Massive Influx Forces Cyprus To Halt Processing Of Syrian Asylum Seekers

NICOSIA: Cyprus has suspended the processing of Syrian asylum seekers following a sharp increase in irregular arrivals this month, authorities said on Sunday.

More than 1,000 people have arrived in Cyprus on boats from Lebanon since the start of April amid deepening tensions in the Middle East. It has triggered calls from Nicosia to its European Union partners to do more to assist Lebanon, as well as reconsider the status of war-torn Syria, which is at present considered unsafe to repatriate asylum seekers.

“This is an emergency measure, it’s a difficult decision to protect the interests of Cyprus,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters.

Christodoulides and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later discussed the possibility of offering a reinforced package of economic aid to Lebanon, a Cypriot government spokesperson said in a statement. To this end it was agreed they would jointly visit Lebanon after a preparatory visit by Commission officials, the statement added.

Last week, European lawmakers approved a revamped migration system that would reduce irregular arrivals.

Lebanon, in the throes of a deep financial crisis, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati too has sough funds from the European Union to prevent migrants from reaching Cyprus. Cyprus, the EU’s easternmost state and the closest to the Middle East, lies about 160 km west of the shores of Lebanon or Syria.

The request comes in light of a 27-fold increase in migrant arrivals to Cyprus so far this year over the same period last year.

Statistics released by the Cyprus Interior Ministry show that 2,140 people, most of them Syrians, arrived by boat from Lebanon between January. 1 and April 4 of this year. Only 78 people arrived by boat to the island nation for the same period last year.

In practice, suspending processing of applications means asylum seekers will be confined to two reception camps offering food and shelter and regulated exits, with no other benefit. Those who choose to leave those facilities will automatically forfeit any kind of benefit, and will not be allowed to work, government sources said.
(REUTERS)