Poland passes law making it easier for border guards to shoot to push back migrants

The law has received consensus among Polish parliamentarians. 401 delegates voted in favor and 17 against. Parliament has adopted a text easing rules of engagement for soldiers, border guards and gendarmes on the border between Poland, Belarus and Russia, which has come under intense migrant pressure.

The text, adopted in second reading on July 11, frees the life, health and liberty of members of the armed forces from any responsible soldiers who use their weapons on the border, in a defensive situation, but in a preventive manner. Order in an environment is threatened “direct and illegal attack on transgression of state border”.

Polish newspaper reported Gazeta Viborza, The bill was widely criticized by some associations “The Right to Kill”. The Polish newspaper explained that the government initially planned to exempt soldiers from any criminal liability for any act constituting a crime committed during an operation at the border. The government amended its text to specify circumstances under which the military’s liability could be reduced.

The Polish parliament passed the law after a series of incidents involving Polish soldiers and immigrants. In March, three Polish soldiers were prosecuted by their country’s courts for firing live ammunition at migrants crossing the Belarusian border. This judicial decision caused public outrage. He was condemned by many political figures.

Last May, a Polish soldier was stabbed to death while trying to prevent migrants from entering the Polish border behind a fence. The event caused strong emotion in Poland and led Prime Minister Donald Tusk to announce that border guards could now use their weapons against migrants. PiS, a conservative party opposed to the ruling liberal coalition, blamed the government “Persecuting Polish Soldiers” And “Disrespect the Polish Uniform”It is further reported Gazeta Wyborcza.

17,000 column attempts

Accused of deliberately destabilizing EU borders, Moscow and Minsk have maintained steady migration pressure on Poland since the fall of 2021, when a serious diplomatic crisis erupted between the EU and Belarus. France accused the Belarusian head of state of being behind the scenes “Traffic” of humans “Efficiently Organized” With third countries, to the European Union, via Turkey and Dubai. The EU accuses Belarus leaders of orchestrating the influx of migrants.

According to Polish border guards, more than 17,000 illegal crossing attempts from Belarus have been detected since the beginning of the year. Poland plans to strengthen its military presence with Russia’s Kaliningrad and Belarus.

This includes supporting border guards and strengthening NATO’s eastern border in the context of the Ukrainian conflict. “Currently, there are almost 6,000 players” Further “Eventually, there will be up to 17,000, including eight on site and 9,000 in reserve.”Ready to be posted there in 48 hours “A Rapid Border Reaction Force”, said Polish Army Chief of Staff, General Wieslaw Kucula. As part of this plan, Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently announced that Warsaw will invest more than two billion euros in the security and strengthening of its border with Russia and Belarus.