The situation on the border of Belarus with Poland and Lithuania has deteriorated sharply. On Monday morning, a large column of migrants (mostly Kurds) appeared on the highway in the Grodno region, moving towards the Polish border. Not reaching the checkpoint, potential illegal immigrants turned into the forest, where they tried to break into Poland through the fences. The situation was reacted not only in Warsaw, but also in Vilnius and even in Berlin – the migrants themselves admit that they want to get to Germany through Poland. According to experts interviewed by Kommersant, the number of migrants who have chosen Belarus as a transit point has only grown in recent months, and a new assault may be the result of the first frost, and not a political signal from Minsk.
“Tear gas was sprayed on people seeking protection”
On Monday, the migration crisis on the western border of Belarus again became a widely discussed topic. In the morning, videos shot on the M6 highway near Grodno began to appear in the Belarusian media and Telegram channels. They could see how several hundred people with backpacks on their backs were heading along the side of the road towards the Polish border (namely, the checkpoint “Bruzgi-Kuznitsa”). Some of them could see sleeping bags and tents – that is, they were clearly going to spend the night outside, although at night the temperature in this area is already dropping below zero. There were both children and women in hijabs in the crowd, but they were mostly young men of oriental appearance. “Almost all of us are Kurds,” one of the migrants told the Belarusian state agency Belta, adding that his group includes about 1,500 people. According to the young man, most of the migrants go to Germany.
In other videos, armed Belarusian border guards, who were standing next to the column of migrants, but did not try to interfere with it, also fell into the frame.
The State Border Committee of Belarus did not hide the fact that he was well aware of what was happening.
“A large group of refugees with their belongings are moving along the road to the border with Poland,” the ministry’s press service said. “The indifference and inhuman attitude of the Polish authorities prompted the refugees to take such a step of despair. According to the stories of the refugees themselves, they organized themselves into such a large group in order to exclude forcible displacement by the Polish side, as well as to draw the attention of the international community to the actions of Poland in terms of non-observance of human rights. ” At the same time, the Belarusian border guards clarified that “they do not rule out provocative actions of the Polish side aimed at justifying the use of physical force and special equipment against refugees”, of whom, according to their data, “more than two thousand”.
Judging by the footage that appeared later, the migrants turned off the road into the forest, where they came close to the barbed wire fence and began to break it using shovels and scissors for metal. On the other side, Polish border guards were already waiting for them. “Despite the absence of aggressive actions on the part of the refugees at that time, instead of trying to understand the situation, the Polish security forces used aviation to exert psychological pressure. In addition, tear gas was sprayed against people seeking protection, ”the Belarusian State Border Committee continued to describe the situation.
In the evening, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced: “The Interior Ministry services and soldiers managed to stop the first massive attempt to force the border. Now the migrants have set up camp in the area (settlement – “B”) Forges “.
The Polish authorities first announced the transfer of anti-terrorist units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country to the Belarusian border and even announced a readiness regime for reservists from border voivodeships (regions). After that, Polish President Andrzej Duda called an emergency meeting of the government, canceling his visit to Slovakia. At the same time, the number of migrants named by the Polish side is higher than the estimates of the Belarusians.
According to the press secretary of the government of Poland, Peter Müller, those wishing to enter the territory of the republic at the moment – from 3 to 4 thousand.
“Now the Polish politicians who curse Lukashenko (President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko .— “B”) and accuse Minsk of problems with Iraqi migrants, remember how with the most active participation of Warsaw, Iraq was destroyed, – wrote the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in her Telegram channel. – More than 2 thousand Polish soldiers invaded this sovereign state to establish democracy. Why not accept today at least as many “grateful Iraqis”, whose ancestors did not dream of such a life, building their own in their own country, until the shameless democratizers broke in there? “
There were other incidents involving migrants on Monday. So, at noon, illegal immigrants staged a protest, who are kept in a camp near the Lithuanian city of Rukla. They were detained back in the summer, also crossing the Belarusian border. In addition, the Polish border guards announced attempts to illegally break through another section of the border – the Ukrainian one.
