Mediterranean’s worst-ever migrant disaster as European leaders prepared to discuss measures to stem the flow of those risking their lives to reach the continent.

Ahead of emergency EU talks in Brussels on Thursday afternoon, 24 coffins containing the only bodies recovered from the weekend capsizing that left an estimated 900 dead were laid out for an interfaith memorial service on the grounds of Malta’s main hospital.

Wails from members of Malta’s African community punctuated the ceremony, which included Christian and Muslim prayers and was attended by Malta’s president and prime minister, Italy’s interior minister and the EU’s migration commissioner.

The ceremony was held as a leaked draft of the summit statement seen by the Guardian revealed resettlement places in Europe would be offered to just 5,000 refugees – dashing hopes of search and rescue operations being fully reinstated.

Human rights group Amnesty International said the EU summit proposals appear to be “illegal, impractical and immoral”.

Amnesty International’s UK director, Kate Allen, said: “Reinstating a proper search and rescue programme is not an afterthought, it’s the most urgent thing European leaders should be doing. As they scheme, men, women and children are drowning.

“In the face of the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war, the focus must be on the humanitarian emergency, not on plots to return people with asylum claims, to the very places from which they fled.”

A draft seen by the Associated Press pledges the 28 member states to “increase search and rescue possibilities” as well as to “undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers”.

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David Cameron, the British prime minister, offered the Royal Navy flagship, HMS Bulwark, three helicopters and two border patrol vessels to support EU operations as he arrived for the summit on Thursday, but did not say if the ships would be used for search and rescue operations or an expanded border patrol along the Greek and Italian coasts.

He said those picked up by the ships would not have immediate recourse to claim asylum in the UK, but would be taken to the nearest safe country.

German army sources told the DPA news agency Berlin would offer to send the troop supply ship Berlin as well as frigates Karlsruhe and Hessen towards Italy. Belgium and Ireland each said they stood ready to commit a navy ship.

Speaking on arrival at the EU summit, German chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe’s values and credibility in the rest of the world were on the line.

Italy shut down its search and rescue mission, Mare Nostrum – credited with saving the lives of more than 100,000 migrants – at the end of 2014 because other EU countries refused to pay for it. It was replaced with a smaller EU scheme – Triton – whose main focus is to patrol the bloc’s borders, after some countries argued that saving migrants encouraged more to come.

The International Organisation on Migration (IOM) fears that 2015 will be the deadliest year yet for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean as boats carrying desperate refugees become increasingly overloaded.

It said the number of arrivals in Europe is broadly the same but deaths are rising due to deteriorating conditions on board ships.

“More than 1,000 people died in less than 10 days and we are only at the start of the good season. It’s an emergency and it will get worse,” said Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson in Catania, where a vessel belonging to the Italian Guardia di Finanza on Thursday brought 220 migrants, including four pregnant women, into port.

Rescued migrants wait to disembark off the Italian Guardia di Finanza vessel Denaro at the Sicilian harbour of Catania. Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Rescued migrants wait to disembark off the Italian Guardia di Finanza vessel Denaro at the Sicilian harbour of Catania. Photograph: Vincenzo Barbagallo/Demotix/Corbis
The migrants were rescued on Tuesday 40 miles north of Libya when their two dinghies started taking on water. Those who arrived in Catania told aid workers they were pushed onto the overcrowded boats. The IOM said the horrors faced by migrants waiting on Libyan beaches for departure, which include being beaten and raped by smugglers, were adding to the peril of the journeys.

“If the migrants are scared before boarding and refuse to travel, they are beaten by smugglers and forced to board,” Di Giacomo said. “Once you pay, there’s no going back. Boats are increasingly showing problems shortly after departure, when they are still in Libyan waters.”

3,200 migrants drowned in 2014 – the deadliest year to date – but 1,700 deaths had already been recorded so far in 2015, Di Giacomo said. “The top priority now is saving lives, from this evening, from tomorrow. This means reinforcing the life-saving mechanism. Similar to Mare Nostrum, but in a European context.”

