The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, announced on Tuesday in the regional parliament that he would convene the Canary Islands Pact on Migration in response to what he sees as the central government’s inaction in the face of the surge in the number of small boats arriving on the islands.
Clavijo has announced that he will convene the Canary Islands Pact in the coming days to address «certain issues that are of considerable concern to us», given that the central government is «turning a deaf ear».
He recalled that, over a month ago, the Canary Islands government requested a Canary Islands-Central Government security meeting to receive explanations regarding the intelligence services‘ report, which had been warning for months of a resurgence of the ‚Atlantic Route‘.
El Hierro: Hospital faces collapse once again
This upturn has been particularly evident on El Hierro, where the situation has once again become «dramatic» and where, he has predicted, there will come a time when healthcare workers will «refuse» to treat migrants due to a lack of «sanitary, decent conditions respectful of the rights» of these people «now that migration and border protection policies have failed».
Furthermore, there is a risk that the hospital on El Hierro «could become overwhelmed again».
Atlantic route brings 432 unaccompanied minors to the Canary Islands
«That is the reality,» declared Clavijo, who explained that, as part of this surge along the Atlantic Route, 499 minors have arrived on the islands, 432 of whom travelled unaccompanied, all this whilst the European migration and asylum pact is being implemented, which «is making the referral processes very difficult».
Clavijo has emphasised that, in light of all this, the Canary Islands have been issuing warnings to the central government, and «once again» its response has been to «look the other way».
«I know you must be busy, but calling a security meeting given the situation we’re in isn’t, I think, too much to ask,» complained Clavijo, who wondered whether «we have become desensitised» and whether «we are simply taking it for granted that corpses will continue to arrive on our shores in small boats».
The Canary Islands Migration Pact was initiated by David Toledo
The President of the Canary Islands has emphasised that this situation «calls for a degree of seriousness and depth» and has therefore taken up the challenge of convening the Canarian pact on migration whose convening was proposed by CC MP David Toledo.
Toledo has lashed out at the Spanish Government’s «irresponsibility, apathy and indifference», and has wondered whether it is waiting for «the crisis to erupt» and for the Canary Islands to once again become «a punching bag» for the confrontation between the national political parties.
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