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Poland considers extending 'state of emergency' over migrant extremism concerns
Updated 01:55, 29-Sep-2021
Penelope Liersch
Europe;Belarus
01:54

 

Poland's interior minister has asked for a state of emergency along the border with Belarus to be extended for 60 days after six migrants died along the eastern border with Belarus in the past two months.

Mariusz Kaminski also warned some migrants that have been detained "were carrying proof of radicalism," including links to the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).

It comes as Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko blamed the West for what he called a "looming humanitarian catastrophe," with migrants stranded in freezing conditions on the border of Poland and Belarus.

Poland and its neighbors Latvia and Lithuania have experienced a surge in border crossings since the beginning of summer – accusing Belarus of flying migrants in and pushing them toward the borders in an act of hybrid warfare.

 

 

Polish ministers acknowledged the situation on the border with Belarus is growing increasingly tense, as the interior minister requested to extend a state of emergency for an extra 60 days. 

At least five people have died on the frontier in recent weeks, four people within Polish territory while one body was found on the Belarus side of the border. 

 

A Polish soldier walks past a barbed wire fence under construction on the border with Belarus in Zubrzyca Wielka, eastern Poland. /Jaap Arriens/AFP

A Polish soldier walks past a barbed wire fence under construction on the border with Belarus in Zubrzyca Wielka, eastern Poland. /Jaap Arriens/AFP

 

Poland says 9,400 migrants have tried to cross from Belarus since early August – 8,200 were stopped and 1,200 people placed in detention within Poland.

Polish authorities claim they've found material linked to Islamic extremism on the phones of some people trying to cross into the EU, alleging they pose a threat to national security. 

Opposition politicians have accused the ruling right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party in the past of stoking prejudice against immigrants for political gain, with human rights groups saying the migrants pose no threat and are being stigmatized.

Images have been released from Belarusian authorities showing people stuck in the border area near Poland's three-meter-high barbed-wire fence. Lukashenko has blamed the West for the issues on the border with Poland as his government faces U.S. and EU sanctions following last year's disputed election and a crackdown on protests. 

He spoke on local media addressing the border situation: "Let's discuss how we are going to work on it further. This is wrong that people are suffering.

"Yes, we dressed them, we brought them some firewood and some shawls. But they would freeze in winter. Those are people who walked thousands of kilometers from the south. To put it short: it's a humanitarian catastrophe on the border."

 

Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the Polish parliament against the state of emergency declared at the Polish border with Belarus, in early September. /Wojtek Radwanski/AFP

Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the Polish parliament against the state of emergency declared at the Polish border with Belarus, in early September. /Wojtek Radwanski/AFP

 

Polish refugee charity the Ocalenie Foundation has been in contact with a group of Afghan migrants stranded in no-man's land for six weeks. They recently released voice recordings and text messages from the group expressing their fears that they will die on the border from illness, cold and a lack of food. 

Human rights groups have for weeks been calling for the Polish authorities to intervene.

The EU executive has also expressed concern over the plight of migrants stuck on the border and urged Warsaw to allow the EU's joint frontier force Frontex to help police the area. 

"It would be a good idea for our shared border to be protected using our shared resources, namely those provided by the [EU border] agency [Frontex]," said European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz. 

Poland has one of the biggest border forces in the EU and is yet to request Frontex assistance. The agency is helping on the Belarusian borders of nearby Lithuania and Latvia.

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