Why is Cyprus doing this?
It seems like someone is either being blackmailed or threatened, no?
Are there any other options?
The European Commission on Thursday stressed that Cyprus has an obligation to provide access to asylum proceedings, as 70 migrants remain stranded in the buffer zone, unable to apply for asylum for weeks.
Deputy Minister for Migration Nicholas Ioannides visited the buffer zone in Avlona in the morning, where he met with local residents and farmers who expressed frustration with the 14km fence that stretches across parts of the Green Line, calling it “useless.”
The government is now facing a lawsuit from 46 migrants part of the larger group denied access to asylum proceedings.
Who’s paying for their lawyers?
They have been living in UN tents in the buffer zone for weeks, amid endless accusations of pushbacks allegedly carried out by police officers.
Allegations include incidents where migrants intercepted within the Republic, sometimes while attempting to apply for asylum at the Pournara reception center, were placed in unmarked vehicles and driven to the buffer zone, where they were reportedly “dumped,” according to the UN.
Commenting on the lawsuit, Ioannides said that the legal service is handling the matter alongside the relevant ministries.
“The executive authority cannot interfere in court proceedings, so a solution will be found in court,” he said
The government has cited the Green Line regulation as the reason for not allowing the migrants to apply for asylum, emphasising that it does not want the buffer zone to become a new route for migrants seeking to enter the Republic – although this has been the case for years. All the migrants currently stranded reached the buffer zone through the north. Ioannides criticised the fact that they travelled via Turkey, which he described as a safe country.
Turkey is safe.
I’ve been there. It’s not a problem.
Cyprus has been a member of the EU for a while now, and it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for them