Filenews 22 August 2021 - by Frixos Dalitis
The new state of affairs in Afghanistan and the crisis in Lebanon are causing great concern in Nicosia about new mass arrivals of informal migrants to Cyprus.
The issue of Afghanistan was also raised at the recent EU Justice and Home Affairs Council by Interior Minister Nikos Nouris, who, as he points out in "F", asked for Brussels' support for all frontline member states, in order to prevent Afghans from advancing through Turkey to the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus. The Minister of Interior also talks about the need for Frontex to monitor the sea area of the Eastern Mediterranean and especially the southern coasts of Turkey in order to limit the flows to the host countries and especially to Cyprus, which is more vulnerable due to the Turkish occupation of part of the Cypriot territory.
Nikos Nouris also proceeds to an evaluation of the measures already taken to address the issue of migration and submits the determination of himself and the Government to implement all the measures that will be deemed necessary to be taken to address the situation.
The Minister of Interior also opens his cards on the second major issue of his ministry, which concerns the issue of local government reform. The Government has a clear position as expressed through the reform bills and with a specific recommendation it will go to the first session of the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior in September to testify before the parties whether or not elections will be held in the Local Government next December.
- The migration front is a constant front. How do the data currently stand with the flows of atypical migrants and what are the measures that you as the Ministry of Interior are promoting?
- In recent times, the Ministry of Interior has succeeded in streamlining a completely new immigration policy, both at a legislative and procedural level, as well as on issues of substantial reinforcement and creation of infrastructure. The results and performance testify that we are on the right track. We have literally nullified the phenomena of virtual marriages and students, we have limited sea arrivals, and we have made it difficult for traffickers to act on the green line that is our Achilles heel.
The pressures that our country is under continue to be suffocating. Despite the significant and 50% reduction in asylum applications in 2020, despite the fact that in the first half of 2021 we are by far the member country with the most rejections of asylum applications that exceeded 6,000, we are not even seeing a reduction. This is because of the huge number of asylum seekers that accumulated in our country in previous years. Indeed the front is enduring and that is how we deal with it.
Turkey is constantly and continuously promoting irregular migrants mainly towards the green line. At the same time, as a European state, we have a contractual obligation on the basis of Regulation 866/2004 to prevent irregular immigrants from entering illegally controlled European territory by the Republic. That's why we proceeded to the installation of a fence and not for what others tried to attribute to us. And we will continue the effort with additional surveillance and use of technology because we simply have no other choice. Besides, this is exactly what the member-states have suggested be implemented, especially with European expenditure at the borders of Lithuania, which has been under similar migratory pressures from the Lukashenko regime for the last four months.
I have explained to my European counterparts that what is happening today in Lithuania, Cyprus has been going through for the last four years. Therefore, it is at least ostrich-like to be criticised for our own attempts at deterrence. At the same time, we have called on the European Union in the most formal way to assist us through Frontex in limiting irregular arrivals from the southern Turkish coast. In addition, we have raised at the level of the Council of Ministers the issue of The Syrians, who are the nationality that records the largest arrivals in Cyprus. We demand that they be returned to other European states within the framework of the solidarity that Europe must show towards the frontline Member States. Recognizing the difficulties in the ongoing effort to achieve a new common European immigration and asylum policy, which we strongly support, we are not complacent. We put all our weight on the returns in order to discharge the system and the country. We are creating a pre-removal Center in which they will be accommodated until their departure, while we have reached an agreement with a member country to conduct joint return flights to three specific countries. This enduring front, as you called it, requires constant action and responses, and that is exactly how we manage it.
- Now the crisis in Afghanistan has also arisen. How concerned are you about a new wave of informal migrants to Cyprus?
- Unfortunately, two additional existing risks are added to the already burdened picture. The first is the possibility of increased flows from neighbouring Lebanon due to the instability that prevails, and the second is the new order of things caused in Afghanistan, which raises concerns about mass movements of Afghans with the possibility that they may be pushed to European countries. I raised my concern about the Afghan issue at the EU's Extraordinary Home Affairs Council last Wednesday, asking for the substantial support of frontline member states to prevent Afghans from advancing through Turkey to our occupied territories.
- It has been a few months since the installation of the fence in the area of Astromeritis. Did this measure, which has provoked and is still causing reactions, have any practical effect?
- The results of the installation of the fence are evident. The mere fact that the traffickers are in search of other passages proves the truth of the matter. We will play the game of cat and mouse, however, because only in this way will we safeguard our sovereign rights and our obligation to the European Union. But no fence alone can help unless it is monitored on a 24-hour basis either in person or by the use of technology. I will repeat that the fence can be removed overnight if the reasons that led us to install it are removed. We have given all reasonable facilities to our professional farmers but also to the residents of the buffer zone so that they do not face problems in their movement while we constantly discuss with them and resolve any isolated problems that may arise.
- Can we also see the implementation of similar measures in other areas? Information indicates that you are studying various measures on the subject...
- Any measures that need to be taken to reduce the problem will be taken, always with a view to minimizing the difficulties of our farmers and our people who live or are employed in the buffer zone, because we simply have no intention of alienating even an inch of part of the land that belongs to us.
