Poland in Libya

Since August this year we are witnessing an unprecedented aggression of Belarus against Poland and the whole European Union. The weapon used in this hostile activity are migrants. With a silent support and approval of his patron – Russian president Vladimir Putin – Alexander Lukashenko has enticed thousands of them to come to Belarus and then funnelled them to the EU borders, often with the escort of uniformed troops with guns.

The biggest migratory pressure is currently on Poland, after the regime in Minsk redirected its earlier focus from Lithuania and Latvia. In Lithuania, the crisis triggered by the actions undertaken by the Belarusian regime had already begun in June. On May 23, 2021, a Ryanair plane flying to Vilnius was forced to land in Minsk due to false information about a bomb being allegedly placed on its board. In fact, the plane was forced to land, because Raman Pratasiewicz, an opposition activist, was on board. After the landing, the activist was arrested together with his companion. As he admitted himself, Lukashenko opened the artificial migratory route out of revenge for sanctions imposed by UE on Minsk and the support given to the democratic opposition in Belarus.

Over the past few months, the Belarusian authorities have intensified hybrid warfare activities against the European Union. Illegal migration supported by the Belarusian authorities aims to destabilise the political situation and put the security of Poland and the European Union at risk.

It is a hybrid warfare where the Belarusian state apparatus is cynically using the migrants, staging dangerous provocations against the Polish border guards and soldiers and conducting aggressive disinformation campaigns. Poland defends not only its state border, but also the external border of NATO and the European Union. Both of them realize that now, to prevent the 2014/2015 European migrant crisis from happening again, efforts are indispensable.

Lukashenko’s regime is fully responsible for the fate of the migrants whom it has been flying to Belarus. The dictator makes big time money on this scheme. The price for the transportation to the border area ranges  from USD 2,000 to 14,000. It is estimated that the entities implicated in said migratory route have so far made tens of millions of dollars on it. The profits go mostly to Belarusian state institutions.

The Belarusian propaganda machine seeks to play on the feelings of the target audiences. It is common for the Belarusian border services to transport the whole families with children or even women in late-term pregnancy to the Polish border. This serves to stir up guilt and other mixed emotions among the Polish troops on the one hand, but also to use these most vulnerable migrants for the purposes of extremely suggestive propaganda efforts targeted at the public opinion – both Polish and international – and the authorities of Poland on the other. Thus, the migrants who arrive in Belarus end up as weapons in the hybrid war waged by Lukashenko. They are duped and used by the dictator.

Since the beginning of this year until 21 November, the Polish Border Guard recorded 36 166 attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border (31 296 of them were prevented) – compared to 88 such attempts throughout 2020.

Currently, there are even several thousand people in the immediate vicinity of the Polish border. Throughout the Belarusian territory, there are about a dozen thousand people (mainly young men) ready to cross the Polish border.

Migrants are intentionally brought down mostly from the Middle East region to Belorussia by aircrafts, and misled by Belarusian services, which convince them about the possibility of crossing the Polish border, in order to go further to Germany and other countries. The Belarusian services deliberately cheat migrants by spreading rumours among them – among other, false information about alleged buses to bring migrants to Germany has resulted recently in a massive influx of people to the closed Polish border. Contrary to the disinformation spread by Belarusian propaganda, no migrant died due to the violence of Polish services.

Faced with this serious threat, all Polish authorities are making every effort to ensure that Poland and Poles are safe and protected. These efforts include preventive actions, increased Border Guard, Polish Armed Forces and police presence as well as the construction of a permanent wall.

Lies, disinformation and taking advantage of the dramatic situation of people from the Middle East region and other regions are just some of the elements of the cruel and cynical political game of the Belarusian dictator. The dynamically changing situation brings new information and challenges every day.

The Polish government has launched a special website, where up-to-date information on the situation on the Polish-Belarussian border is published, as well as downloadable photo and video materials. We encourage you to visit it: https://www.gov.pl/web/border.

 

DIPLOMATIC ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN BY POLAND’s OFFICIALS

During the last session of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau thanked for the support provided by European partners to Poland, as well as to Lithuania and Latvia, in connection with actions taken by Belarus on the eastern border of the EU. He stressed that the hybrid attack organised by Belarus is an unprecedented circumstance and that there exists a real risk of on escalation of the conflict. Mr Rau further emphasized the need to intensify the dialogue between the EU and its Member States and the North African and Middle Eastern countries of origin and transit of migrants to block the migrants’ inflow to Belarus. He also recalled the situation in Belarus itself, where there are more than 800 political prisoners as of today, including Angelika Borys and Andrzej Poczobut. As a result of the discussion, the ministers agreed that it was necessary to adopt the fifth round of sanctions against Belarus as soon as possible.

