Poland will launch an information campaign abroad to deter migrants from trying to cross into the European Union through its border with Belarus, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.
Warsaw has blamed Belarus and its ally Russia for what it calls a hybrid operation to increase migratory pressure at its eastern border and thereby destabilise the bloc — allegations the countries deny.
Last week, the Polish government suspended the right to seek asylum, a move intended to deter irregular migrants that was met with outrage from rights groups.
“We will soon launch an information campaign in seven countries where the largest number of migrants trying to illegally cross the Polish border come from,” Tusk said on X on Friday.
He did not specify which countries would be the target of the campaign.
In May, he listed Somalia, Eritrea, Yemen and Ethiopia as countries where Russia sought to “recruit” migrants to send them to the Polish border by flying them to Moscow before allegedly moving them on to Belarus.
“Our message will be simple: the Polish border is sealed. Do not believe the smugglers, do not believe (Alexander) Lukashenko, do not believe (Vladimir) Putin,” Tusk said, referring to the Belarusian and Russian leaders.
“They are lying to you when they say that this is the way to Europe,” he added.
Poland in 2022 erected a five-metre (16-feet) high metal fence along 186 kilometres (115 miles) of its border with Belarus to deter migrants, equipping it with thousands of cameras and motion sensors.
CREDIT: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER