Maciej Wąsik, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior and Administration, described the assault on the European Union's eastern border as an organised action by Belarusian services. To illustrate the scale of the situation on the border, the deputy minister cited figures for the entire current year. In January, there was not a single attempt to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border, in February one such attempt was recorded and in March two. In April, the Border Guard revealed 61 attempts to cross the border with Belarus, in May – 9 attempts, and in June – 77. In July, there were 242 such attempts, and in August as many as 3.5 thousand. Between 1 and 12 September, 2,260 were recorded. 

‘The main objective of the activities of the Border Guard, supported by the Polish Armed Forces and the Police, is to seal the border, in other words, to prevent illegal crossings. From 1 January to 12 September this year, guards detained 1,481 people who illegally entered Poland from Belarus’, said the deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration. At the same time, he added that half of these people are Iraqis, but there are also citizens of Syria, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Somalia, Russia, Iran, Egypt and even Cuba. He also recalled that Poland had a readmission agreement, which stipulated that people crossing the border illegally were to be taken back to Belarus. At the end of June, the procedure for the termination of this agreement by the Belarusian side was initiated.

Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik informed MPs that the Polish-Belarusian border is currently guarded by more than 2,000 border guards, supported by more than 2,000 soldiers. ‘According to the declarations of the Ministry of National Defence, the number of soldiers can be increased at any time’, he pointed out.

Questions asked by MPs concerned, among other things, technical border security. The deputy head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration explained that the Armed Forces are putting up technical devices in the border strip on the selected sections of the border, which together amount to about 180 km. Already 113 km of entanglements in the form of a spiral barbed wire fence, so-called concertina wire, have been constructed. Over 57 kilometres of 2.5-metre high fences have also been erected in the border strip. ‘These structures significantly impede crossing the border. In principle, without the help of Belarusian services, such actions are impossible for migrants’, said the deputy minister.

‘We are prepared for further actions. In the new law on modernisation of uniformed services we will allocate large funds for technical protection of the eastern border’, Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik assured MPs. He informed that the Government has also taken legislative action. Yesterday, there was a second reading of a bill that provides more equipment to the Border Guard and the Office for Foreigners to prevent illegal migration.

The Deputy Head of the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that Poland is not the only country affected by the hybrid attack from Belarus, which has introduced a state of emergency. In early July this year, the Lithuanian government declared a state of emergency. Meanwhile, in Latvia, a state of emergency in the border areas with Belarus was introduced for the period from 11 August to 10 November this year.

In his speech at the Sejm, the Deputy Minister also referred to the humanitarian aid prepared for migrants by the Polish side. ‘The Government directed a humanitarian transport so that assistance could be provided in accordance with the law to those people who, across from Usnarz Górny, were on the Belarusian side just beyond the Polish border. The transport was not allowed into the territory of Belarus’, he informed. He pointed out that the Belarusian side provides the migrants with food, including hot meals, and medical care on an ongoing basis. ‘I am convinced that if not for the activity of some Polish parliamentarians, this difficult situation for this migrant group would have ended long ago. It was only the media attention and the focus of public opinion that caused the Belarusian side to maintain this situation’, he added.

Moreover, the Deputy Minister emphasised that the people who came to Belarus arrived there voluntarily on tourist visas. They may stay there legally, but they are not allowed to cross the border with the Republic. ‘We are going to enforce the obligation to guard the border with the utmost severity, increasingly firmly, in accordance with the situation that arises at the border. That is a high priority for the Polish Government, as well as the Ministry of Interior and Administration’, concluded the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration.