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- Ελληνικά
For the first time in the history of migration in Cyprus, the balance between inflows and returns of migrants has changed, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said today in statements to journalists, referring to a 51% reduction in asylum applications in the last six months.
At the end of the meeting of the ad hoc Parliamentary Committee for the Study of the Demographic Problem, the Minister said that he had briefed the Parliamentary Committee on Demography regarding the data on migration, describing the messages in general as "encouraging."
The Minister spoke of a 51% reduction in the total number of flows over the last six months. Equally important, he added, "is that the number of returns, of people leaving Cyprus has increased by 50%."
"In particular, in the last six months, whereas last year there were about 12.
Comparing the last five months, the Interior Minister said that "while the returns last year were around 3,200, this year they have increased to 4,700."
Comparing the last five months, the Interior Minister said that "while the returns last year were around 3,200, this year they have increased to 4,700. It is important that for the first time the balance between inflows and returns has changed, the minister stressed, noting that this has happened for the first time in the history of migration in Cyprus.
After speaking of cautious optimism, he said that there is caution that something may change in the future, noting that measures and actions continue to be taken to reduce flows.
Referring to the measures, the minister said that the number of applications processed on a monthly basis is 2,000 per month, compared to around 1,000 last year. The time required for consideration along with an appeal to the administrative court has been reduced from more than nine months to three months at the moment, Ioannou said. "So these specific measures have been taken with tangible results," he added."
In addition, the minister noted that the fight against illegal immigrant networks is equally important. He informed that a committee had been set up a month ago, in which "we are working on the information". The police have already made arrests two weeks ago of a ring and "we are aware of the existence of other rings," he said. If the other circuits are identified, arrests will be made, the minister continued. "What is important for us is the involvement of all state services in dealing with the migration issue."
Explaining the importance of speeding up asylum applications, the minister said that "this means stopping benefits and the right to access the labour market." By rejecting their application, the Home Office provides a voluntary return programme, giving them an incentive to leave Cyprus, he said, but added that "many choose to stay illegally to work".
For this reason, the minister explained, in cooperation with the Labour Ministry, intensive checks have been launched for the past 10 days to identify where and where there is illegal work, with the aim of pushing even more migrants into voluntary returns."
He then referred to the deportations of migrants as "a real problem."
"Deportations are our Achilles' heel, which are forced returns," due, he explained, to the lack of detention space. "Right now the detention space that exists is for 126 people," which, he said, greatly limits the processing of return procedures.
He informed that at the moment the construction of the new centre, Pre-detention, has started, which will be completed in two years. He has also informed MPs that, "if this centre existed at this moment, then we would be talking about a much higher number of deportations."
Asked by a journalist about the Syrians and the possibilities of their deportation, given that they come from a war-torn country, the Minister clarified that Syrians, because they come from a country that is considered a dangerous, unsafe country, then they cannot be deported.
"No country in the world," he stressed, "has returned a Syrian back to Syria," explaining that it is not an issue that only concerns Cyprus."
He said that a month ago, at the Informal Council of Interior Ministers in Spain, he mentioned in a statement that it should be considered how the status of Syria should be changed after 11 years. "And we will be even more persistent on this issue," the Interior Minister said. He said the European Asylum Agency, in its annual report, recognizes two areas in Syria as safe zones. "So we think that at least some areas should be officially recognised as safe and we should be allowed to return people back," he said. "But at the moment, Syria is considered a whole country as unsafe," he said, referring also to the international conventions through which obligations arise and under which refugees cannot return back to their country of origin.
Referring, moreover, to the effort to deter migrants "so that they do not enter the dangerous journey, to enter the boats", Ioannou noted that two months ago he visited Lebanon, and since then "there has been a very good cooperation". He said that there is an exchange of information with the Lebanese authorities. "We have been informed of several cases of intercepted boats leaving Lebanon. We know the ones coming in, but many more have been stopped. The aim is also to protect these people from the dangerous journey."
In response to another question from a journalist, he informed that the majority of applications are rejected. "I want to stress, this was also a pre-election commitment of the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulides and we have implemented it, from September we are hiring 25 more examiners in the Asylum Service." He added that there are about 30,000 asylum applications that were pending before the present government took office, which he said must also be examined. With the increase in the number of examiners hired, he said, "we are already examining pending applications and with the additional 25 we will further speed up the timeframes for examining pending applications."
Asked to give more details about the migrant information campaign launched by the Interior Ministry, the minister explained that from the interviews conducted with asylum seekers, "we realised that there is a lot of misinformation as to what to expect coming to Cyprus." "So we thought it was right and it is part of the actions we want to include in the Eastern Mediterranean Action Plan to have an information campaign in these countries by Europe. In the meantime, until this offer is received from Europe, we took the initiative in three countries, such as Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and we launched an information campaign so that they know the reality" so that they have the real facts before they decide to make the trip.
(EFYs/NG/SX)
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