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In an assessment of the effectiveness of the measures implemented by the Government over the past year in the management of the migration issue, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou made a statement today. During the press conference, Mr Ioannou also answered questions from journalists.
Specifically, when asked to refer to migrant smuggling rings, and asked whether they are individual groups operating in Syria or whether they have partners in Cyprus, Mr Ioannou did not want to go into details, since, as he explained, these are sensitive and confidential issues. He said, however, that according to the information available, it seems that no Cypriots are involved in the free areas. The Minister said that, following his visit to Lebanon last summer, the exchange of information between the authorities of the two countries is continuing. "Let me remind you that the Police and the Aliens and Immigration Service, it is since last September that arrests have been launched, most recently last week of five people involving various networks. A major effort is being made by all relevant agencies. Now the aim that this Unit has been created is also to collect all the information centrally and the necessary emphasis has now been given to intensify the arrests, because we believe, and as a Government, that a large part of it will help a great deal in preventing flows from Lebanon and Syria. The arrest of traffickers in Cyprus is one of the branches of the networks that exist in Lebanon and Syria and that is where Commissioner Johansson's commitment is to involve Europol with its expertise, so that in cooperation between our own law enforcement authorities and those of Lebanon, under the guidance of Europol, there is better coordination precisely in terms of dealing with traffickers," he stressed.
Then, in response to a question on how many people it is estimated should be deported but remain illegally due to lack of detention infrastructure, the Interior Minister said that it is our knowledge that there are thousands who should be deported. He clarified that when we refer to deportation, it means compulsory departure. "When someone is screened and rejected, they have to be deported and that is where the problem starts that there is no infrastructure available," he explained, saying that there is the Lakes Centre with 128 available places and then the available places in police detention centres are utilised. He noted that it takes about a month from the time a person is arrested to be deported, that is, until the necessary documents are issued. With this data, he noted, "the possibility every month is to deport around 200 people. If we had the centre that is being built now, for 800 people, with proper staffing preceded by the police, the ideal would be to be able to deport an additional 800 every month. It is very important."
He also stressed that apart from its importance in terms of decompressing the system, deporting a larger number of migrants sends a message to the countries of origin and acts as a deterrent to the arrival of new migrants.Ioannou said that Cyprus has invested in voluntary returns and the relocation mechanism to other member states, which has resulted in a 66% increase in the total number of people leaving Cyprus. "For the first time in the history of migration, more people have left than have arrived, unlike other countries in Europe, where this percentage does not exceed 5%," the Interior Minister stressed.
In another question, Ioannou referred to the suffocating pressures that the Republic was under due to the huge arrivals of irregular migrants in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in the State not being able to respond satisfactorily to the issues of integration and integration.
In another question, Ioannou referred to the suffocating pressures that the Republic was under due to the huge arrivals of irregular migrants in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in the State not being able to respond satisfactorily to the issues of integration and integration. Speaking about the example of unaccompanied minors, Ioannou explained that children are placed under the guardianship of the State and there needs to be appropriate structures and properly trained staff. "So the fact that in the period from 2020 to 2022, there was a more than doubling of arrivals every year, naturally the State had a problem to respond. Now, with the reduction in arrivals, it also gives us the ability to respond better and we are responding better," the Minister stressed. He also referred to the Action Plan for integration and inclusion that has been drawn up and aims to improve integration issues.
Asked if there is concern about an increase in flows from Syria and Lebanon ahead of the summer and whether additional measures will be taken, Ioannou reiterated that, with regard to Syrian nationals, no country has deported any Syrian asylum seeker because the country is considered unsafe. "We as Cyprus, and this is what the European Asylum Organisation says, we believe that some areas are safe. So, our request for months now is that the status be reviewed so that some areas are recognised as safe, to give us the right to deport to Syria," Ioannou said. He questioned that "there are Syrians right now in Cyprus and we have seen it documented, travelling back to Syria. So how can a country be considered unsafe and someone can have a request for temporary protection in Cyprus but go back to Syria?" He clarified again that anyone who comes from Syria, according to international conventions, the Republic has to grant them temporary protection status.
In relation to the trafficking networks, the Minister explained that the masterminds of these networks are not in Cyprus, although there are branches here. Arrests are being made, but unfortunately new circuits are being created all the time, he said, stating that the amounts received by traffickers are huge and now we have to deal with criminal organisations.
In relation to returns to Lebanon, the Interior Minister said that Lebanon faces just as huge a problem as the Syrians, given that there are 2.5 million nationals from Syria and that it is difficult for the country to accept back people fleeing from there.
(MQ)
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