DIKO MP Zaharias Koulias yesterday accused the interior minister of “adopting” Iraqi troublemakers and bringing them to Cyprus, costing taxpayers millions of euros.
Koulias was apparently referring to Iraqi Palestinian refugees and a recent attack, involving some of them, against the Larnaca welfare office for delaying their benefit cheques.
The incident resulted in one policeman being injured.
During a heated debate on state radio with AKEL MP Yiannos Lamaris, Koulias suggested it was Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis’ fault the Palestinians were on the island.
Koulias wondered why Cypriots should pay the price for the troubles in the region just because “Mr Sylikiotis decided to adopt all these Iraqis who created problems in their country, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.”
Koulias has submitted a law proposal to replace cash with material assistance for refugees, people under subsidiary protection and asylum seekers.
With his proposal, Koulias said, “all these gentlemen who come here, take this money, go on holiday and come back to collect their cheque, will not put a cent in their pocket.
“In this way no one will take money to buy cars, laptops, sunglasses and live on the back of the Cypriot people,” Koulias said.
Lamaris reiterated that recognised refugees and people under subsidiary protection had the same rights and obligations as Cypriot nationals.
“Asylum seekers can receive assistance in kind or in cash,” Lamaris said. “But if you cannot provide material assistance you are obliged to give cash. From the moment you cannot provide shelter to all these people, if you do not give cash you violate both refugee law and EU directives.”
Koulias rejected that EU directives treat Cypriot nationals and “these people they hauled here” as equals.
Lamaris said: “Mr Koulias we should be ashamed for our behaviour.”
“It is a shame but a very expensive one,” the DIKO deputy retorted. “We are paying millions for the mechanism you set up.”
Lamaris recognised there is a migration problem, which is being tackled.
On Monday, Koulias claimed that during the Tassos Papadopoulos administration, Cyprus did not pay migrants the money it currently pays.
Asked to confirm this, Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said no one knew how much money was paid in the past.
“No one knows what we paid in 2006, 2007 and up to May 2008, because these people had not been divided into categories,” the minister said.
When the bill regarding public assistance given to migrants and Cypriots was presented to the cabinet in 2006, it was accompanied by a labour ministry report saying it was not possible to estimate the expense involved because the number of eligible people was unknown, the minister said.
The bill was unanimously passed by parliament shortly afterwards.
Charalambous said the government’s policy was to gradually create places to house asylum seekers to save money it now pays for rent.