The Polish government is in constant contact with the European Commission, NATO and Frontex, which is constantly supporting our efforts in the field of analysts, satellite imagery and border monitoring. Poland is also in constant consultation with Lithuania and Latvia, which are also victims of hybrid attack A. Lukashenko.

The situation on the Polish-Belarussian border and the hybrid action against Poland have been the subject of talks with the Europeans leaders and officials who expressed their solidarity.

• 26 November. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London. The crisis on the EU’s Polish-Belarusian border artificially triggered by the Lukashenka regime is just one of the factors currently having an impact on the geopolitical situation in Europe. During the meeting, Poland’s and United Kingdom’s prime ministers discussed not only the situation on EU and NATO’s eastern border but also the threats being a result of strengthening the Russian military capabilities at the border with Ukraine.
• 25 November. The head of the Polish government met with the current German Chancellor Angela Merkel. During his visit to Berlin, he also met with Olaf Scholz – the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who is also set to become Germany’s new Chancellor. The meeting showed the solidarity of both countries in the face of the conflict caused by Eastern actors. PM Morawiecki underscored that Lukashenko’s regime is testing the European Union’s border using migrants. The Polish PM claims that the intentions behind it are clear – it is about destabilising the European Community. Furthermore, he assured everyone that Poland has stopped the wave of migrants who tried to cross the border illegally.
• 24 November. During the meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke about concerns related to the situation on the Polish–Belarusian border of the EU. “By defending it, we are also defending the Community,” stressed the head of Polish government. The Prime Minister also thanked France and other EU partners for expressing their solidary and support for the actions taken by Poland to protect the eastern border of the EU. In Paris, the politicians also talked about the gathering of Russian troops near Ukraine and the gas blackmail resulting in higher gas prices throughout Europe.
• Following his discussion with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša in Ljubljana, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki noted that Alexander Lukashenko’s regime was currently stopped on the eastern border of the EU, encountering much resistance. “But, together with his actual Kremlin-based principal, it is certain that the number of these events that have occurred may mean that a further period of destabilisation is on its way. We do not want that, and we are looking for good solutions,” said the Polish Prime Minister.
• 23 November. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with the heads of Visegrád Group countries and with the Croatian Prime Minister. Zbigniew Rau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with his Romanian counterpart on that day as well.
• 21 November. The head of Polish government visited Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The leaders discussed the current situation on the Polish–Belarusian border of the European Union and joint actions of the EU member states. Mateusz Morawiecki also talked to the Prime Minister of Iraq and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, with the topic mainly focusing on the migrants exploited by the Belarusian regime.

The previous diplomatic actions taken by Poland have been successful – at present, much fewer migrants are arriving in Belarus. On 19 November, the head of Polish government also met with Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence of the United States. They agreed that close cooperation in terms of security on the NATO's Eastern Flank is a must.

 

RECENT BORDER INCIDENTS:

Since 5 November, the situation at the Polish – Belarusian border remains very tense. After the organised attack and attempt to forcibly cross the Polish border on the 16 November, some of the migrants staying in the border area were transported by the Belarusian services to the logistics centre located approximately 500 meters from Bruzgi border crossing. The remains of the makeshift camp situated close to the border were removed by the Belarusian authorities.

• 28.11.2021 – a force-based attempt to force the border in the vicinity of Mielnik by a group of 33 people who broke through the border fence and threw stones at the Polish services. Belarusian soldiers accompanied the aggressive group using flashlights and lasers.
• 25.11.2021 - a group of 10 Iraqi citizens who crossed the Polish-Lithunian border illegally have been stoped in the vicinity of Rutka-Tartak. Previously they crossed the Belarusian-Lithuanian border illegally, and then through Poland they wanted to reach Germany.
• 25.11.2021 – an attempt to force the border protection in the vicinity of Czeremcha by a group of 200 foreigners. During the attempt, stones and pieces of wood were thrown at Polish soldiers, Border Guards and Police officers. Belarusian soldiers blinded the Polish troops with lasers and strong strobe light. One Polish soldier was injured. 2 Iraqi citizens were taken to hospital.
• 24.11.2021 an attempt to cross the border in the vicinity of Czeremcha by an aggressive group of 200 foreigners throwing stones and tree limbes at Polish services. The incident took place with the active participation of Belarusian soldiers who blinded the Polish officers of the Border Guard, Police and soldiers with stroboscopes lasers with intense light. 5 foreigners were taken to hospital.
• 23.11.2021 – 3 attempts to cross the border illegally by the groups of 100, 30 and 40 foreigners who breached border protections using a platform thrown over the fence. Fireworks, stones and pieces of wood were thrown at Polish services. The incidents were supervised and recorded by Belarusian soldiers. One Polish soldier was injured, two Iraqi citizens were taken to hospital.

29 November 2021