Adán Martín appeared before the media this Friday after meeting with several councilors of his government to analyze the situation of irregular immigration to the Canary Islands, after the arrival of canoes has been incessant in the Archipelago in recent days.
The Canarian president, who recalled that the powers in immigration matters belong to the Spanish State, demanded that the central government and the European Union combine "firmness" in dealing with the countries from where illegal immigrants depart and prevent their departure, with "solidarity and humanity" when they arrive to the Islands. To this end, he offered the support and help of the Government of the Canary Islands, "as far as possible", through political, social, cooperation and even diplomatic initiatives.
Martín made this claim on the same day that a European device, the Frontex, begins, which starts with fewer resources than expected and a lower capacity for action given the impossibility that European ships will have to operate in Senegalese waters and, therefore, force the canoes with immigrants, even in Senegalese waters, to be forced to return to land.
Regarding Frontex, Martín made it clear that the resources available "are insufficient", given that the problem "is increasing", to the point that the arrival of illegal immigrants in canoes "is the biggest long-term problem facing Spain and the European Union".
The Canarian president insisted on several occasions that all powers in relation to immigration are in the hands of the central government, except for the guardianship of minors, so he asked for "an effort" from Madrid and the European Union, which "must be mobilized", given the fact that days and months are approaching in which the arrival of canoes seems to increase as the state of the sea improves.
Therefore, the president maintained, as he recently expressed to President Zapatero and King Juan Carlos, that practical measures should already be achieved (mainly the agreement to patrol Senegal, in the first place) in order to stop the flow of canoes that, with the calm sea that is expected for October, could reach the Canary Islands.
Regarding the response of citizens to the phenomenon, Martín expressed his pride in the "solidarity" that the Canarians have shown in the face of the arrival of canoes, and in being the president of a people that has shown "enormous solidity and tranquility" in its response to circumstances "as harsh" as those that are happening.
The president insisted on the humanitarian aspect of the problem, and considered that it is necessary to "rationalize the problem and give it common sense in the face of the possibility that this will become an irrational process if we continue to advance as we are now".
He also asked that the referrals of the 'undocumented immigrants' to the peninsula continue and that the State provide military facilities in La Gomera and El Hierro given the fact that these islands do not have facilities to facilitate a first reception to the newcomers, even if they are transferred the next day to Tenerife.
For Martín, in the face of the phenomenon of immigration, the time has come to be "proactive and not reactive", so he asked that all measures, political, social, economic and diplomatic, be intensified so that Spain and the EU, in their relationship with West Africa, can turn the problem of irregular immigration into "regular immigration", which will mean ending deaths at sea.
Precisely today the discovery of a new boat on the high seas has been known in which at least 16 of its occupants died. Martín regretted the deaths, and said that although these have been known, there are many more cases that are not known, to the point that there is talk of more than 2,000 deaths at sea this year alone.
ACN Press