According to figures published by a Rome newspaper on Thursday, the Italian interior ministry estimates that as many as 5,000 migrants a week could arrive in Italy by sea from north African ports in the next five months.

A ministry source confirmed the figures, which estimate that as many as 200,000 could arrive by the end of this year.

European leaders have been widely criticised since the decision last year to end the Italian navy operation. The UN reiterated the criticism on Thursday and urged the EU to do more. “The European Union response needs to go beyond the present minimalist approach … which focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on its shores,” it said in a statement.

Cameron has acknowledged that there has to be an extension of the search and rescue operations after they were scaled back but insisted in Brussels that other measures must follow too.

“What we are dealing with here is a real tragedy in the Mediterranean. Today’s meeting has to be about saving lives. Now saving lives means rescuing these poor people but also means smashing the gangs and stabilising the region,” he said.

“Britain, as ever, will help. We will use our aid budget to help stabilise neighbouring countries. As the country in Europe with the biggest defence budget we can make a real contribution. Of course it must be under the right conditions and that must include that people that we pick up are taken to the nearest safe country – most likely Italy – and do not have immediate recourse to claim asylum in the UK.”

The summit comes as a joint letter to EU leaders signed by more than 50 former European prime ministers, foreign ministers and business leaders, condemned the death toll of migrants in the Mediterranean as a “stain on the conscience of our continent”.

Signatories include the former EU commissioner and UK Conservative party chairman, Chris Patten, the former Swedish prime minister, Carl Bildt, French former foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and George Soros of the Open Society Foundation.

Patten said: “Today’s crisis summit must be clear on its first and most urgent priority, increasing search and rescue back to at least previous levels.

“Addressing the drivers of migration, from conflict to human trafficking, climate change to human rights abuses is also critically important but will take a longer term strategy to address. My message to EU leaders is clear – history will judge you harshly if you fudge this.”

Sunday’s capsizing off Libya was the Mediterranean’s worst migrant disaster with up to 900 dead.

An official list of the wreck’s 26 survivors, released by Italian authorities on Thursday, reflected the geographic diversity of the migrants who had been on the stricken boat – 12 of the survivors were from Mali, four from Eritrea, three from Bangladesh, two from Senegal, two from Somalia and three from Sierra Leone, Gambia and Ivory Coast.

The Guardian

Tens of thousands of Eritreans trying to start from scratch each year in Europe. To do face a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, in many cases, ends with death. However, despite the high risk, the flight seems to be better to get trapped in this impoverished country in the Horn of Africa ruled dictatorially alternative.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Eritreans are the second nationality of migrants and refugees fleeing their country in flimsy boats, behind only the Syrians.

”The main cause of their flight is the incredible repression of all freedoms holding the government,” says Leslie Lefkow, deputy director for Africa of the humanitarian organization Human Rights Watch. In Eritrea there is no opposition as such as there is no independent media and civil associations.

For years, thousands of dissidents met prison in terrible conditions. The US State Department accused the country of kidnappings, torture and assassinations of opponents, among other crimes.

President Isaias Afwerki has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1993, when Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia. So sometimes it is qualified as ”African Korea North” for its resemblance to the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un. And is that Eritrea is also virtually isolated: no independent voices in the country, the international media can not send reporters and is very difficult to get a visa. Even the UN special envoy to check the situation of human rights Sheila B. Keetharuth could enter the country.

Last year, one in five refugees who arrived by sea to Italy came from Eritrea. According to UNHCR, the total figure was 34,300. And the situation in Greece is similar. Once they reach European shores, Eritrean asylum seekers especially in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland. According to the German immigration authorities in 2014 applied for asylum in the country 13,200 Eritreans, surpassed only by the Syrians (39,300) and Serbs (17,200).

They are mostly young people who they escape to Europe. And among the reasons the military has a special weight: Eritrea obliges all its citizens, without exception, to be 18 months of armed service. However, many are held for years against their will, something that humanitarian organizations qualify as modern slavery. ”That’s one of the great causes of the exodus from Eritrea,” Lefkow said. ”A little recruits are paid and often mistreated.”

In fact, slavery and forced labor are prohibited in Eritrea. But according to the US State Department, since 1998 there is a law that allows skipping the law because of the war with Ethiopia, at that time the state of emergency was declared.

The Eritrean government considers the massive flight from the country with cynicism. Says young people and critics leave the country, helping to stabilize the regime, and welcomes how many refugees regularly send money to their families from abroad. Furthermore, according to the UN, the government imposes a ”diaspora tax” of 2 percent revenue refugees, either through embassies, illegal collectors or during a possible visit home.

In addition to political repression, among the motives behind the Eritreans to flee poverty figure also living engulfed the country. According to Development Index of the United Nations, which includes factors such as health or schooling, Eritrea is in fifth place in the world ranking. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the GDP of this country of six million inhabitants in 2014 stood at about $ 4 million (for comparison: the German was about 3,800,000 million).

The country holding the journalist Dawit Isaak imprisoned peaks Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) annual list.

On the second- and third place on the list, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Eritrea is the hardest country in Africa against journalists; at least 23 imprisoned without trial. Only state media are allowed to work with the news.

CPJ’s annual report ”Attacks on the Press” is released on Monday 27 April.

ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ !
ረድኢ መሓሪ /ኣለና/
22 ሚያዝያ 2015

ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ንሓደስቲ ወለዶና ጋሻ ዝኾነ ቃል ኢዩ። እዚ ቃል እዚ ክልተ ተበኣስቲ ወይ ክልተ ኣብ ሓያል ቅልስ ዝተጸምዱ ሰባት ወይ ጉጅለታት ክልቲኦም ብማዕረ ክወድቁ እንከለዉ ዝበሃል ቃል ኢዩ። ንህሉው ኩነታትና ኣብ ግምት ብምእታው፡ ነዚ ቃል እዚ ፖለቲካዊ ጥምቀት ከጠምቖ ደልየ። ንጉዳይ ቃልሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን መግዛእቲ ጨካን ኢሳይያስን ኣመልኪተ ድማ፡ ውጽኢት እዚ ናይ ክልተ ተቐናቐንቲ ወገናት ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ክብሎ መሪጸ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሎሚ ነቲ ካብ ነዊሕ መዋእል “መግዛእቲ ቱርኪ” እናበለ ንምረት ሂወት ዝጥቀመሉ ዝነበረ ሓረግ፡ “መግዛእቲ ኢሳይያስ” ብዝብላ ቃላት ቀይሩዎ ኣሎ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ መዋእሉ፡ ካብ ግዝኣት ቱርኪ ክሳብ ግዝኣተ-መንግስቱ ሃይለማርያም፣ ከም መግዛእቲ ኢሳይያስ ዝኸፍእ ስርዓት ርእዩ ኣይፈልጥን ኢዩ።

ገበነኛ ኢሳይያስ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንምንብርካኽ፡ ንሓዋሩ ኣላሽ ንምባሉን ኣሎ ዝበሃል ክእለቱን ጥበቡን ተጠቒሙሉ ኢዩ። ብሰንኪ እቲ ግናይ ጥጅእ፡ ምሉእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ግዳይ ስደት፡ መሸጣ ኩሊት ሲናይ፡ ቀለብ ዓሳታት ባሕሪ ጥራይ ከይኣክል፣ ሕጂ ከኣ ከምዚ ሎሚ ኣብ ዜና ዝሰማዕናዮ፣ ግዳይ ማሕረዲ ኣይሲስ /ISIS/ ንምዃን ጀሚሩ ኣሎ። እቲ ቀደም ኣብ ውሻጠ ጃንሆይ ብጌሶን ቡቕሊን ዝተጠጅአ ውራይ ኢሳይያስ፡ ንኤርትራን ህዝባን ናብ ዕዳጋ ሓራጅ ንምውራድ ኢዩ ነይሩ ዕላምኡ። ከምቲ ኣብ ዕዳጋ ሓራጅ ሱዳን “መርሑም ገድረክ” እናበሉ ክዳውንቲ ዝሸጡ ነጋዶ፡ ገበነኛ ኢሳይያስ እውን ኤርትራ ንምሕራጅ ድሕር ዝብለሉ ጉዳይ የለን።

