President angered by UN stance on stranded buffer zone migrants

President Nikos Christodoulides hit out at UN Special Representative in Cyprus and Unficyp head Colin Stewart on Monday over statements the latter made about 28 migrants stranded in the buffer zone.

The president’s statements came on the heels of statements from the government spokesman saying essentially Cyprus is a scapegoat and the real culprit is Turkey for allowing them to leave.

 In response to a journalist’s remark that Mr. Stewart today raised the issue of irregular migrants in the buffer zone again, Christodoulides said: “The issue of migration is not in Mr Stewart’s terms of reference. On the issue of migration we are in contact with the UN High Commissioner in Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus has given many examples of how it approaches this issue, in a purely humanitarian way. At the same time, we cannot allow the creation of a new route.”

He added that the issue was raised on his part due to statements previously made by the UN spokesman about the stranded migrants.

“Yes, it was discussed with Mr Stewart, because for my part I raised the issue of the public statements made by the UN spokesman some time ago, saying that such statements are not helpful. If we want to resolve an issue, we do not come out with such statements. And I felt the need – it was my first meeting with Mr Stewart since those statements – to raise the issue,” he said.

According to the president the substance of the issue was not discussed as it not in Stewart’s mandate.

Responding to similar remarks that Cyprus should take in the 28 buffer zone migrants, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said: “We cannot and will not allow a new passage through the buffer zone.”

He added that “the intention of the Republic of Cyprus has been repeatedly expressed by the President of the Republic and in the most official way, through the written statements we have issued”.

Letymbiotis then pointed the finger at international organisations saying that they have not referred to the real cause of the issue with the 28, which is Turkey.

“What we should note once again is that we do not see any reference to the root cause of this problem, the reason why the 28 are there. The irregular migrants themselves have testified in their statements to the media that they passed through safe countries, in particular Turkey, before finding themselves in the occupied territories and crossing into the buffer zone,” he claimed.

“But we do not see any reference to these international conventions, to international regulations that say that they should be returned to the safe country through which they have passed,” he said.

Earlier, Stewart said: “I explained to him [the president] the situation, they are in difficult circumstances, the UN is providing them with food, water and shelter but they are still in very difficult circumstances, and I told them that we fully supported the work of the UNHCR which is engaging with the government to try to find a longer-term solution.”

Replying to a question if there are any plans to send them back to Turkey where they came from, he answered “No”.

It has now been over a month that a group dubbed the ‘buffer zone migrants’ have been stranded within the no man’s land known as the Green Line.

They have become part of the government’s warning to any other potential asylum seeker considering crossing into the Republic through the buffer zone. The message: don’t do it. We won’t let you.