Poland launched on Tuesday the construction of a fence on its border with Belarus to block the entry of migrants.

"The sites have been handed over to the drivers," said a spokeswoman for the border guards, without specifying the location of the work.

About 186 km long (nearly half of the total border length of 418 km), the metal barrier will be 5.5 m high, the spokeswoman said.

The wall will be equipped with cameras and motion sensors to help border guards prevent smuggling.

Fears for migrants and the environment

“The temporary [barbed wire] fence has already helped us a lot,” she added.

“It gave us time to prepare while a group of migrants was preparing to attack, to open a passage, the time to mobilize enough means and personnel to prevent it.

The wall will cost some 353 million euros and is due to be completed in June.

The project has raised concerns among human rights and environmental activists, who fear that migrants may not be able to seek asylum, as well as the adverse effects on the fauna and flora of the area.

“We will do everything so that damage to the environment and animals is reduced as much as possible,” said the spokesperson for the border guards on this subject.

A constant flow of migrants to the EU

The European Union supported Poland and strongly criticized Belarus.

The Polish government refused the EU's proposal to involve the European agency Frontex in border surveillance.

It also passed a law making it possible to deport illegal migrants without waiting for their asylum application.

Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East (Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan) tried in 2001 to cross the Polish border to join the EU.

Some managed to get through and continued their journey to Western Europe.

Poland and European countries accuse the Belarusian regime of encouraging, even orchestrating these flows of migrants.

A border under tension

The government of President Alexander Lukashenko has rejected these accusations, accusing Poland of inhumane treatment of migrants.

At the height of the crisis, the Polish government created a special zone at the border closed to humanitarian NGOs and the media, built barbed wire barriers and sent several thousand soldiers to push back migrants in Belarus.

These measures and the death of a dozen migrants in the middle of winter have sparked a lively debate in Poland.

Human rights defenders are calling for the right of migrants to seek asylum and not to be sent back pending the examination of this request.

The number of smuggling attempts has decreased in recent months.

World

Ukraine-Russia conflict: "If the escalation continues, we risk the largest land conflict since the Second World War"

World

Belarus: Russian troops arrive for “combat readiness” maneuvers

  • Migrants

  • Belarus

  • World

  • Immigration

  • Borders

  • Poland

  • Wall

  • 0 comment

  • 0 share

    • Share on Messenger

    • Share on Facebook

    • Share on Twitter

    • Share on Flipboard

    • Share on Pinterest

    • Share on Linkedin

    • Send by Mail

  • To safeguard

  • A fault ?

  • To print