Poland indicates imposing emergency to stop immigrant influx

Warsaw/Minsk: – Poland has indicated to impose emergency to prevent the immigrant influx from Belarus. The situation on the border with Belarus is still tense, and the scale of the crisis is growing, said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, signalling a state of emergency. Poland has already begun erecting fences along the border to prevent illegal immigration and has also deployed troops.

The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s Supremo. Opposition leaders have been given shelter by the European countries, making efforts to pressurise Lukashenko. Belarus seems to have begun to use refugees to retaliate against the federation’s action. Poland says more than 2,000 refugees have infiltrated in the past month.

The issue of asylum for Olympic athletes is also believed to be the reason behind the influx of immigrants from Belarus into Poland. Kristina Tsmanoskaya, a Belarusian sprinter who competed in the Tokyo Olympics last month, entered the Polish embassy and caused a stir. Following this incident, the Polish government decided to grant asylum to Christina on humanitarian grounds. Poland has accused that the Belarus-Poland border is seeing an increase in immigrants following the incident.

Refugees entering Poland previously included refugees from Africa and the Gulf countries. Now, with the influx of refugees from Afghanistan, the issue has become more sensitive. The European Union has declared total support for Poland’s crackdown on immigrants. In a meeting held a few days ago, it was revealed that the European Union has decided to stop the influx of Afghan refugees.

Against this backdrop, Poland has taken a more aggressive stance, signalling the imposition of an emergency. A state of emergency has been declared in Podlaskie and Lublin, bordering Belarus. The state of emergency will be in place for about a month, and additional security forces will be deployed. Polish sources also claim that the movement of immigrants will be stopped entirely during the emergency.

Last month, Poland warned that Belarus was playing a hybrid war against the European Union using immigrants. Poland has accused Belarus of using immigrants as a weapon. According to the renowned British think tank Chatham House, Belarus is said to be a weapon in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.