Nalewka, Poland — Hundreds of migrants camped near the Belarus-Polish border on Tuesday. There, razor fences and Polish border guards blocked entry into the European Union.
The EU has pledged more sanctions against Belarus, accusing President Alexander Lukashenko of using “gang-style” tactics at border standoffs over the months that killed at least seven migrants.
Poland and other EU member states have encouraged Belarus to illegally invade the EU across national borders in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Minsk for human rights violations by migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. I’m blaming you.
“The Belarusian government is attacking the Polish border, the EU, in an unparalleled way,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a press conference in Warsaw.
“Currently there is an immigrant camp blocked from the Belarusian side. There are about 1,000 people, most of whom are young men. They have fulfilled their obligations as members of the European Union and rebelled. It’s an aggressive action that must be done. “
A Reuters reporter saw a Polish border guard detaining a group of Iraqi Kurdish migrants in a forest on the Polish side of the border on Tuesday afternoon. The medics placed a red cross blanket around some of the immigrants. One elderly woman couldn’t walk.
The NGO Grupa Granica (Border Group) said the group had 16 migrants, 9 of whom were children. It said the group had been pushed around four times between the Polish and Belarusian border guards since they arrived at the border on October 24th.
“Please asylum in Poland,” I read a message scribbled in English on a piece of paper held by a middle-aged man.
Prime Minister Mateus Morawiekchi, who had previously visited Polish troops stationed at the border, said migrants were being used by Belarus as part of “a new type of war in which people are used as human shields.”
Russia-backed Lukashenko administration has denied engineering in the immigration crisis and blamed Europe and the United States for the plight of those stuck at the border.
It protested on Tuesday summoning Polish defense attachés, stating that it was an unfounded allegation of Belarusian military involvement in the crisis.
“Blackmail”
Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked over the phone about the situation and expressed concern about the buildup of Polish troops at the border, Belarusian state news agency Bertha reported Tuesday.
“Waring these unfortunate people on the Polish-Belarus border and advancing the line of tanks. It’s clear whether this is a training exercise or blackmail,” Lukashenko said in a television comment.
“We will calmly confront this.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed that the EU provide Belarus with financial support to stop the flow of immigrants and referred to previous such transactions with Turkey.
The European Commission said about 2,000 migrants had arrived at the border. I could see milling around tents and campfires set up just beyond the Polish barbed wire barrier.
“This is part of the Lukashenko administration’s inhumane and truly gang-style approach, he is lying to people. He is abusing people … and easy entry into the EU. I’ll take them to Belarus under a false promise, “said a commission spokesman.
The EU government has partially suspended visa facilitation agreements for Belarusian officials.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR called for quitting the use of vulnerable people as political pawns.
“Dangerous event”
Polish security service spokesman Stanislav Zarin said Belarusian security guards “fired shots in the air, simulating dangerous events,” while destroying border barriers for migrants. He said he provided the tools for.
On Monday, some migrants tried to break the fence with spades and other tools.
Polish border guards recorded 309 illegal immigrants attempting to break through the border on Monday and detained 17 people, mainly Iraqi.
Lithuania also followed Poland’s footsteps by reporting a surge in migrant crossing attempts and declaring a state of emergency along the border with Belarus on Tuesday.
This move allows border guards to use “mental coercion” and “proportional physical violence” to thwart migrants.
The crisis broke out after Western nations imposed sanctions on Belarus over a violent crackdown on mass street protests triggered by Lukashenko’s allegations of victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Poland has denied accusations by humanitarian organizations for violating the international rights of asylum by pushing migrants back to Belarus instead of accepting applications for protection. Warsaw says the action is legal.
“We never know what will happen to the people we provide assistance in this forest because the Polish authorities violate the law and the Geneva Convention,” when Polish police detained nearby migrants. , Said Jakub Sypianski of Grupa Granica.
An IBRiS poll on the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita this week showed that 55% of Poles believe that illegally cross-border migrants should be repatriated.
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