Poland : Government pledges to do what is needed to end Belarus border problems
On Wednesday (July 10), the Polish government pledged to do what is needed to end the border crisis with Belarus. Even if that means complete closure of the border.
Poland has already closed four of its six official border crossings with its neighbor Belarus. “We are ready for any solution in this area, because we will not allow this migration crisis caused by Belarus to last indefinitely,” Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk told the news agency Reuters.
Polish government officials, including President Andrzej Duda have been raising these issues for months now. Most recently, Duda talked to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, stressing that the issue would have an impact on trade within Europe if not resolved.
Even before the current government took office, Poland has tried various methods to stop migrants from crossing its borders from Belarus. They have heavily fortified the border, with several layers of fencing and barbed wire, and sent police and military patrols to the area.
On Wednesday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) issued a press release about the situation. In it, they called for “urgent action” to help “refugees trapped in Europe’s ’death zone’.”
Further restrictions at the border
They said that access to the Polish-Belarusian border had been restricted still further recently, which was “preventing the provision of humanitarian assistance to refugees seeking international protection.”
The NRC said that the Polish government, alongside the EU and the international community, should work together to “address the escalating humanitarian crisis” in the area. “The exclusion zone with no access for humanitarian workers is a recipe for disaster. It affects the weakest and the most vulnerable refugees seeking international protection,” stated Neil Brighton, NRC’s country director in Poland.
Since 2021, when restrictions were stepped up at the border, the NRC says their local partner on the ground, ’We are Monitoring’, had recorded “nearly 20,000 requests for assistance” from migrants in the zone, 82 deaths and nearly 9,000 violent pushbacks.
The NRC has asked the EU to help the Polish government increase reception capacity for those who want to seek asylum in Poland, as well as “address the root causes of displacement through humanitarian and development assistance.”
’Death zone’
The NRC describes the forests around the border between Poland and Belarus as a “death zone,” because the area is characterized by “extreme temperatures, dense forests and swamps, making it a dangerous crossing point for refugees seeking protection.”
Amina, a Syrian refugee told NRC that she had experienced nine pushbacks while trying to cross into Poland. “They hit you with sticks to make your body grow bigger and swell up so that no one will manage to pass through,” she said.
Farid, a refugee from Afghanistan told NRC, “they asked me ‘where are you from? I said I was from Afghanistan. They hit me on my broken leg, and I shouted terribly, which made them very angry –they beat me.”
NRC works with local Polish humanitarian organizations to provide assistance and legal aid for those who are seeking asylum. One of those local partners Egala Association, joined NRC in calling for a “safe border…where the rights of those seeking international protection are respected.”
Other humanitarian associations working in Poland have accused the current government of essentially continuing the anti-migrant policies established under the PiS Peace and Justice party.
’Hybrid warfare’
In June 2024, the Polish border guards told the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) that they had stopped almost 100,000 attempts to cross the border since 2021, when they accused Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus of beginning a form of ’hybrid warfare’ by encouraging migrants to cross the border into the EU to destabilize the West.
Andrzej Juzwiak, a spokesperson from the Polish border guard told DW, “there is no doubt that the crisis at the border was caused by hybrid actions of the Belarusian side. We know that it is an artificially created and controlled migration route.”
According to Polish officials, DW reports, about 90 percent of the migrants stopped at Poland’s border hold Russian visas, which they believe indicates Russian involvement in their journey towards Europe.
Since the beginning of 2024, the Polish border guard say they see around 400 attempts a day to cross the border by migrants. Most of them, they say, want to journey on to Germany or the United Kingdom.
’No-entry buffer zone’
On June 13, Poland instigated once again a special no-entry buffer zone along about 60 kilometers of its border with Belarus. The zone is 200 meters wide and is off-limits to all non-residents. That includes humanitarian groups and journalists. In 2021, the buffer zone was much wider and stretched along the entire border with Belarus.
According to Juzwiak from the Polish border guard, the main purpose of the zone, reports DW, “is to ensure the safety of locals and security officials on duty at the border and to limit the activity of human smugglers.”
At the end of May, a young Polish soldier was stabbed to death through the bars in the border fence. Polish officials say that a migrant carried out the attack. The soldier was taken to hospital, but later died of his injuries.
Migrant rights groups however say the buffer zone prevents them from helping those in need. They say the buffer zones act as cover so that pushback tactics can be carried out away from the eyes of journalists and activists.
The IOM has called on Poland, as well as Latvia and Lithuania to make sure that the rule of law is upheld at the border and that respect for human rights and freedoms are maintained, regardless of immigration status.
In May, on a visit to the border, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was adamant his government needed to continue to fortify their border. “There is no room for negotiation. Poland’s border must be protected,” he said. “Polish troops, border guards, officers have become the targets of aggression, and you have every right, not to say an obligation, to use every means available to you […] when you are defending not only the border but also your own life.”
▻https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/58384/poland-government-pledges-to-do-what-is-needed-to-end-belarus-border-p
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