- Sputnik International, 1920, 14.11.2021
Poland-Belarus Migrant Crisis
Tensions on the Belarusian-Polish border flared up in November as Middle Eastern and African refugees started arriving in Belarus to cross into the EU. Warsaw claims Belarus orchestrated the crisis, while Minsk blames the Western military ops for the growing migrant flow.

Watch Chilling Footage of Poland’s ‘Sanctions-Worthy’ Use of Water Cannons Against Freezing Migrants

© REUTERS / BelTAPolish law enforcement officers use a water cannon on migrants, who attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi - Kuznica checkpoint in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021
Polish law enforcement officers use a water cannon on migrants, who attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi - Kuznica checkpoint in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.11.2021
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The crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland took a turn for the worse on Tuesday, with Polish border forces using water cannons against thousands of migrants concentrated on the frontier. The crisis began in July, and escalated last week after thousands of people looking to make their way into the European Union amassed in the border area.
Chilling footage of Polish border guards indiscriminately spraying migrants and refugees concentrated along the border with water cannons have appeared online as temperatures in the area edge close to freezing.
The border guards’ actions may constitute a violation of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights rules, which state that such non-lethal weapons “should only be used in situations of serious public disorder where there is a significant likelihood of loss of life, serious injury or the widespread destruction of property.” It’s not clear what threat unarmed and freezing migrants concentrated at the border pose.
“Other risks include hypothermia and cold-water shock in cold weather (especially if the water is not heated), and the risk of persons slipping or being forced by the jet against walls or other hard objects,” the document stresses.
It’s not known whether the water cannons deployed by Polish border guard units used heated water, although the lack of steam rising from the shots amid local temperatures as low as three degrees Celsius Tuesday suggest that the water was not warmed up before use.
© REUTERS / BelTAA man runs away from a water cannon used by Polish law enforcement officers, as migrants attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi - Kuznica checkpoint in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021
A man runs away from a water cannon used by Polish law enforcement officers, as migrants attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi - Kuznica checkpoint in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.11.2021
A man runs away from a water cannon used by Polish law enforcement officers, as migrants attempt to cross the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi - Kuznica checkpoint in the Grodno region, Belarus November 16, 2021
The UN guidelines also point to cannons’ indiscriminate nature, and state that such weapons “shall not target a jet of water at an individual or group of persons at short range owing to the risk of causing permanent blindness or secondary injuries if persons are propelled energetically by the water jet.”
At least one of the videos shows a Polish truck spraying an individual less than 100 meters from its position on a hard asphalt surface.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed Warsaw over the violence against the migrants concentrated on the border, calling Poland’s behaviour, including the use of tear gas, water cannons and firearms “absolutely unacceptable.”
“There is no way they do not understand that they violate every imaginable norm of international humanitarian law and other agreements of the international community. Of course, they all understand this,” Lavrov said, speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. The foreign minister went on to accuse Warsaw of seeking to prevent publicity of its actions, suggesting that this is why journalists have been banned from the area on the Polish side.
An RT France film crew was detained by Polish police on Monday in the middle of a report and fined.
A Polish soldier on duty near a camp of illegal migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.11.2021
Poland-Belarus Migrant Crisis
Detained RT France Journalists Got in Touch, They Were Sentenced to Fine, Editor-in-Chief Says

Actions May Warrant Sanctions

Asked to comment on the situation along the Belarus-Poland border, Andy Vermaut, a Belgium-based human rights activist and member of the International Alliance for the Defence of Rights and Liberties, emphasized that UN human rights guidelines “severely” restrict the deployment of water cannons for a reason.
“I believe that Poland does not have any compelling reasons to use water cannons in such a ruthless manner, especially given the frigid temperatures. The Polish authorities are crossing the European fundamental rights in the Lisbon Treaty, the EU would normally sanction them; however, the EU has so far refrained from taking real action against Poland because of the country’s democratic nature with the European Union and the institutional problems regarding the status of EU law in Poland,” Vermaut suggested.
The activist believes that the silence in the EU regarding Poland’s use of water cannons and other non-lethal weapons is evidence of “a skewed approach,” pointing out that Belarusian authorities discovering that “they may be subject to sanctions for the very same actions.”
“Those are really the double standards of EU policy. NATO allies have offered Poland assistance along the country’s border with Belarus, and Warsaw is debating whether or not to accept their proposal. What kind of assistance, however, is intended when there are unarmed migrants on the border with Belarus, is unclear. Winter 2021, EU 2021. The immigrants in Belarus and Poland are in trouble,” Vermaut warned, emphasizing that the migrants are human beings, and should be treated as such.
Earlier Tuesday, Belarusian border guards warned that migrants concentrated along the border have begun reporting symptoms of respiratory infection, with Belarusian doctors deployed in the area to help both adults and children.
Dr. Danai Angeli, a human rights lawyer specializing in asylum and migration policy, says there is cause to conclude that Polish border guards violated international law through the use of water cannons, not only by ignoring UNHR restrictions, but by denying "entry to those seeking asylum," and endangering the "lives, the physical and mental integrity and other fundamental rights of those attempting to cross into the territory irregularly."
"It follows that practices such as indiscriminate pushbacks and the use of lethal and non-lethal repellants fall short of these standards," she said.
Citing the experience of the 2020 incidents involving the use of tear gas against asylum seekers along the Greek-Turkish border, Angeli said that she doesn't expect EU authorities to discipline Warsaw for its actions. "I do hope however that the judges who will be asked to review these behaviours, and international stakeholders monitoring compliance with human rights will take a much firmer position," she noted.
 Polish security forces block migrants on the border with Belarus in Usnarz Gorny, Poland, on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.11.2021
Poland-Belarus Migrant Crisis
US Preparing Follow-Up Sanctions on Belarus After EU Restrictions - State Dept.

Border Battles

The crisis along Belarus’s border with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania began to take shape in the summer of 2021, when small numbers of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa began using Minsk as a transit route for attempts to enter the EU. The situation was exacerbated on 8 November, when over 2,000 migrants gathered at the Belarusian-Polish border and set up camp after trying several times to breakthrough. As of Monday, about 3,500 people were estimated to be concentrated in makeshift camps near the border, with Poland deploying border guards, police and troops and beefing up border defences. Warsaw announced Tuesday that Poland's NATO allies have offered assistance to deal with the migrant issue, saying "such a scenario is being considered," and that "proposals" had been made by allies, without elaborating.
Western countries have blamed Belarus and its president Alexander Lukashenko for the crisis, accusing him of waging a “hybrid war” against Europe. Lukashenko dismissed the allegations, saying crushing sanctions by Brussels have drained his country’s resources to deal with the problem. The Belarusian president also pointed out that the West’s own policies- including a series of military interventions which destabilized the Middle East and North Africa, were to blame for the instability facing these countries.
“They not only stirred up and shattered the Middle East, they destroyed these nations’ statehood,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian media last week. Belarusian authorities say the vast majority of the would-be migrants hail from countries including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Yemen – all of which Western powers have either bombed, occupied, or helped to destabilize over the past two decades.
To date, at least 11 migrants have died in attempts to cross the border from Belarus into the EU, with fears that this number could grow as cold temperatures descend on the region.
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