This year until April there were 1.645 deportations of irregular migrants while 10 cases of traffickers are being investigated and 5 arrests were made, according to police figures presented to Parliament on Tuesday.
Specifically, the ad hoc Parliamentary Committee on Demography discussed the problems facing the Kokkinotrimithia area due to its proximity to the Pournara Reception Centre
. During the session, the Deputy Commissioner of Police presented enhanced measures decided to better guard the area.
On behalf of the President of the Kokkinotrimithia Community, Christakis Meletier, as well as residents of the area, the problems facing the area due to the large increase in the number of asylum seekers were raised, and residents asked for greater assistance from the state to address the situation.
The Community President, in his statements after the meeting, said that in the area "a parallel society is being created with its own laws, with all its good and bad" and added that some incidents, such as illegalities and thefts, occur with the tolerance of state services. He said, however, that solutions should be found to manage migration flows, following the model of other European countries, saying that "we can designate a specific entry point to Cyprus for those who want to apply for asylum", adding that asylum applications should be examined within the buffer zone.
Meletiès also said that the problem is pan-Cypriot, as "it is not only the 40,000 migrants who are irregular, but there are another 200,000 who are also not compatible with our society and at some point they have to leave". Responding to a question about whether residents will rise up, he said they do not wish to cause instability in the state, but they may go ahead with protest demonstrations outside ministries "to get laws passed on immigration and on the rights that must be given to the police to be able to stop these people."
"We will not stop accepting people seeking asylum, but it should be from those who need it, not from those who arrive on Turkish airlines at the airport in Tymbou," Meletiès added.
In response to a question about improving conditions by upgrading the Pournara Centre, Meletiès said that a €20 million project on a €3 million site is not considered an upgrade, but the development of a new project "in an attempt to accommodate more migrants in the absence of the residents of the area", he said, as he said they were never informed of the state's intentions.
The strengthening of security measures in the area was mentioned in statements after the meeting by Deputy Police Chief Dimitris Demetriou. Specifically, he said that an Officer has been appointed, who will be on a permanent basis at the Pournara Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers, policing has been strengthened with patrols of the surrounding area, as well as the Kokkinotrimithia police station with additional personnel.
In response to a question as to whether there is reluctance on the part of members of the police to respond to residents' requests for fear of a case being brought against them, Mr Demetriou said that this is not the case. "The police are investigating cases where there are complaints and grievances," he said, adding that most incidents occur within the Pournara area, where police intervene in an attempt to restore order.
"By hiring 300 persons for the purpose of guarding the green line and constructing the fence, the effort to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants from the occupied areas will be strengthened," he said in response to a question, while clarifying that the guarding points will be discussed after the special guards are hired, with the cooperation of the police and the Ministry of Police.
During the meeting, it was also reported that the penalty for smuggling irregular migrants, which is considered a felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison, has been strengthened. According to police data, most of the traffickers are from the migrants' countries of origin in Africa, while it was clarified that Cypriots who serve in the trafficking of people through the Green Line also face the same charges.
Police figures suggest about 80-100 people enter the country daily, while about 65-70 people are deported per week. Specifically, it was reported at the meeting that in 2019 there were 417 deportations, in 2020 there were 1,272, in 2021 there were 2,320 and by April 2022 there were 1,645. Figures were also reported on trafficker cases, with 24 cases and 27 arrests in 2020, 29 cases and 50 arrests in 2021 and 10 cases and 5 arrests in 2022.
It was also noted that the process of returning irregular migrants to their countries of origin presents several difficulties, even after the government granted financial incentives for voluntary departure, and there are countries, such as Pakistan, where it was necessary to mediate on the part of Germany in order to accept people returned there from Cyprus.
The Chairman of the Committee and ELAM MP, Linos Papagiannis, said after the meeting that it is expected that there will be an improvement in the conditions in the wider area of Kokkinotrimithia, with the strengthening of policing. He added, however, that the biggest problem will not be solved by the police, because they will not and are not responsible for solving the migration problem."
"A strict migration policy must be implemented," he stressed, saying that things have become very difficult for the residents of the area, as well as throughout free Cyprus. "The government must understand what is happening and fix the problems," he concluded, saying that other European countries are not that far away from Cyprus and that there are solutions applicable everywhere.
DISY MP, Charalambos Pazaros, in a statement after the meeting said that the phenomenon observed in Kokkinotrimithia also concerns other areas of Cyprus, such as Emba, Geroskipou and Druscia of Paphos district, old Nicosia and old Limassol, Dali, Oroklini. "The uncontrolled descent of irregular migrants, especially in recent times, has caused major security problems for local residents," he said, adding that "unless we take every possible measure to safeguard the Green Line, which is our Achilles' heel," the problem will not be addressed." He said that the problem is worsening, despite the fact that arrangements have been made to speed up the processing of asylum applications.
Finally, he welcomed the Cabinet's measures to guard the Green Line by hiring 300 contracted special constables and the operation of an electronic surveillance system for the Green Line by the end of 2022. "We should ensure equal distribution of migrants and strict policing in any area where problems are observed due to their mass residence," he concluded.
DIKO MP, Zacharias Koulias, in his remarks referred to a "hybrid war, with Turkey as coordinator, architect and conductor, and its allies being traffickers, bribe-takers and ethnic nationalists".
He said that whole areas, such as Kokkinotrimithia, are facing very serious problems due to the increased number of migrants and that "the police force has been decommissioned as it is not given the opportunity to intervene and protect citizens". He said that thefts are taking place in these areas without the law being able to be enforced and added that "our national security has crossed the red line."
He blamed five ministers, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Justice, Interior and Labour, whom he asked to attend the committee meeting, and singled out the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Justice, Interior and Labour. He also referred to the hiring of 300 special police officers to guard the green line, which he said was not enough for the 180 kilometres that must be guarded.
He also referred to the hiring of 300 special police officers to guard the green line, which he said was not enough for the 180 kilometres that must be guarded. "When the police are understaffed, they cannot deal with a cancer that is growing out of control," he said. Finally, he said that the cash benefits given to asylum seekers should be cut off and the state should take care of feeding them."
Source: CNA
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