Poland has accused Belarus of sending illegal migrants to Warsaw
Poland and Lithuania have called on European institutions to help them deal with a surge in number of illegal migrants which are being sent by Belarus.
The institutions which Poland and Lithuania approached are European Commission, the E.U. Border Agency – Frontex, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Member States of E.U. and partners outside the E.U. for political and practical support.
Poland has accused Belarus of sending migrants to Warsaw in retaliation to Poland’s decision of giving refuge to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian athlete who refused to return home from the Tokyo Olympics.
The President of Belarus – Alexander Lukashenko is accused of rigging the August 9, 2020, polls. However, Lukashenko has denied all allegations of vote-rigging. It is believed he sought help from Russia to stay in power. This was followed by mass protest across the country where people demanded his immediate resignation. The protests are still being held every Sunday. Despite mass opposition, Lukashenko held an abrupt swearing-in ceremony at the Palace of Independence in the capital city of Minsk. The E.U. and United States (U.S.) and U.K. have refused to recognise him as the leader of Belarus.
A joint statement by the Prime Minister of Poland – Mateusz Morawiecki and the Prime Minister of Lithuania – Ingrida Simonyte said, “We condemn the weaponization of irregular migration by the Lukashenko regime with a goal of exerting political pressure on the EU and its individual Member States.”
Taking it to twitter, Ingrida Simonyte tweeted,
Sincerely grateful for Poland’s unwavering support to Lithuania as we battle against Lukashenka‘s hybrid aggression.
— Ingrida Šimonytė (@IngridaSimonyte) August 6, 2021
LT and PL call for a decisive response to the Belarusian regime and all those involved in smuggling of illegal migrants.
See our Joint Statement with @MorawieckiM pic.twitter.com/cHdQVWUueJ
More than 133 people were stopped by Poland Border Guard at their border with Belarus, as compared to 122 during the whole of 2020. Meanwhile, the Belarus’s border protection agency has tightened control along its border with Lithuania to prevent Lithuanian authorities from sending migrants back to Belarus.
Recently, Lithuania also said that Belarus is flying in migrants from abroad and dispatching them into the E.U. However, Alexander Lukashenko denied the claims and accused Lithuania and Poland of fuelling the migrant issue on the border.
The E.U. Home Affairs Ministers and representatives of the Frontex and Europol are set to discuss the issue next week. The call will be held on video conference on August 18, 2021. The Home Ministers of all the Member States are expected to participate in the call.
