Those who believe that they can continue to pursue a political career based on racism, intolerance and xenophobia, only succeed in facilitating neo-fascism

Statement by AKEL MP Aristos Damianou and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee after the Committee’s meeting

7 September 2023

At today’s meeting of the Internal Affairs Committee, we discussed the handling of migratory and refugee flows. This is not the first time our Committee has done so. For two years now, systematically, the Internal Affairs Committee, as the only committee responsible for these issues, has been discussing the overall management of migratory flows in the presence of competent Ministers and bodies.

In the distant and recent past, we have identified a number of problems, weaknesses and inadequacies in the implementation of policies and we have unanimously established the need for a holistic approach and a comprehensive policy in the handling of the migration and refugee issue.

The events over the past few days, which we have referred to extensively and denounced, because they shame us as a people and as a society, are there for all to see. The question now is how we move forward to improve structures, procedures and, above all, change mentalities. If the ancient Greek saying “whoever is not a Greek is a barbarian” prevails in Cypriot society, then we will be complicit in barbarism.

As AKEL, we believe that this complex issue called migration needs multi-level actions, which require the participation of many Ministries and government departments. First and foremost, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education and the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare. That is precisely why today’s meeting went a step further. Apart from the realisation that policies have failed and obviously the present government is being under scrutiny for what has happened over the past few days, as was the previous government for what has happened over the past 10 years, the issue for us is how to improve our structures and procedures so that the Republic of Cyprus can become more effective.

Nobody wants open borders, but at the same time, as a state governed by the rule of law, the Republic of Cyprus, which is also semi-occupied, must respect international law and human rights. That is why we, too, approach the migration issue on four levels.

Firstly, there are the procedures concerning our obligations as a first host state and this is where the predecessors of the current government ruling forces are under scrutiny, because they undeniably accepted the Dublin regulation, which does not allow the dispersal of people to Central and Northern Europe. It is the need to have a fast-track procedure for examining and processing applications, and as a result of this, two other major needs arise.

The process of inclusive policies for all those of our fellow human beings who have by fate found themselves in Cyprus. For those who are legally entitled to remain in the Republic of Cyprus, horizontal social integration and inclusion policies must be pursued, which do not exist today, and of course for all the rest of our fellow human beings who are not entitled to remain in the Republic of Cyprus, there must be effective voluntary return procedures in place.

We believe that this is the grid of procedures that must be implemented and this is what we want to discuss with the relevant Ministers in the Internal Affairs Committee, with one footnote: everything that has taken place over the past few days also has moral perpetrators. Namely, those who believe that they can continue to pursue a political career based on racism, intolerance and xenophobia can only succeed facilitate neo-fascism. And Cyprus does not deserve and does not deserve such a fate. The parties of the Democratic spectrum have an obligation to defend democracy, legality and human rights.