Deputy Minister of Immigration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides said on Tuesday that the government does not want the buffer zone turning into an “immigrant corridor.”
The new Deputy Minister added that the Republic of Cyprus will not grant entry to the migrants who are currently in the buffer zone.
In statements after visiting the Pournara First Reception Centre, Ioannides said that the problem with the migrants who are in the buffer zone is being addressed together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.
Our position is clear, we will not accept them, he said, adding that “we don’t want the Green Line to become a passage for immigrants.”
He noted that what was done in previous years has created big problems, saying that now they want to limit the problem.
Ioannides stressed that the government is taking care of the immigrants every day so that they have everything they need until the issue is resolved.
Replying to questions, he said that the ideal solution to the issue would be, since the Republic of Cyprus will not accept them, to find a way for the migrants who are in the buffer zone to be returned to Turkey, where they allegedly came from, or to relocate them to another country.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 31 migrants are stranded in the buffer zone in Nicosia after being denied entry into Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas.
It accused Cypriot authorities of pushing back people after visiting Pournara to apply for asylum. At least two of them have since gone missing, UNHCR added.
In response to rising migrant arrivals, Cyprus has suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrian nationals and called on the EU to classify Syria as a safe country of origin.
The U.N. human rights office stated earlier this year that based on evidence it has gathered, Syrian refugees who fled the ongoing Syrian civil war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return to Syria, while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence.
(With information from the Cyprus News Agency)
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