By Lamin Njie
EU ambassador to The Gambia Attila LAJOS has said no country in the world wishes to keep criminals on its territory, as he revealed many migrants in EU countries are involved in semi-illegal or illegal activities.
Mr LAJOS in an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network was however quick to drop the disclaimer he doesn’t in any way mean Gambians are criminals.
The EU chief diplomat said: “Many of the migrants are involved in semi-illegal or illegal activities, and that’s also something we want to avoid. Our aim is to make sure that migration is channeled in a legally okay manner; therefore, a kind input of a large number immigrants will not pose a strain on the national social welfare system of the given country. And at the end of the day, it is in the interest of both sides, if a country needs labour force, here comes possible legal migration but as long as it is kept in a manageable manner.
“That’s what we are agitating for and it’s obviously something different react in a different way. I do believe we also have to agree… What is also a common stance among the UN member states that it’s every country’s responsibility to receive back its citizens if they are not legally settled in a foreign country and I think this is where we will have to find a balance.
“If you look at the numbers, no surprise that less than 10 percent of these voluntary returnees, 5000 has been brought back. and this is also because the European Union didn’t intend to break the very fragile social balance in The Gambia. Does The Gambia have jobs for the millions of Gambians returning home? No.And that is one of the reasons why there were no mass deportation.
“Some media reported about it. It’s factually not true. The number of 100s, quite a number of them were actually coming out of prison. Of course no country in the world wishes to keep criminals on its territory. Don’t get me wrong. Please with all due respect, am not saying Gambians are criminals. What I am saying is that those who were returned, a significant number of them actually broke the law therefore they were repatriated, deported.
“But once again this is an issue which we need continuous dialogue even if the two sides may have different views and concerns. Let me also underline when we negogiated this migration management including return operations – a few months later, I’m talking about last year, the Gambian government announced a moratorium which the European Union accepted and respected.”
