Filenews 29 May 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
With a code, farmers and owners of houses whose properties are located along the green line will enter and exit the buffer zone and access to them will be cut off with metal gates, in order to prevent the infiltration of migrants.
Already, as the Minister of Interior Nikos Nouris mentioned in the "F", in response to a relevant question, he asked the communes of the areas where barbed wire was placed, to prepare a list of farmers and owners of houses within the buffer zone, so that they can be given the special code so that they can open the gates. The list should be forwarded to the Interior Minister by the end of May, so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
The interested parties will have a unique code and the doors will open with its registration on their mobile phone. As the minister explained, care will be taken so that in case of interruption in the power supply, the opening of each railing with a photovoltaic system that will be installed and which will produce electricity will be activated. If the gate is not opened in this case either, the farmers will be able to call the Police of their area and a police officer will undertake to ensure by hand entry/exit to the buffer zone.
In response to another question, the interior minister said four gates will be installed in each affected community. As he said, their installation will prevent not only the passage of foreigners but also smugglers, which also touches on national security issues.
As far as the surveillance system is concerned, it is expected to be activated by the end of August and its cameras will record the movements of migrants attempting to reach the free areas. The relevant services will have an idea of their number and where they are at all times. Asked how foreigners will be treated if they attempt to cross into the areas controlled by the Republic, Mr. Nouris said that this concerns the prosecuting authorities, adding that he understands that they will act as they do in cases of demonstrations. That is, using sprays, water, etc.
As for the security provided by the barbed wire fences that were placed months ago along the green line, the interior minister said their height is about 180 centimetres. In the meantime, they are full of greenery and, as Mr Nouris said, they are more reminiscent of a wall than a barbed wire.
We asked Mr. Nouris what the authorities will do if foreigners arrive outside the barbed wire and ask to be allowed to enter in order to request the protection of the Republic of Cyprus. If the question is whether we will accept them, the answer is 'I certainly will not accept them'. As he said, the 2004 regulation provides that anyone passing through the green line must either be in possession of legal travel documents or have arrived in Cyprus from a legal port or airport. For those who attempt to cross the green line, neither one applies. In addition, Article 3 of the regulation provides that we must not allow the illegal admission of immigrants to the territory of the European Union.
Asked what is the solution with foreigners given that in addition to those who will attempt to arrive in the free areas, there are already enough foreigners, as he suggests, Mr. Nouris said: "The solution is for all the illegals to leave Cyprus, this is the solution".
Remarking that there are also minors, he said that when adults leave and the number of foreigners is reduced, the Republic of Cyprus will be able to manage the issue.
How many can be absorbed
Asked what number of foreigners the Republic of Cyprus could manage, the Interior Minister said:
"I don't know, but I'll answer as follows. In 2014 we had 2,500 migrant asylum seekers. That's a manageable number but today that we've surpassed 35,000, yes the number is not manageable. There are 22,000 applications to be examined and 6,000-7,000 are pending before the administrative court. Moreover, the other 11,500 have already been granted international protection status, so that we are approaching around 40,000, which translates into 4% of the population, while in Spain and Greece the percentage is limited to 0.8%.
Nouris: They call me a racist...
To an observation that many of the foreigners arriving in Cyprus consider that they are entitled to cross into the areas controlled by the Republic and apply for international protection, Mr. Nouris replied: Well, I who live in this country do not have the right to protect it? Where has this been heard before? Remarking that some people consider some of his approaches racist, he said: "They tell me you're a racist. I repeat, is it racism because I fundamentally want to protect my country? I said before, if the numbers were different, and I referred to 2014, the foreigners that existed could integrate and work without the problems we face today." Mr. Nouris added: "And in order not to be bulldozed, I mention that the Egyptians and Syrians work and assist, especially in animal husbandry, agriculture or even as craftsmen. However, foreigners coming from some African countries are not integrated and do not work. I invite you to ask farmers and/or hoteliers who employed Africans to describe their experiences to you. I don't blame Africans for not doing something they never did," he said. They did not work in their own countries either since they relied on the help of the United Nations, etc., he added.