ምህዳም ህዝቢ ጥራይ ከይኣክል ከኣ፡ ብርሃነ ዝተባህለ ወዱ ዝሃድመሉ ግዜ ብምርኣይና፡ ዝሓንጸጾ እከይ ካሪክለም ኣብ እዋኑ ክዕወተሉ ከምዘይከኣለ ተገንዚብና ኣለና። ስለዝኾነ ኢዩ ብመንጫዕጫዕታ ብላክን ብሉ ለበልን እናተሓጽበ ኣብ ከቢድ ጭንቀት ዝርከብ ዘሎ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከኣ፡ ብድሕሪ ምርሻም ስንኩላን ማይ ሓባርን ምእሳር’ቶም ኣርካናት ገድሊ ዝነበሩ ጉጅለ 15ን፡ ንኢሳይያስ ምውዳቕ ኣንቃዕሪርካ ዘይድየብ ከውሒ “ኢትሰመ” ኮይኑዎ ይርከብ።

ከምቲ ንጉስ ፎርዖን ንህዝቢ እስራኤል ናጻ ዘውጽእ ወዲ ንከይዓቢ፡ ዘዝተወልዱ ኣወዳት ሕጻናት ይቀንጸሉ ዝበለ፡ ኢሳይያስ እውን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሓራ ዘውጽእ ወደባት ከይህሉ ኣጸቢቑ ኢዩ ብጥንቃቐ ሰሪሑሉ። ኢሳይያስ፡ ከም ኮብራ ተመን ሕሱም መርዘኛ ተናኻሲ ኢዩ። ንኤርትራዊ ሰብ ድማ፤ ብሃብቱን ድኽነቱን፡ ብትምህርቱን ፍልጠቱን፡ ብሓይሉን ድኻሙን፡ ብደርቡን ማሕበራዊ ቦትኡን ወ.ዘ.ተ… ኣይንዕቕን ኢዩ። ስኑ ነኺሱ ብጥንቃቐ ስለ ዝርኢ ኢዩ ከኣ ኩሉ ግዜ ኣብ ስጉምቲ ምውሳድ ቀዳማይ ሪጋ ዝሕዝ ዝነበረ።

ክንዲ ዝኾነ ኢዩ፡ ካብ መጀመርያ ሰብዓታት ክሳብ ናጽነት ክሳውዲ ምሁራት ኤርትራውያን እናቆረጸ ዝመጽእ ዝነበረ። ከምቲ ውሩይ ደራሲ በዓሉ ግርማ “ኦሮማይ” ዝበሎ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ድማ፡ ካብ 1973 ክሳብ ለይቲ ሎሚ ዝተሓርደ ምስ ተሓርደ፡ ‘ኦሮማይ’ ኮይኑ መዝሙሩ። ‘ኣሓ ምስ ሓራዲአን፡ ማይ ይሰትያ’ ከም ዝበሃል፡ እቶም ኣሕዋቶም እናጠፍኡ ኣዒንቶም ዝኸወሉ በብመዓልቶም ተሳሂልዎም ኢዩ። ኣብ ግዜ ናጽነት እውን ባህጊ ኤራውያን ንሰላምን ዲሞክራሲን ምንባሩ እኹል ተመኩሮ ወሲዱሉ ኢዩ።

