Tensions between Belarus and Poland continue to increase due to the border situation between the two countries. There are, according to Warsaw, some 12,000 migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as well as from African Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who have been captured. Most of them have travelled by plane to Minsk, from where they want to travel to Poland, which is part of the European Union (EU), and then take refuge in other countries, including Germany.

However, Poland has closed the borders to them and they have been forced to move forward in their provisional camps, bearing temperatures below zero degrees. In addition to journalists, the door has also been closed to the NGOs’ entrance. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that at least eleven deaths have been recorded in recent weeks. Poland has sent some 15,000 soldiers to “defend the border”, and those trying to cross are arrested. Poland and Lithuania have announced their intention to build a wall between Belarus and Charles Michel of the Council of Europe explained that Brussels could be subsidised, while the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, opposed it.

Geopolitical strategies

Both Poland and the EU have today accused the Belarussian President, Alexander Lukaxenko, of “intentionally provoking the crisis” in response to the measures taken by Brussels against it and of “destabilising” the EU. Indeed, they have denounced that this is a “hybrid attack” that leads migrants to the EU: Lukaxenko has been accused of opening its doors, among other things, to migrants fleeing from the Middle East to Europe. The EU is not, however, pursuing a policy of reception, proof of this is the policy of the Frontex agency, which is responsible for the control and management of external borders.

The two parts of the tensions are immersed in the political conflict and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has warned them that only the fact that responses are based on “security and political expressions” serves to “increase the weaknesses and risks of migrants”. He reminded them that international law obliges us to guarantee the right to seek asylum and to protect the "life and dignity" of these people. For her part, the acting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has highlighted the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who supports Belarus, which is "inhuman" for Lukaxenko to use migrants as "artifacts".

For geopolitical interests, this crisis is not expected to be resolved quickly, as it has many layers and actors. Meanwhile, migrants are still trapped at the border and international NGOs say that the cold is going to become more intense.