The European Union is preparing for a retaliatory action from the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in response to the sanctions recently imposed on him by Brussels. The EU sanctions followed after Lukashenko claimed re-election last year through electoral fraud and then violently suppressed opposition protests.
Since then, Lukashenko has been transporting refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen, among other countries, to the border area with Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, where they believe they can apply for asylum.
Human rights organizations are sounding the alarm, not so much about the ruthless dictator, but more about the actions of Poland in particular. Polish border guards are reportedly pushing migrants back. This would mean that Poland is acting against EU and international law.
Because Belarus refuses to take the migrants back, they are being left to their fate without food or water. Since Poland declared a state of emergency in the border area, journalists are not allowed in. Warsaw is also keeping EU observers at bay.
The patience of Dutch Member of the European Parliament Thijs Reuten (PvdA) has now run out. More than a year after the “elections” in Belarus, Reuten has called on EU countries to no longer let Lukashenko go his own way. “Using people as a political pressure tool is totally unacceptable, but neglect and pushbacks must never be Europe’s response.”
Together with a Polish MEP and chair of the Belarus delegation, Robert Biedron, Reuten wrote a letter last month urging the Polish Prime Minister to find a solution. “Using people as a political pressure tool is totally unacceptable, but neglect and pushbacks must never be Europe’s response.”
“One Moria in the EU is already far too many. I therefore expect Poland to provide assistance to these people as soon as possible, in cooperation with the European Commission and member states. We must not allow ourselves to be divided by a dictator.”