ኣብ ታሪኽ ዲክታቶራት፡ ኢሳይያስ ንኣዶልፍ ሂትለር ዝመሳሰለሉ ብዙሕ ጉዳያት ኣሎ። ንጎዳጉዲ ዒራዒሮ ዝመሳሰል ከኣ እቲ ሂትለር ንኣይሁድ ከጥፍእ ዝሰርሖ ፎርኖታት ጥራይ ኢዩ። ኣንበሳ ኣማውታ ከልቢ ክመውት እንከሎ፡ የሕዝን ኢዩ። እቶም ኣብ 30 ዓመታት ኣናብስ ዝነበሩ ደቀባት ኤርትራ ድማ፡ ብሕማቕ ኣማውታ ኣብ እምባትካላን ዒራዒሮን ጠፊኦም ኣለዉ። እዚ ድማ እቲ ኣብ ታሪኽ ኤርትራን ህዝባን መዳርግቲ ዘይርከቦ ዝኸፍአ ፍጻሜ ኢዩ። ከምቲ መሸላ እናሰሓቐ ዝሓርር፡ ብዙሓት ካብቶም ጉጅለ 15 ክእሰሩን ክሞቱን እንከለዉ ዝስሕቁ ዝነበሩ ሚኒስተራት፣ ኣማሓደርቲን ጀነራላትን ከኣ፡ እታ ሓዊ ኣብ ኣርእሶም ተወሊዓ ኢያ። ፍልልይ ኣማውታ ኣብ ጎዳጉዲ ዒራዒሮን ኣብ ገገዝኦም ዝሞቱ ሰበስልጣናትን ድማ፡ ኣገባብ ቀብሪ ጥራይ ኢዩ ፍልልዩ። ሽዑ ካብ ዝስሕቁ ዝነበሩ ዝተረፍዎ ሰባት ከም ዘለዉ’ውን ገና ይፈልጥ ኢዩ። ካብዚ ክልቴና /ህዝቢን ኢሳይያስን/ ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ወዲቕናሉ ዘለና ቅርዓት ዓደቦ፡ መን’ዩ ብድድ ክብል ከኣ ግዜ ክምልሶ ኢዩ።

ቀጺሉ ብስም “ሃንደበታዊ ሕማም” ብምስማም ንምሩጻት መራግእቲ ኤርትራዊ ሃገራውነት እናለቐመ ዝኸይድ ዝነበረ ኢሳይያስ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ተጠንቂቑ ኢዩ ዝሕዞ። ኣብ ኣተሓሕዝኡ ሻላ-ማላ ስለዘይገብር ኢዩ፡ ክሳብ ሎሚ ደው ኢሉ ንክኸይድ ዝበቕዐ። ኢሳይያስ፡ ከም ኩላቶም ውልቀ-መለኽቲ ውዳሴ ይፈቱ ኢዩ። ዘይውድሶን ዘይሰግደሉን ኤርትራዊ ግን ክጠፍእ ኣለዎ። ብዛዕባ ስልጣን ዝምልከት ድማ፡ ፈታዊ ዝበሃል የብሉን። ንሱ ኣብ ዕድሚኡ ብዘይካ “ፕረዚደንት” ካብኡ ትሕት ኢሉ ወይ ተራ ሰብ ኮይኑ ክነብር ከም ዘይክእል ኣጸቢቑ ይፈልጥ ኢዩ። ከምዚ ንክኸውን ክልተ ጉዳያት ኣለወኦ፤ ሓደ ንዝወፈረሉ ዕላማ፡ ‘ልኡኽ ሓሊቦ’ መታን ከይከውን፣ ካልኣይ ከኣ ኣእዳዉ ብንጹህ ደም ኤርትራውያን ዝተሓጽባ ስለዝኾና። ከምኡ ስለዝኾነ፡ ጉዳይ ምምቕራሕ ፖለቲካዊ ስልጣን፡ ቅዋም፡ ሕብረ-ሰልፋዊ ስርዓት ዝብል ኣገባባት መንግስቲ ክሰምዕ እንከሎ፡ ቁጥዐ /ኣለርጂ/ ይገብረሉ። ሽዑ ኣብ ቅድሚኡ ዝጸንሕ፡ ወይልኡ!

