The immediate revocation of the supplementary protection status and rejection of applications of persons who have travelled back to areas in Syria in the last 12 months through the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus was announced by the Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou following a meeting of the National Security Council on Sunday at the Presidential Palace.
In a statement after the meeting, Ioannou reiterated that “due to the recent mass arrival of Syrian asylum seekers by sea, and pending developments on the issue of the reassessment of the status of Syria and definition of safe areas, the Republic of Cyprus has decided to suspend examination of asylum applications in all cases of persons of Syrian origin.”
As he explained, “the decision was also taken in light of the developments in the Middle East region”.
The Interior Minister went on to say that “it has also been decided to immediately withdraw the supplementary protection status and reject applications of persons who have travelled bac
k to areas in Syria in the last 12 months via the occupied territories”.
“These persons will cease to have access to any right deriving from the temporary protection regime and actions will be taken to repatriate them either by voluntary return or through mandatory deportation when and if this becomes possible,” he said.
Ioannou added that “the situation is constantly being evaluated and decisions will be made on the basis of planning, depending on developments.”
“The situation is under control and our actions are aimed at addressing potential risks,” he concluded.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
Source: Cyprus News Agency