Posted:
30.10.2024 15:40:07
Border Committee: 59 dead refugees found on EU border since 2021
59 dead refugees have been found by border patrols since 2021, Anton Bychkovsky, official representative of the State Border Committee, told sb.by
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According to Mr. Bychkovsky, without the means to handle the situation on their own, in stark violation of bilateral border security principles and following the sanctions policy, the EU countries took drastic steps to solve their migration issues.
“Contrary to the current agreements and principles of international law, refugees asking for asylum in EU countries are being delivered to the border and pushed over to the Belarusian side. Starting from 2021, the neighbouring EU countries refused to comply with their international and intergovernmental obligations, put up an iron fence they call ‘the iron curtain’, propped it up with thousands of soldiers on armoured vehicles, and shut down the majority of crossing points on the Belarusian border. These steps were exorbitantly expensive; they all but bankrupted their border areas,” said the Border Committee liaison.
He added that the situation is being made even worse because refugees are getting beaten up and forcibly pushed to the Belarusian territory. Unfortunately, there are casualties.
“Starting from 2021, border patrols found 59 dead refugees in direct proximity of the border,” Mr. Bychkovsky explained. He added that, “The greatest number, 27, died near the Polish border, 23 – near the Latvian one, and 9 – near the border with Lithuania. We have no way to know how many perished on the other side: authorities of those countries keep that information close to the chest. That causes serious concerns among the society in general and the human rights organisations who are being denied entry to the so-called buffer zones.”
According to Mr. Bychkovsky, if Poland and the neighbouring Baltic countries followed international laws, there would be no crisis to speak of.
“All foreign nationals would be logged, questioned, and properly processed. Medical care would be provided to those who need it, no lives would be lost. But reality is the opposite. So the question remains: who is responsible for hundreds of refugees losing their lives in Poland and the Baltic states? These crimes should not be forgotten by the international community; they have to be investigated,” he added.
Summarising the situation, Mr. Bychkovsky concluded, “People are going to the West hoping for decent lives. They are trying to escape countries ravaged by wars and economic crises instigated by the collective West. Basically, they are doing everything they can to survive. The more countries are wrecked by wars or other disasters, the more migration lines are going to pop up. I have to make this clear: migration is not going away. It will always depend on the situation in the crisis-affected regions, and on migration policies in the relevant countries. Only by working together can we hope to alleviate a crisis.”
“Contrary to the current agreements and principles of international law, refugees asking for asylum in EU countries are being delivered to the border and pushed over to the Belarusian side. Starting from 2021, the neighbouring EU countries refused to comply with their international and intergovernmental obligations, put up an iron fence they call ‘the iron curtain’, propped it up with thousands of soldiers on armoured vehicles, and shut down the majority of crossing points on the Belarusian border. These steps were exorbitantly expensive; they all but bankrupted their border areas,” said the Border Committee liaison.
He added that the situation is being made even worse because refugees are getting beaten up and forcibly pushed to the Belarusian territory. Unfortunately, there are casualties.
“Starting from 2021, border patrols found 59 dead refugees in direct proximity of the border,” Mr. Bychkovsky explained. He added that, “The greatest number, 27, died near the Polish border, 23 – near the Latvian one, and 9 – near the border with Lithuania. We have no way to know how many perished on the other side: authorities of those countries keep that information close to the chest. That causes serious concerns among the society in general and the human rights organisations who are being denied entry to the so-called buffer zones.”
According to Mr. Bychkovsky, if Poland and the neighbouring Baltic countries followed international laws, there would be no crisis to speak of.
“All foreign nationals would be logged, questioned, and properly processed. Medical care would be provided to those who need it, no lives would be lost. But reality is the opposite. So the question remains: who is responsible for hundreds of refugees losing their lives in Poland and the Baltic states? These crimes should not be forgotten by the international community; they have to be investigated,” he added.
Summarising the situation, Mr. Bychkovsky concluded, “People are going to the West hoping for decent lives. They are trying to escape countries ravaged by wars and economic crises instigated by the collective West. Basically, they are doing everything they can to survive. The more countries are wrecked by wars or other disasters, the more migration lines are going to pop up. I have to make this clear: migration is not going away. It will always depend on the situation in the crisis-affected regions, and on migration policies in the relevant countries. Only by working together can we hope to alleviate a crisis.”