ብቅልል ዝበለ፡ ዘይመጸጸ ፖለቲካ ክረአ እንከሎ፣ ሎሚ ንሕናን ኢሳይያስን ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ኢና ወዲቕና ዘለና። ብድሕሪ ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ግን፡ ብርግጽ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ሓራ ዘውጽእ ሙሴ ክውለደና ኢዩ። ኣብ ዘመነ ኢሳይያስ ብዙሓት ሙሴታት ተቐንጺሎም ኢዮም። ሎሚ ዝመጽእ ሙሴ ግን ብሓያል ሴፉ ንገበነኛታት ፍጹም ካብ ገጽ ምድሪ ኤርትራ ዝጸራርግ ክኸውን ኢዩ። ‘ንእሾኽ እሾኽ ኢያ ተውጽኣ፡ ኣራግጻኻ ግን ኣይትቐይር’ ከም ዝበሃል፡ ክሳብ ምጽኣተ ኤርትራዊ ሙሴ፡ ርእስኻ ኣይተድንን ኤርትራዊ። ገበነኛ ኢሳይያስ፡ ነቲ ካብ ነዊሕ ዓመታት ኣትሒዙ ከካይዶ ዝጸንሐ ሓያል ቃልሲ ኣንጻር ምልኪ፡ ኣብቲ ዝበሃጎ ግዜ ክፍጸም ኣይተኻእለን።

ስለዚ ክልተና ተተፋነንቲ /ደለይቲ ፍትሒን ህግደፍን/ በብውሽጣዊ ጉዳያትና ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ወዲቕና ንርከብ ኣለና። ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ፡ ጃላ፡ ወይ ጃላነት ብዝብል ንሚዛን ሓይሊታት ዝገልጽ ቃል ተተኪኡ ነበረ። ጃላነት ማለት መንጉ-መንጎ፡ ማዕረ ሚዛን ወይ ከኣ ሓዲግ መዲግ ማለት ኢዩ። ኣብ ደገ ምስ ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ደለይቲ ፍትሒ፡ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ንምዕናውን ህዝባዊ መንግስቲ ምትካልን፡ ለውጢ በየናይ መንገዲ ክመጽእ ይኽእል ንዝብል ሓሳባት፣ ብዝምልከት ርእይቶታትና ንፈላለ ኢና። እታ በንዚን ተነስኒሱዋ ዘሎ ምድሪ ኤርትራ፡ ሓደ መዓልቲ ኣብ ውሽጢ ብዘሎ ህዝቢን ሰራዊትን ክርቢት ክሽርጠጣ ምዃኑ ንኣምን።

‘ነዓቒ ኣይፍቶኻ፡ ደቃሲ ኣይሓሉኻ!’ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ’ምበር በቲ ዝነዓቖ ይመሓደር፡ በቲ ደቃሲ ድማ ይሕሎ ኣሎ። ምኽንያቱ ውልቀ መላኺ ኢሳይያስ፡ “ድቃስ እፈቱ’የ” “…ሞባይል የብለይን፡ ኢንተርነት ከኣ ኣይጥቀምን እየ” ኢሉ ብጋህዲ ነጊሩና ኢዩ። ኣጸቢቑ ድቃስ ዓባይ ጤል ንክድቅስሲ፡ ካብ ኣዋድቓ ፈረስ ተንሲእና ሙሴ ካብ ማእከልና ንክንፈጥር፣ ኣዒንትና ንኽፈት።

ሞት ክናና ንኢሳይያስ!

(ANSA) – Geneva, April 21 – Some 350 Eritreans were among the 850 people who perished in the migrant boat that sank off the coast of Libya on Saturday night, a United Nations spokesperson said on Tuesday.
    U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Adrian Edwards said, ”according to survivors heard by UNHCR, the boat left Tripoli, Libya on Saturday with approximately 850 people and many children. Among the people on board, there were 350 Eritreans, and (others) from Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia”.
    The European Union is in the process of deciding a course of action targeting human traffickers in the Mediterranean in the wake of migrant-boat disaster.
    On Monday, the European Commission presented a 10-point plan including destroying smugglers’ boats on the Libyan coast.
    Italy unveiled a five-point plan on Tuesday which includes a similar approach to destroying smuggler boats and the possible use of drones. Proposals will be examined by a special EU summit Thursday.