Poland declared plan to tighten its security measures along Belarus border, and double the number of troops there.
The new measures came as part of the country’s efforts to halt a flow of migrants driven by Minsk in retaliation for EU sanctions, the defence minister has said.
Poland says allowing the migrants to enter Polish territory will encourage further illegal migration. It will also play into Lukashenko’s hands.
“These are not refugees, they are economic migrants brought in by the Belarusian government,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz.
Joint Concerns
Last week, Poland and Lithuania have expressed dissatisfaction over the surge in migrants crossing their borders from Belarus.
The two Eastern EU neighbours called on European institutions to help them deal with the growing numbers of migrants.
The Polish authorities stopped one hundred thirty-three people at the Belarusian border with Poland over the past two days.
Moreover, Poland accused Belarus of sending a growing number of migrants over the border in retaliation for Warsaw’s decision this week to give refuge to Krystina Tsimanouskaya.
For its part, Lithuania has also reported a surge in border crossings from Belarus in recent weeks.
Rights groups slam Poland
However, some lawyers and NGOs accuse Warsaw of treating the stranded migrants inhumanely by blocking their entry.
The Polish Human Rights Ombudsman said the Border Guard had violated the Geneva Convention for not accepting verbal declarations from some of the migrants.
“people were asking the border guards for protection and the border guards were pushing them back.”
