Migrants Stuck in the Middle of EU, Belarus Conflict

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Cornered between the Polish and Belarus borders, thousands of migrants are stuck in the middle of rising tensions between the European Union and Belarus.

The catalyst to the crisis was Belarus’ national election in August 2020, in which President Alexander Lukashenko — in power since 1994 — won with 80 per cent of the vote. Many Western countries, including Canada, have called the election fraudulent, calling on Lukashenko to step down. International observers have called Lukashenko’s regime a dictatorship.

In retaliation, the international community has pressed sanctions, such as travel bans and freezing assets, on high-ranking government officials and people with power. The United States and the European Union (EU) even went as far as to not recog- nize Lukashenko as the official ruler, imposing more sanctions in November and December of 2020.

Tensions increased when Belarus intercepted a flight carrying a prominent critic of Lukashenko, Raman Pratasevich, detaining Pratasevich for months. Furious, the EU banned Belarusian aircraft from their skies and limited imports of Belarusian products.

Wanting retribution, Lukashenko publicly declared that he would no longer be keeping with an illegal migration policy agreed upon previously by both parties. Until then, Belarusian officials have been flying migrants into Belarus and assisting them in illegally crossing the Polish border. This has led to an influx of illegal immigrants

in Poland and other neighbouring countries, straining their border system. Polish border officials have been meeting people trying to cross at the border with violence and illegally denying asylum applications. Both of these violate international law.

Belarussian affairs expert Valery Karbalevich said that “as a minimum, Lukashenko wants to take revenge against the EU, and as a maximum he aims to soften the European sanctions that have dealt a painful blow to key Belarusian industries,” before continuing on and saying, “Belarusian authorities have tried unsuccessfully to persuade the EU to engage in talks and bargaining, and migrants are just an instrument in a hybrid attack.”