Filenews 21 May 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
New tricks to overcome the obstacles - of course others - set up by the Republic, find the circuits in the occupied territories. According to data from the authorities, irregular migrants leave by boat from Turkey and reach the coast near Morphou and from there they pass to the free areas.
The new route is known to the Ministry of Interior, which readjusts its plans to stem these migratory flows, while the passage of the bill for the recruitment of 300 contracted special police officers, with special duties to guard the Green Line, is being promoted in Parliament.
The bill was discussed yesterday before the Committee of Lawyers, with the General Director of the Ministry of Interior, Costas Constantinou, stating that there are currently 2,700 migrants in the First Reception Centre of Pournaras, with the pressures that our country is under being suffocating, which is why the recruitment of 300 police officers is urgent. He said that, apart from the repressive sector, the existence of police officers will also work preventively, since the networks that receive migrants from the free areas will see the police guards and will be removed.
The Chief of Police defended the procedures followed for the recruitment of contract staff, saying that the relevant plan is ready. The effort to recruit 300 contracted special police officers will be swift, he said, to create subsectors that will cover the Green Line. We had talked about a project to help alleviate the problem of reducing migratory flows through the occupied territories, in combination with the other measures. The rationale, he said, is that with the placement of these police officers and the cameras and the barbed wire, the migration problem will be reduced. Stelios Papatheodorou stressed that "we are ready with a five-week training plan and obtaining a certificate for possession of a gun and a driver's license. In a month and a half the 300 will be ready. They will not be alone but under the supervision of graders and other members of the Police."
The chairman of the Committee of Lawyers Nikos Tornaritis expressed the hope that all parties will vote for the bill. He added that the cost of salaries and equipment for those hired, which will amount to €10 million in the first year, will be covered by the EU.
The police unions reiterated their opposition to the recruitment of contracted police officers and suggested that the vacancies currently held by the Police should be used. If that happens, the Chief of Police said it would take three years to be ready.
