EXPLAINER: Why Poland wants state of emergency near border

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has signed a declaration calling for a 30-day state of emergency in areas along the country’s border with Belarus to stop migrant crossings

Migration Poland Belarus (The Associated Press)

Poland's President Andrzej Duda signed a declaration Thursday calling for a 30-day state of emergency in areas along the country's border with Belarus to stop migrant crossings. Parliament is expected to formally approve the move on Monday. In that case, Poland will become the third European Union member to impose a state of emergency in areas bordering Belarus — after Lithuania and Latvia did so earlier this summer for the same reason.

That will allow Polish authorities to limit the movements of civilians, including journalists and activists, in a 3-kilometer (nearly 2-mile) wide strip along the border. Polish authorities say it will ensure greater security for Poland and the rest of the EU, especially with Russian military exercises planned to begin in September which will also include maneuvers in Belarus.

Here is a look at the standoff on the EU's eastern border, in which would-be asylum seekers have been caught up — including a group now trapped between Polish and Belarusian border guards.

HOW IT STARTED

Months ago, neighboring countries charge, Belarus' authoritarian regime began to encourage people from Iraq and elsewhere hoping to reach Europe to come to Belarus. Then, Belarusian forces allegedly shepherded them to its borders with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

European leaders believe the migrants, who also come from Afghanistan, Syria and Africa, are being used to destabilize the EU in revenge for sanctions the bloc has imposed on President Alexander Lukashenko's regime, which is backed by the Kremlin.

Those sanctions have come in reaction to a disputed election last year that gave Lukashenko a sixth term, and the ensuing harsh repression of domestic opponents. More sanctions were imposed after Minsk forced the landing of a Ryanair plane in May and arrested a dissident journalist on board.

Lithuania and Latvia have published what they say are videos of Belarusian forces in riot gear pushing the migrants toward the border.

Referring to Belarus’ actions at the border, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month that she strongly condemned “using people, refugees or people from other countries who are in distress, as a hybrid weapon.”

EUROPE AND MIGRATION

Europe is still trying to absorb large numbers of migrants who arrived in recent years, with more than 1 million immigrating in 2015 alone. Whether to welcome or rebuff people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa is a question that has deepened political divides within European nations and among the 27 EU member states, and given a boost to anti-immigrant political forces.

The border standoff comes as the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, creating worries about another wave of migrants and asylum seekers.

European countries have evacuated some Afghans who have worked with their NATO or other missions in Afghanistan and are offering protection to those who have helped their countries. But the bloc also wants to avoid large numbers of people arriving illegally.

THE RESPONSE

Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have been fortifying their borders with Belarus, and have managed recently to stop thousands of those trying to enter their countries. Hundreds have also been detained and put in closed centers. Some have applied for asylum but it is unlikely that many will receive it after entering the EU in an illegal manner.

There have been reports that some people have also managed to go undetected and made their way to Germany or elsewhere in Western Europe — the typical destination for refugees in Europe.

Lithuania said last week that it had sent home 14 Iraqis who crossed from Belarus last month and many more “would follow them” soon.

STRANDED GROUP

While the new border barriers have stemmed crossings, one group of migrants has been stuck in a no-man's land between armed Belarusian and Polish forces, sleeping in tents for more than three weeks.

Because they are cut off, reporters are not able to approach and question them directly, and information provided by the government and human rights activists is impossible to verify.

Poland's border guards on Thursday said that there are about 24-30 people there and that Belarusian guards regularly bring them warm meals, drinks, firewood, cigarettes and sweets.

A Polish refugee rights group which has set up camp close to the border to monitor the situation says there are more than 30 Afghans who lack food, drink water from a dirty creek and are becoming increasingly ill.

Human rights lawyers and activists have urged Polish authorities to allow the group access to doctors and the right to apply for asylum.

INTERNAL DISSENT

Polish media have broadcast images of razor wire being rolled out at the border, and soldiers and border guards standing just feet from migrants without giving them aid.

That has drawn condemnation from rights activists and others.

A prominent former anti-communist dissident, Wladyslaw Frasyniuk, said he believed soldiers behaved like “a pack of dogs that surrounded poor, weak people.”

Polish government officials have lashed back, accusing critics of siding with Belarus in its “hybrid war” against the country. Some government supporters have used the term “useful idiots” to refer to protesters — among them 13 activists who tried to cut the razor wire border barrier last weekend and now face prosecution.

The government argues the state of emergency is to protect Poland's security in the face of a military exercise in Belarus this month, and also to limit political actions along the border.