Interior Minister Nikos Nouris is preparing an urgent letter to the European Commission, accompanied by evidence demonstrating the massive flow of migrants into Cyprus through Turkey and the occupied territories, in order to inform the EU of the magnitude of the problem facing the Republic of Cyprus.
Nouris today informed AKEL Secretary General Stefanos Stefanou and the party's delegation, which made a scheduled visit to his office today, following an invitation by the Minister, of his intention. As he explained, the letter will be accompanied by "evidence that clearly demonstrates that these people have arrived via Istanbul at the occupied Tymnos airport, after receiving a 60-day residence visa from the occupation authorities, and crossed to the free areas via the Green Line".
Nouris stressed that the figures so far show that "the problem is measurable and is extremely worrying", as 4,793 people have applied for asylum in the first months of 2022, while the total for 2021 was 13,500. He also said that there are currently 2,957 people in the "Pournara" Reception Centre, all coming from Turkey and more than 95% of African origin and, despite the fact that hundreds of people are being transferred to the Lakes region, the problem is not being eliminated. He said the authorities are also focusing on the effort on returns, which currently stand at 685, a number disproportionately low compared to arrivals, he pointed out.
Requests for EU support for projects at "Pournara" and Lakes
He said that the Republic of Cyprus will seek EU support for infrastructure upgrading projects at the "Pournara" Reception Centre, estimated to cost 20 million, as well as for projects in the Lakes area, amounting to 60 million. He also informed that a four-year contract has been tendered for the feeding of the people accommodated in "Pournara", at a total cost of 34 million, of which the EU will cover 4 million and the Republic of Cyprus 30 million.
"The Republic of Cyprus cannot cover the cost of upgrading the facilities at the Reception Centre, so this week we will submit a proposal this week to the European Commission for additional funding," the Minister explained.
"The Republic of Cyprus cannot cover the cost of upgrading the facilities at the Reception Centre, so this week we will submit a proposal this week to the European Commission for additional funding," the Minister explained.
Asked about the Government's approach and argumentation regarding the requests to the Commission, the Minister said that "there is an excess of argumentation because of the huge flows of migrants," noting that the need for the creation of the pre-removal centre in the Lakes, which will assist in the return of informal migrants to their countries of origin, has already been recognised by the Commission. "What we will do is to intensify at all levels the message that Cyprus is an undesirable leader in terms of the rate of asylum seekers," he concluded. As of 1/11/2021, if the asylum application of a person accommodated in "Pournara" is rejected, the centre in Lakes will be determined as his/her place of residence and the competent Deputy Ministry will be informed, so that there will be no additional burden on the Republic by granting other allowances.
Useful meeting, said AKEL Secretary General
For his part, AKEL Secretary General Stefanos Stefanou said that the meeting, which was at the invitation of the Interior Minister, was a little late due to different commitments they had.
He noted that the meeting included an update on developments in refugee and migration issues.
"The meeting was finally at a time when the complex and complicated issue of migration and refugees has become even more complex and difficult because of the war in Ukraine and the refugee flows caused by the invasion and war," he added.
In our view, he continued, this complex and complicated issue can only be addressed if there are holistic, comprehensive European policies and approaches, which address the problem first and foremost within the framework of solidarity primarily with those countries that are the receiving countries of refugee and migrant flows and Cyprus is one of them.
It is obvious that we need European solidarity in order to be able to deal with this complex issue and first and foremost the EU needs to finally decide on a key issue which is the redistribution of refugees in the EU member states according to the population and the available capacities.
"It is a fact that we need an orderly and fair system for assessing asylum applications so that we can quickly and efficiently deal with asylum seekers, who number several thousand. The system certainly has within it the structures, the infrastructure, the reception and accommodation centres with the many problems that need to be addressed. We discussed all this with the Minister and his colleagues," he said.
Stefanou noted that the migrant refugee issue is an issue of great concern to AKEL. "We submitted our own thoughts and proposals and along with the information we received from the Minister, we will continue to examine the problems because several issues also come before the House of Representatives and need to be dealt with through a comprehensive effort," he said.
Asked if the measures taken by the government on the migration issue are satisfactory, the AKEL Secretary General said that "it is known that at times we have our disagreements and our own opinions and sometimes the tones are high. I would not like now, in view of the meeting we have had, as a guest here at the Ministry of Interior, to go into this discussion. I will stay focused on what we have said with the hope and the hope that this difficult issue in the coming period will continue to receive the European approach and that we will push so that Europe will provide the best possible solutions."
I think, he continued, that now the EU member states facing the problem of refugee flows from Ukraine can finally address the huge problem faced by the states that are borders of admission to the EU of refugees.
"It's just that sometimes the living experience opens up a little bit the way of thinking and creates the possibility to discuss issues that Europeans usually avoid to discuss. For example, the issue of practical European solidarity towards the states that receive refugee and migration flows, such as Cyprus, so that they all assume their own responsibilities, their share," he added.
He pointed out that we need to make well-founded demands from the EU. "Because we need a holistic approach to the issue which we recognise is difficult to address. As I have said it is complex and complicated, we do not simplify things. Where the fire falls is where the fire crackles. We have this problem to an increased degree so we need to demand from the Europeans so that the necessary decisions can be taken to address the issue."
Asked about the hosting of minors, he said that the issue must be addressed and that specific explanations have been given.
In response to a reporter's remark, Stefanou said that "we have an additional problem because there is the occupied territories that the Republic of Cyprus cannot effectively control the line of demarcation used for the passage of informal migrants. It is an issue that needs to be addressed within the framework of international law and in consultation with both the EU and the UN, which is responsible for monitoring the Line of Control."
He added that we must be careful with regard to the political implications of any of our actions on the Line of Control. "We have also had some comments from the UN Secretary General in the reports he has prepared and in specific resolutions on the basis of those reports. We also have our views with regard to the barbed wire, which has been erected in some places, but we have not discussed this issue today. We have our own views, obviously the approaches are different from some approaches of the government," he added.
He pointed out that it is a fact that measures must be taken but "in such a way that neither international law is violated nor the wrong messages are sent to the international community because here we have a line of confrontation, we do not want to give the message that we have a closed border and this should give us cause for concern."
Mr. Stefanou said that there is an international framework formed by international conventions that have to do with refugee and migration management policies as well as international law and European policies.
"Cyprus must be consistent as international and European law stipulate because we are the first to denounce all those who violate international law and we should be the first to apply international law and always look at the humanitarian issues, which exist in issues that have to do with refugees and migrants."
"Cyprus must be consistent as international and European law stipulate because we are the first to denounce all those who violate international law and we should be the first to apply international law and always look at the humanitarian issues, which exist in issues that have to do with refugees and migrants. CNA
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