“We are watching what is happening on the Polish-Belarusian border, and, of course, this means that we can also expect similar incursions and attacks, so all our departments should be prepared as much as possible. That is, the maximum forces of our officials, the armies have been redeployed at the moment, taking into account certain specifics, ”said Minister of Internal Affairs of Lithuania Agne Bilotaite, proposing to introduce a state of emergency. And the head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Gabrielus Landsbergis expressed the idea of including Belarusian airports in the sanctions list, through which migrants arrive under the guise of tourists.
They reacted to what was happening in Germany, where, apparently, the illegal immigrants were heading. “We, as before, are working on a common EU response,” said Andrea Sasse, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, noting that migrants are sent towards Poland “partly with coercion”.
“They don’t want to stay in Belarus, living in forests and underground passages”
A sharp increase in the number of migrants from the Middle East and Africa, wishing to illegally cross the border of Lithuania and Poland from Belarus, began in May. At the same time, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko argued that he did not control the flow of migrants, but simply in response to the sanctions imposed against Minsk did not interfere with their desire to enter the European Union. The situation developed throughout the summer, reaching a peak in August, when the first migrant, a native of Iraq, died as a result of clashes on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. After that, direct flights to Minsk from Iraq, which were the main source of illegal immigrants, were canceled, and the topic was practically forgotten. But, as Belarusian experts told Kommersant, it is completely unfair – the situation has not been resolved at all.
“I have not seen any detente,” said Aleksey Dzermant, a Belarusian political analyst, who often expresses the authorities’s point of view, told Kommersant. They are not sent to Minsk. And the cancellation of flights from Iraq did not affect much – people can travel with a transfer in Turkey. “
A similar thought was expressed by the Belarusian political analyst Artem Shraibman, who was forced to leave Minsk for Kiev, fearing persecution at home. “The conflict may have subsided on the Russian media agenda, but for those who followed, it has only gained momentum in recent months and weeks. New videos were constantly coming from the border, in September and October there were several deaths, ”the source said to Kommersant.“ There was a completely expected round of escalation with the onset of cold weather. It is clear that migrants do not want to stay in Belarus, living in forests and underground passages, and therefore accept such more organized attempts. It is clear that the Belarusian authorities do not interfere with them, but whether they were the ones who gathered them in a column – I do not know. The migrants could coordinate themselves ”.
According to Kommersant’s information, now the main flow of migrants arrives in Belarus from Dubai and Istanbul, which serve as transport hubs for the entire Middle East.
In addition, the FlightRadar24 service has information about the weekly flight W22251 of FlexFlight from Erbil (the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan) to Yerevan, from where you can easily get to Minsk.
“According to our data, only Kurdish refugees in Belarus are now 1–3 thousand people, more precisely, no one knows. Besides them, there are also Arabs and Afghans. We were in Grodno two weeks ago. We learned from the Kurdish media about the situation and went there to support the people. We closely communicated with two groups – in one there were 33 people, in the other – 21. Among them there are children, the smallest is five years old, ”one of the leaders of the International Federation of Kurdish Communities, Gajar Asgarov, told Kommersant. According to the interlocutor of Kommersant, he and his colleagues talked mainly with Yezidi Kurds from Iraqi Shangal (Sinjar), but there were also Kurds from other parts of Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as from Syria.
“The first group lived in one room – five families, half a meter per person. Many were ill, had problems with their legs, as they had to walk 17 hours on foot from the border back to Grodno. People were allowed to reach the border, and then they found themselves between two fires – Polish and Belarusian border guards. We got out of there like partisans, first crawling, then running, dodging through the forest. With things, with children in their arms. As a result, we found them a new apartment, money for food, doctors. Then another group appeared, ”Mr. Askerov continued his story. According to him, now (two weeks later) contact with these people is lost – either they still ended up in Poland, or they were detained. But every day more and more refugees continue to call him and ask for help. “At the same time, none of these people gave out the names of those who sent them to Belarus. None of the people we spoke to. They just said that they paid money (who how much – from $ 2 thousand to $ 15 thousand) to help them get to Europe, “the source added to Kommersant.
.