Cyprus-Forum.com

[joe]

I have often heard Turks say that the Greek Cypriot admission in the South is racist or racism is rampant in Greek Cypriot South or today did you see that Greek Cypriot police "man handle" that immigrant, why thats outrageous!

Guess what, it seems everyone wants to come here for a better life. If we were to believe the Ankara spin reproduced here by Halil on "watch out for Greeks bearing gifts" as you cant trust them then why this flood of asylum seekers? Hmm

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.ph ... 6&cat_id=1
Cyprus has more asylum seekers than anyone else
By Jean Christou

CYPRUS received 18 asylum requests every day in 2007 and is number one out of 51 countries in terms of applications per capita, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

While the figure of 6,789 received in Cyprus in 2007 was small in comparison to other countries in terms of absolute numbers, when the small size of the island is taken into consideration, Cyprus receives more asylum seekers than any other country.

On top of that, last year’s number was up 49 per cent on 2006, when 4,550 applications were received.

According to the UNHCR figures, between 2003 and 2007 the average number of applications in the EU was 2.6 per 1,000 population. In Cyprus, the figure was a massive 39 per 1,000 for the same period.

This amounted to 33,360 asylum applications in five years.

The closest country behind Cyprus, Sweden, had only 15 applications per 1,000, less than half that of Cyprus.

The US, which receives the most applications in absolute numbers, receives one asylum request per 1,000, and was in 26th place out of the 51 countries listed.

The UNHCR said the per capita figures allowed for a better comparison between countries and was also an indicator of the capacity of countries to host asylum seekers.

The majority of asylum seekers in Cyprus come in from the north through the Green Line, an issue which is a bone of contention between Nicosia and Brussels. Numbers began rising rapidly when the crossing points were opened in 2003 and the EU has asked Cyprus to tighten up the buffer zone on several occasions since.

But the government says it’s finding it hard to cope and wants more help from Europe.

Lazaros Savvides, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry, said yesterday the government was aware of the UNHCR figures. He said all of the Interior Ministers since 2003 had sent letters to Brussels asking for assistance. “The EU is well aware of it,” Savvides said.

He said it wasn’t that Brussels was doing nothing, because there were schemes to help member states combat illegal immigration.

“It’s just that the measures provided are not producing any real results,” Savvides said.

He said the only thing Cyprus could do, and was doing, was to beef up the asylum service in order to process applications more quickly. It currently takes around three years to reach a decision on an asylum request, which leaves the applicants in limbo.

“The government has taken the preliminary decision to boost the service,” Savvides said. “This is the only real means we have. We have launched a fast track service, but it seems we will have to get even faster.”

Savvides said that currently 97 per cent of asylum applications were rejected. Around half appeal the decision and half of those again take their cases to the Supreme Court. However, Savvides said there was a very low rate of success when applicants took their cases further than the asylum service.

According to the UNHCR, at the end of 2007, there were 11,802 asylum seekers in Cyprus whose applications were pending examination. Of these, 216 were Iraqi.

Out of the tens of thousands of asylum requests in Cyprus between 1998 and 2007, only 599 have been given refugee status, while 640 have been granted subsidiary and humanitarian protection.

The main countries of origin of asylum seekers in Cyprus in 2007 were Syria, Sri Lanka, Palestinian Occupied Territories, Iran, Pakistan, Georgia, India, Bangladesh, China and India.

Out of the total 6,789 requests received in 2007, 1,700 were Syrians, more than a thousand Palestinians, 660 Sri Lankans, 4,745 Iranians, 352 Georgians, 339 Pakistanis, 294 Indians, 264 Bangladeshis, 214 Chinese and just over 200 Iraqis.

By far the most requests were received in December last year, when 839 applications were filed, a 48 per cent hike on the previous month. The lowest month was June, when 347 sought asylum.