Filenews 8 July 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivassilis
Trapped residents and migrants in the buffer zone will be left behind by the fence set up on the Green Line, affected residents and parliamentarians stressed yesterday.
The parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs discussed yesterday the problems arising from the installation of barbed wire for the residents of the affected areas, who will now have to use a code to open the electronic gates in order to go to their homes. 35 dwellings located within the buffer zone are affected by this arrangement. Justifying the placement of the barbed wire, the director general of the Ministry of Interior, Costas Constantinou, said that the asylum system has been brought to its knees, adding that there are about 24,000 pending applications, and another 7,300 that are in the Administrative Court of International Protection, that is, 31,000 applications in the asylum system of the Republic of Cyprus, which, as he said, has never existed before. This year, he added, in the first six months, there were 12,000 arrivals, which is the total of last year's arrivals.
The vast majority of them pass through the green line. He said that from September 2021 onwards, two new corridors of passage of irregular migrants were opened, through Istanbul from sub-Saharan countries to Tymbou and the second by sea in the Morphou area, from where they then pass to the free areas through blind spots on the ceasefire line. Mr. Constantinou added that the privacy of those who will use a code to enter the fenced area has been ensured.
The community leader of Astromeritis, Aris Konstantinou, said that in their last meeting with the Minister of Interior they heard that the migrants will stay in the buffer zone, instead of taking them to Pournara, and raised the issue of the safety of the residents. The president of the community of Avlona, Menelaos Savva, said that some residents built two-metre walls around their homes, because the minister told them that the migrants will stay in the buffer zone. The president of the community of Denia, Christakis Panayiotou, expressed his distrust of the United Nations, because, as he said, they should have been sovereign in the buffer zone, and not let the immigrants intervene. The vice-president of the Akaki Community Council, Eleni Georgopoulou, said that the most important thing is the safety of the "trapped" and wondered what will happen in case of fire. How they will escape?
Afroditi Lougrou, on behalf of the Initiative Group against barbed wire, spoke about the division of communities and the victimization of communities, residents and workers. He said that 35 houses are affected by this measure, but also many farmers, and wondered what will happen to the migrants who will be left to roam through the enclosed area.
Unhcr spokeswoman Olga Komiti said they had not yet been informed of plans to keep refugees in a neutral area within the barbed wire and that they should be examined as to whether they are in line with domestic, European and international law.
EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou, in his speech, said that Cyprus is under attack through Turkish airlines that make routes from sub-Saharan Africa to Istanbul and from there to Tymbou. Alexandra Attalidou of the Movement of Ecologists-Citizens' Cooperation, referred to a violation of the right of free movement and personal data.
