ALMOST 60,000 foreign nationals arrived in Cyprus for voluntary repatriation during last year’s crisis in Lebanon.
More than 25,000 were nationals of EU member states, 24,000 were North American and Australian nationals, 8,000 Lebanese (from the total of about 60,000, a sizeable percentage were dual nationals of Lebanon) and 1,700 Indians.
“In total, nationals of 114 countries were received and offered assistance in Cyprus,” said the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Alexandros Zenon.
He further underlined that Cyprus approached the situation from a purely humanitarian point of view, noting that despite the fact that the financial burden of the operation was anything but negligible (the net cost can be estimated to be around 3.5 million euros), Cyprus never asked for any compensation or reward.
“After all, humanitarian aid ought to be offered generously and unconditionally and it should be seen as such. This is something that all Cypriots know too well. Without their help and volunteerism, the efficient and effective management of the Lebanon crisis would not have been made possible,” he said.
Zenon was speaking at a Lebanon Crisis seminar, organised yesterday in Nicosia by the Foreign Ministry.
Held in participation with around 50 representatives of crisis management teams from EU member states and representatives of the European Commission, the seminar aimed to further develop discussion on enhancing the EU’s emergency and crisis response capabilities, as well as co-operation and co-ordination between partners in times of crises, so that a number of relevant policies are identified, mapped out and further developed.
Zenon said Cyprus had helped in the crisis in numerous different ways, ranging from offering logistical assistance, accommodation and shelter to providing food, transportation, medical care and welfare aid.
“Having ourselves suffered the consequences of the 1974 Turkish invasion and the continuing occupation of a large chunk of our territory, the general awareness and sensitivity of the people of Cyprus was well manifested during the Lebanon crisis,” he said.
From the start of the crisis in July last year and throughout its duration, “we made our emergency services and facilities available to the international community for the repatriation of foreign nationals from Lebanon,” the Ambassador said.
Furthermore, he noted that the island has also served as the base through which international humanitarian aid was channelled to the affected Lebanese areas.
Facilities are currently being used by the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
Referring to Cyprus’ accession to the EU, he noted that, “working alongside our partners in diverse fields enables us to participate in the alignment of European standards in these fields, and create a kind of pan-European space”.
The idea of the seminar was originally conceived by Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, during a meeting in Greece, when, “we agreed that the lessons learned, particularly from the recent catastrophes of the tsunami and the Lebanon crisis, call for a better co-ordination and strengthening of our existing capabilities,” Zenon added.
“It goes without saying that the need to work together in similar situations is more than evident, because no single state or institution, and for that matter organisation, provides the full range of instruments to manage crises circumstances,” he concluded.
