Poland sends text messages to migrants in the border area warning them that crossing the Belarusian-Polish border will be illegal and inviting them to return to Minsk.
Within the framework of the expanded hybrid attack by the regime of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, efforts have been made in recent months to send thousands of illegal immigrants to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, most of whom have arrived in Belarus as tourists from Iraq.
Both Poland and the European Union (EU) have accused the Minsk regime of trying to avenge support for the Belarusian opposition and sanctions against Belarus in response to last year’s violent crackdown on protests.
On September 2, Poland declared a state of emergency on Poland’s border with Belarus for 30 days, including a ban on journalists and charities working in the border area.
Polish Interior Minister Marjush Kaminski told reporters on Monday that he would recommend the government extend the state of emergency by 60 days.
A group of migrants is stuck at the border because Poland refuses to allow them into the country, while Belarus refuses to readmit them. Activists have expressed concern about the situation of migrants, especially in view of the approaching winter. However, Poland is committed to not allowing migrants into its territory.
“The Polish border is closed. The Belarusian authorities are lying to you. Go back to Minsk! Do not take any pills from the Belarusian soldiers,” the text message sent by Poland to the migrants said.
The sentence about the tablets is not explained in detail and it is not clear what exactly is meant by it.
The message has been received by all people in the border area who have mobile phones. A link to an explanation of the situation in Arabic, English and Russian is attached to the text message.
The Polish border guard reports that there have been 473 attempts to cross the border illegally on Tuesday, the largest number of illegal immigrants repelled per day.
Since September, attempts have been made to cross the Belarusian-Polish border about 6,000 times.
One of the migrants, who is from Turkey, told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper that after he was forced to return to Belarus, he and several other migrants were surrounded by Belarusian soldiers, who beat them and then took them back to the border.
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