“As of Monday, border crossings have been designated as critical infrastructure sites, where unauthorized persons have no access,” announced Minister of the Interior and Administration, Tomasz Siemoniak. He also stated that the police and Border Guard have been given clear instructions to deal with civilian patrols… firmly.
On the night from Sunday to Monday, temporary border controls were reinstated at the borders with Germany and Lithuania. Their aim is to stop the uncontrolled influx of migrants. In recent days, individuals associated with the so-called Border Defense Movement (Polish: Ruch Obrony Granic, ROG) have appeared at some sections of the Polish-German border, declaring that they are “guarding the border against people attempting to cross it illegally.”
Police and Border Guard “have clear instructions”
In an interview with PAP, DPA, AFP, and BNS agencies, the Minister of the Interior and Administration referred to reports that the ROG intends to continue its activities in the border region. When asked why Polish services are not taking steps to prevent this, he emphasized that “in every case where the law has been violated so far, the Border Guard and the police have referred the matter to the prosecutor’s office, which is conducting investigations.”
“Starting today, we are dealing with a new situation because border control has been introduced, and border crossings have been designated as critical infrastructure sites, where unauthorized individuals are not allowed. Therefore, in the vicinity of border crossings, there will be no individuals who try to impersonate officers or hinder official operations. I assume that such situations will not occur, and the police and Border Guard have clear and firm instructions to act decisively in such cases and not to allow anyone to carry out this type of activity. There is no reason or justification for it,” he stated.
The Minister stressed that in Poland, there is freedom of assembly and demonstration, “but not near border crossings.” He added that such demonstrations must not interfere with official duties or “with what individuals driving vehicles are doing.”
Banners? Siemoniak: They should be removed
When asked about an anti-immigration banner from the so-called Border Defense Movement seen just beyond a Border Guard post, he responded that “if such a situation occurred, such banners should be removed from the border crossing area.”
“I assume that this is exactly what happened in this case. Our position is absolutely clear—I’ve already said this during the night at the border crossing with Lithuania. Citizens of the European Union, citizens of Lithuania and Germany, are very welcome guests in Poland. We are working to ensure that these controls minimally affect their travel and entry into Poland. The goal is to combat illegal migration, and this is a shared objective of Germany, Lithuania, the entire European Union, and the whole Schengen area,” he emphasized.
The Minister added that when it comes to politicians “who have tried to compete on the issue of so-called border defense, various things have happened and various banners have appeared.” “This kind of rhetoric, of course, is not unique to Poland. In Germany as well, there are circles that are strongly opposed to migrants, and within our democratic societies we must persuade citizens that such attitudes are wrong,” he assessed.
When asked about the situation at the borders following the reintroduction of controls and the initial takeaways, he stated that early experiences indicate that the operation is running very smoothly and does not affect the flow of incoming traffic to Poland.
He added that an excellent example of the effectiveness of the controls is the case of four Afghans who, a few months ago, failed to breach the border barrier with Poland and instead made their way north, attempting to enter Poland. “They tried to cross just before the controls were implemented, as if they wanted to make it in time before the measures took effect. But the officers were already at the border, which means we had both the smuggler and the four migrants apprehended,” he concluded.