IT is heartening to hear of the generous offers to host groups of Syrian refugees from local authorities in Argyll and Bute and Stirling and elsewhere (“Bute and Stirling prepare to welcome refugee families”, The Herald, November 3). Like many people, I welcome this but I think the process has to be considered with some care.

As a former director of West of Scotland Racial Equality Council I can say that past experiences with previous arrivals of refugees to Scotland from the Chilean community onwards have shown that racism and racial harassment have sometimes been underestimated, particularly in areas where there is little diversity. This is not to take away from the kindness and warmth that have also been on offer from local organisations and communities. However it is important to recognise that small groups of refugees from war-torn countries will find it very difficult to discuss negative and hostile behaviour with those who may never have experienced it personally.

The arrival of asylum seekers in the late 1990s in Sighthill eventually worked better after the initial community hostilities were addressed and efforts were made to develop more sensitive settlement policies, community cohesion and social interaction.

Since then the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Western interference in Libya and Syria have contributed to the growth in Islamophobia. Abuse of women wearing scarves or hijabs or Asian men with beards has been on the increase.

It is my sincere hope that the local authorities who have made the offers of local housing and services will be able to foresee the need for welcoming and aware reception of the new arrivals in schools, communities and health and social facilities.

Maggie Chetty,

36 Woodend Drive, Glasgow.

THE UK Government is refusing to let refugees arriving on our territory in Cyprus apply for asylum in the UK on the grounds that the two Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) are British Overseas Territories. They argue that these refugees must apply to the Republic of Cyprus and that EU law on the processing of refugees does not apply to the Sovereign Base Areas. I believe that the UK, in taking this stance, is in clear breach of international law.

Our bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia are not leased from Cyprus, they are UK sovereign territory and the adjacent sea areas are British territorial waters. The 14 British Overseas Territories were defined in the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. The Cyprus SBAs were specifically excluded from this Act, so they are not as the Government claims. They are UK territory within Europe. By a formal Ordinance in 2004, the SBA Administrator confirmed that EU law applied within the SBAs and the European Court had jurisdiction there.

The EU law which governs responsibility for processing asylum applications is the Dublin Regulation of 2013. The only country to request and receive an opt-out was Denmark. The UK was in favour of the regulation and made no claim for an opt-out. The UK is now bound by law to process asylum applications made on its territory, including border approaches and transitional zones, if ours is the first territory reached. By an administrative arrangement with the Republic of Cyprus, any refugee who arrives in an SBA across a land border is returned and must apply to Cyprus. This is in accordance with Article 36 of the Regulation, since anyone entering an SBA by land must have gone through Cyprus first. However, the same Article 36 prohibits the UK and Cyprus from making a similar agreement in regard of anyone coming in to an SBA area by sea as an “irregular arrival”. Under the Dublin Regulation, it is the UK and not the Republic of Cyprus who must receive these applications.

In retrospect, the UK Government made a major error in 2013 by failing to request a partial opt-out to cover our territory on Cyprus. But they can hardly now expect the Republic of Cyprus to pick up the tab for our mistake. I believe that Belgium was recently fined 30,000 euros for breaching the Dublin Regulation in a single case. There are, reportedly, more than 100 claimants who have arrived in our SBAs. Do the maths; the UK could be fined millions. This unfortunate situation can be fixed to prevent a flood of migrants arriving on our territory, but first the UK Government has to drop its bullish attitude and recognise that a legal mistake was made.

Russell Vallance,

4 West Douglas Drive, Helensburgh.