Syrian refugees in standoff - demanding entry to UK

[Bev]

Calais Ferry: Dozens Of Syrians In Stand-Off
More than 60 Syrians are demanding entry to the UK and two are threatening to jump off a ferry terminal building.

More than 60 Syrians who want to enter the UK are in a stand-off with French police at the Calais ferry terminal.

The group have occupied a footbridge at the terminal in northern France since Wednesday, and today police moved in to clear them.

Two of the Syrians have climbed on to the ferry terminal roof and are threatening to jump off if their demands are not met. Twenty of the group are on hunger strike, according to reports.

France has offered the migrants the right to seek asylum. But the group said they wanted to start a new life in Britain and were treated "worse than animals" in France.

Around 50 riot police moved in early this morning to try and clear the refugees from the footbridge.

But they backed off when two of them climbed on top of a nearby building and threatened to jump off if officers approached.

Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, then went to the site and offered the Syrians, who are currently illegal immigrants, the right to asylum.

"Today, the Syrians present here are caught in a stalemate. What we can do is to offer them a status on French territory ... in other words to make a request for asylum," he told reporters.

He said each demand for asylum had "95% chances of success", adding that he was in contact with the British Embassy in Paris.

"We cannot take any decision on their access to Britain," Mr Robin said. "I am not persuading them to settle in France but trying to legalise their status."

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has pledged to fast-track the asylum applications of Syrians fleeing the civil war.

But the refugees, most of whom arrived in Calais a month ago, have been critical of their treatment.

"We thought that France was the country where human rights are respected," said Tarik, a 19-year-old engineering student from the southern Syrian city of Deraa.

"But we live outside like dogs, hunted down by the police, we see we are not welcome, how can we seek asylum here?"

He said he was convinced he would find "more humanity" in Britain and eventually bring over his mother and younger brothers currently living in Egypt.

Ali, 38, said that although President Francois Hollande had taken a strong stand against President Bashar al Assad's regime for allegedly using chemical weapons, the French were not welcoming at all.

"Why does [Mr Hollande] say one thing and the police another?" he said, adding that he had spent £8,700 (€9,500) to come to a country where the "President said 'we must help Syrians'".

"Here even animals are better treated than us," he said.
Syrians in stand-off with French authorities in Calais Some of the Syrians are on hunger strike

The group has written a letter to British Home Secretary Theresa May demanding to speak to an official from her department.

"We have the right to claim asylum in England, but how do we get there? There is not a legal way to cross," they wrote.

"David Cameron has pledged to ‘lead the world’ on aid for Syrian refugees. The situation of the Syrians protesting in the port of Calais offers a perfect opportunity to support Syrian refugees at our borders, turning this rhetoric into action.

"Failure to do so will open the Government to accusations of hypocrisy."

A UK Border Force spokesperson told Sky News: "The responsibility for legal and illegal migration in France is the responsibility of the French authorities.

"We work very closely on matters of border security with the French authorities to maintain the integrity of the controls."

The UN refugee agency has said 17 countries, including France, have agreed to receive quotas of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.

France has had only 850 registered demands for asylum from Syrians since the start of this year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said late last month.

A P&O spokesman told Sky News: "The protest is not disrupting any services out of Calais."

http://news.sky.com/story/1150179/ca...s-in-stand-off

Comments from those who danced in glee at the thought of attacking Syria?