Phileleftheros sources have touted the pushback of five migrant boats to Lebanon as an operational success.
A strategy by the Port and Marine Police is cited as key to this outcome, with the presence of officers, including an interpreter, on the police force’s patrol vessel ‘Theseas’ enabling the management of incidents at sea and the provision of humanitarian support.
The same sources told Phileleftheros that the operation faced significant challenges, including the presence of a foreign navy vessel in the area.
According to Phileleftheros, a Port and Marine Police vessel is expected to carry out a similar mission once again this morning, along with another open-sea vessel of the Republic of Cyprus, weather conditions permitting.
Meanwhile, the government has maintained a deliberate silence on the operation, with Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou reiterating a focus on protecting the interests of the Republic of Cyprus.
The government’s pushbacks and decision to suspend the examination of asylum applications from Syrians have sparked intense discussions within Cyprus and beyond, with MPs expressing diverse views during a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
Speaking during a Parliament session, Volt Cyprus MP Alexandra Attalidou strongly criticised the government’s approach, accusing it of pampering the far-right. She cited UN figures saying that “from 2015 until February 2024, more than 29,000 migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean“. She condemned what she described as “impressionist moves by the President, which lack legality and moral legitimacy.” Finally, she emphasised the need for the EU to establish a mechanism for mandatory resettlement.
Aristos Damianou of AKEL emphasised the conclusions of the House Internal Affairs Committee, underscoring the urgency of effective migration management through comprehensive planning and coherent policies.
Independent MP Andreas Themistocleous characterised migration as an “unarmed invasion”, while Ecologists MP Stavros Papadouris acknowledged the government’s improved effectiveness but pointed to corruption as a persistent challenge, hindering progress in repatriation efforts.
Stopping processing Syrian asylum applications
Nicosia last weekend announced it was suspending the processing of asylum applications amid a sharp increase in the number of Syrians arriving in Cyprus from Lebanon.
The government wants its European Union partners to reconsider the status of Syria, now out of bounds for returns.
MEP Fabienne Keller, the rapporteur for the border returns procedure proposal, characterised the reconsideration of Syria’s status as difficult, due to Syria’s unstable situation, given the country’s ongoing civil war.
Cyprus Refugee Council coordinator Corina Drousiotou told in-cyprus on Monday that there is no legal basis for excluding a specific nationality from asylum applications. She explained that a similar measure was tried during the administration of Nicos Anastasiades, but failed to bring any results.
The U.N. human rights office stated earlier this year that based on evidence it has gathered, Syrian refugees who fled the ongoing Syrian civil war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return to Syria, while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence.
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