Minister of the Interior Neoclis Sylikiotis has said that the works undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus to rebuild the village of Artemida, which went up in flames during the summer 2007 fires in Greece, are proceeding and will be completed according to plan.
Speaking at Larnaca Airport on his return from Greece, where he inaugurated a centre for senior citizens, Sylikiotis said he also visited Artemida and met with the local authorities.
He noted that all the works are proceeding according to plan and that they would be completed by May 2009, adding that by next year the new Artemida would be ready, with the solidarity of Cyprus.
''This is the least obligation of the Cypriot state and people towards the Greeks for all the support we are receiving all these years and especially the great support Cyprus received during the Turkish invasion and occupation,'' he pointed out.
Sylikiotis also referred to the issue of illegal immigrants, noting that ''in Syria and Jordan there are 1.5 to 2 million refugees from Iraq, Palestinians from Iraq, and all these people are seeking and finding ways to reach the EU,'' adding that Malta, Greece and other countries were facing similar problems to those of Cyprus.
He said this was the reason ''we request more support regarding European funds'' and that an EU mission is expected to visit Syria and Jordan in the near future.
Sylikiotis pointed out that Cyprus is ready to participate on a political and technocratic level in this mission, adding that EU countries are obliged to give these immigrants the political refugee status and examine their cases.
''We want more pressure to be exerted on Turkey, since we know that the “black hole” in illegal immigration is the area under Turkish occupation. We also know that the European Commission is criticising us for this “black hole” and on the other hand we are not allowed to spend a single euro from the frontier surveillance fund because the Green Line in Cyprus is not considered to be an external border,'' he said.
Referring to the issue of European identity cards and passports, Sylikiotis said ''we are still at the stage of tenders'' and the process will be completed over the next few weeks.
