{"id":6727,"date":"2021-12-02T21:11:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=6727"},"modified":"2021-12-02T21:11:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:11:20","slug":"why-belarus-is-using-migrants-as-a-political-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=6727","title":{"rendered":"Why Belarus is using migrants as a political weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“Belarus has sent thousands of desperate migrants to its border with Poland in a bid to antagonize the European Union over sanctions imposed last year, in the wake of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko\u2019s brutal crackdown<\/a> on political opponents and protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The influx of migrants, which EU officials say Lukashenko has deliberately provoked as a \u201chybrid attack<\/a>\u201d on the EU, comes at a difficult moment for the EU as the bloc struggles with internal tensions of its own, but has so far resulted in an increasingly unified EU response.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People trying to leave places like Sulaimaniya<\/a>, in Iraqi Kurdistan, have received Belarusian visas, bought a ticket on one of the many flights run by the state-operated airline, and headed to Minsk, Belarus\u2019s capital, where some have been housed in government-run hotels, according to the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But far from providing humanitarian aid and a safe haven for migrants, the Lukashenko regime is pushing them toward the borders of Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania in an attempt to put pressure on the EU to lift sanctions on the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus has also taken direct action to make things harder for its EU neighbors: The New York Times<\/a> reports that Belarusian security forces have provided migrants with instructions on crossing the borders and tools like wire cutters and axes to break down border fences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan<\/a> tweeted that Belarusian forces were attempting to destroy fencing at the Polish border and using lasers and flashing lights to temporarily blind and confuse Polish soldiers stationed there in an attempt to help migrants get across the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Belarusian efforts to force migrants into neighboring EU countries, however, the vast majority of those currently at the border are stuck there, with little protection from the elements. As winter sets in<\/a>, migrants are sleeping in tents, often with inadequate clothing and supplies, and EU countries are thus far refusing them entry. Already, at least nine people<\/a> have died; some estimates are even higher<\/a>, and conditions could still worsen as winter sets in.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Despite the severity of the humanitarian crisis unfolding at Belarus\u2019s borders, Lukashenko\u2019s aims appear to be primarily political. The strongman president desperately wants to bring the EU to the negotiating table over sanctions imposed after he was fraudulently reelected<\/a> last year and force the bloc to again recognize him as the country\u2019s legitimate leader.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2021\/11\/14\/22781335\/belarus-hybrid-attack-immigrants-border-eu-poland-crisis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Belarus has sent thousands of desperate migrants to its border with Poland in a bid to antagonize the European Union over sanctions imposed last year, in the wake of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko\u2019s brutal crackdown on political opponents and protesters.
\nThe influx of migrants, which EU officials say Lukashenko has deliberately provoked as a \u201chybrid attack\u201d on the EU, comes at a difficult moment for the EU as the bloc struggles with internal tensions of its own, but has so far resulted in an increasingly unified EU response.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“People trying to leave places like Sulaimaniya, in Iraqi Kurdistan, have received Belarusian visas, bought a ticket on one of the many flights run by the state-operated airline, and headed to Minsk, Belarus\u2019s capital, where some have been housed in government-run hotels, according to the New York Times.<\/p>\n

But far from providing humanitarian aid and a safe haven for migrants, the Lukashenko regime is pushing them toward the borders of Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania in an attempt to put pressure on the EU to lift sanctions on the nation.<\/p>\n

Belarus has also taken direct action to make things harder for its EU neighbors: The New York Times reports that Belarusian security forces have provided migrants with instructions on crossing the borders and tools like wire cutters and axes to break down border fences.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan tweeted that Belarusian forces were attempting to destroy fencing at the Polish border and using lasers and flashing lights to temporarily blind and confuse Polish soldiers stationed there in an attempt to help migrants get across the border.<\/p>\n

Despite Belarusian efforts to force migrants into neighboring EU countries, however, the vast majority of those currently at the border are stuck there, with little protection from the elements. As winter sets in, migrants are sleeping in tents, often with inadequate clothing and supplies, and EU countries are thus far refusing them entry. Already, at least nine people have died; some estimates are even higher, and conditions could still worsen as winter sets in.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Despite the severity of the humanitarian crisis unfolding at Belarus\u2019s borders, Lukashenko\u2019s aims appear to be primarily political. The strongman president desperately wants to bring the EU to the negotiating table over sanctions imposed after he was fraudulently reelected last year and force the bloc to again recognize him as the country\u2019s legitimate leader.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[967,660,924,728,923,25,314,1001,661],"class_list":["post-6727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-belarus","tag-dictatorship","tag-eastern-europe","tag-europe","tag-european-union","tag-immigration","tag-international-relations","tag-sanctions","tag-tyranny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6728,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727\/revisions\/6728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}