Illegal immigrants may be housed in disused army camps

DISUSED Army camps may be used to house illegal immigrants, the Interior Minister said yesterday.

Neoclis Sylikiotis was responding to questions on what will happen to illegal immigrants whose applications for political asylum are rejected.

“It is well known that we have a problem on the island with our detention centres,” he said, adding that the Justice Ministry is going ahead and asking for tenders for the construction of permanent installations which will be ready in the next two to three years.

“Until then, discussions have taken place on temporary solutions, one of which is to utilise, after improvement work, abandoned army camps. This will help us speed up the deportation procedure,” Sylikiotis added.

“We’re tackling immigration issues in a comprehensive manner, something which is the intention of the EU.”

The Minister also stated that the main reason for illegal immigration in Cyprus is the occupied areas. “This is very important because for the first time, Turkey’s responsibilities on the issue in Cyprus have been openly raised.

“Because asylum seekers spend two to three years waiting for a decision on their applications, this acts as a motivation for illegal immigrants to want to come here.”

He added that the Asylum Services have been provided with extra staff, which is hoped will cut down waiting time on decisions to two to three months.

Between July 11 and 13, police arrested 45 illegal immigrants, most of whom are from Iran and Syria.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.