The leader of the PSOE in the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, called on the PP on Friday to tell the people of the Canary Islands before the elections «what it intends to do», should it form a government, with regard to the migrants arriving in this region on small boats and canoes, because he believes the party is concealing the fact that it wants them to remain on the islands.
«They are going to stay in the Canary Islands; none of them will leave, neither the adults nor the children,» predicted Torres, before accusing the PP’s regional chairman, Manuel Domínguez, of having «betrayed» his community by having his MPs in the Congress vote against the legislative reform that allows for the distribution of the care of minors.
The Minister for Territorial Policy made these remarks at the PSOE headquarters in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, when asked about the arrival of nearly 10,000 migrants on the islands since 1 October, with a particular impact on El Hierro.
El Hierro: Torres pays tribute to efforts during the migration crisis
Torres has acknowledged and expressed his gratitude for the efforts made over recent weeks by the emergency services and has announced that he plans to travel to the island shortly; the Government delegate, Anselmo Pestana, is due to visit the island this Monday.
The minister has said that he is well aware of the situation because he is «in constant contact» with the president of the El Hierro Island Council, Alpido Armas (PSOE), his colleagues in the Spanish Government and also with the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo (CC).
Migration policy: A humanitarian crisis calls for an institutional response
Ángel Víctor Torres has emphasised that this is, once again, a humanitarian crisis that calls for an ‚institutional‘ response.
«That is why the hypocrisy of those who say they regret the loss of human lives at sea, but then ‚label‘ those arriving in small boats and canoes, including minors, as ‚invaders‘, and advocate ‚building walls in the seas‘, is unacceptable,» he warned.
In his view, one cannot say one thing and then its opposite: «We must respond here from a humanitarian perspective, in accordance with international law. Those who are not entitled to international protection will be returned,» he emphasised.
Torres has warned that what «some» people say, namely that «all» migrants arriving in the Canary Islands or Ceuta «can be sent back overnight», «is a lie».
«It is populism, demagoguery, racism and xenophobia. What we must do with human beings is treat them as human beings, because that is what they are,» he declared.
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