It would be interesting to hear from the Turkish Cypriot parties, who consider the placement of barbed wire in areas of the Green Line wrong, what they did to prevent the migration flows from Turkey, said the Minister of Interior Nikos Nouris, adding that if there was control by T / C this obstacle would not be placed.
In statements in Deryneia and asked to comment on the reactions to the installation of barbed wire in areas of the Green Line to reduce migration flows, the Minister said that "the huge problem facing our country is well known. "Unfortunately, we have an undesirable first place in the European area, we are for the 4th consecutive year, the country with the largest proportion of population, asylum seekers in the Republic".
Today he continued "the number of asylum seekers in the Republic is close to 4% and on the contrary, the other front-line countries of the European Union, such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Malta, have percentages that are below 1% . "It is immediately apparent the enormous weight that the Republic of Cyprus is called upon to bear," he said.
He added that last year, the Ministry of Interior, in addition to the differences in the legislation, has taken some specific actions which have been shown to work.
He explained that "we have reduced the number of asylum seekers, whether through fictitious marriages, or as college students, or even by restricting arrivals by sea, by concluding a bilateral agreement with Lebanon. "Since last September, when this agreement was implemented, sea arrivals to Cyprus from Lebanon have been almost zero."
The Minister also stated that "the big problem remains the dividing line. When about 75% of migratory flows reach the demarcation line, we must first and foremost abide by what the Green Line regulation itself stipulates, namely the effective management and prevention of any illegal entry into democratically controlled areas. , persons, third-country nationals, who either do not have a legal residence permit or do not have legal travel documents ".
For this reason, he continued, "we have proceeded with this decision, very carefully, always keeping in mind that what is extremely important with this action of ours, is that there should be no problem in the way in which the farmers carry out their work. and those living in remote areas. We are extremely careful and the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the ambassadors of various countries, have been notified about this action. "
Nikos Nouris also noted that "the Republic of Cyprus has absolutely no intention of provoking any escalation, much less what is sounded - in my estimation, the opinion of the parties is respected - the fact that the installation of a barbed wire defines borders. The borders are defined by legislation "he said and added that" this action has nothing to do, especially us, when the President of the Republic has clearly stated his desire for a speedy discussion and the start of consultations to resolve our national problem " .
Referring to those who, especially in the occupied territories, are taking a stand and talking about an action, which they consider to create a problem in the solution of the Cyprus problem, the Minister of Interior urged them and it would be as he said "very interesting to hear, especially from some Turkish Cypriot parties. "They are doing to prevent the occupying Turkey that systematically channels illegal immigrants to the occupied part of Cyprus and from there sends them to the free areas through the dividing line".
It would be, he continued, "really interesting to hear from the Turkish Cypriot parties, who have stated that they consider this action to be wrong. "We would have no intention of placing this obstacle if there was control on the part of the Turkish Cypriots," he said, noting that "obviously it does not exist."
Source: KYPE