A new law that allows border guards at the Belarussian border to fire live ammunition at migrants for “self-defense” or “preventive” reasons has been approved by Polish MPs. NGOs were incensed by the law, citing the already volatile circumstances in the region – InfoMigrants reports.
The Polish Parliament gave the go-ahead on July 12 for security personnel stationed along the Belarusian border, including soldiers, border guards, and police officers, to shoot anyone trying to enter the country illegally with live ammunition “preventively” or “in self-defense.”
The use of force by agents at the border “when the life, health, and freedom of police members are threatened in the context of a direct and illegal attack against the ‘inviolability of the state border'” is no longer grounds for legal action.
The 401 MPs voted in favor of the measure. Just seventeen people were against it. The Senate will now review and approve the text.
The human rights advocates were incensed by the announcement of this new law. The police were given “a right to kill” by law, the journalists at Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
Bartek Rumienczyk, communications manager for Grupa Granica, an informal group in Poland, aiming to help refugees and save lives every day: “This law will only make an already very difficult situation at the Belarusian border worse,” as reported by InfoMigrants.
The deployment of a buffer zone, measuring 200 meters in width and 60 kilometers in length, along the border, with access restricted to law enforcement, was declared by pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the start of June. When thousands of people attempted to enter the nation in November 2021, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government already implemented a similar decision.
Risky Precedent for Abusive Practices
“These proposals create a dangerous precedent for the rules around use and abuse of firearms in Poland,” stated Dinushika Dissanayake, deputy director of Amnesty International Europe, in a press release the day before the vote. “According to international law, using force against someone must be absolutely necessary and proportionate to the threat posed; firearms are not allowed to be used unless absolutely necessary, such as in cases where there is an immediate threat of death or serious injury. It would be illegal for the Polish government to make any attempt to subvert these values.
The idea of “preventive” self-defense, according to Dissanayake, “opens the door to all kinds of abusive practices” and “is not consistent with international law and standards relating to the use of force.”
Tomasz Siemoniak, the interior minister, added on July 17 that more funds had been set aside “for the modernization of the border fence.” A double, 5.5-meter-tall metal barrier has been in place at the border since June 2022. He informed the media, “We will see the results [of the fencing] in October.” Donald Tusk had already pledged that “there would be no limit [to spending] in terms of securing the border” on May 11 during a visit to the border.
Stabbed Soldier Died
There is a lot of tension in the area surrounding the law. Close to the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, a Polish soldier was stabbed and later died while attempting to stop migrants crossing the border.
In March Three border guards were detained after it was alleged that they had used their weapons against migrants. “Their arrest sparked very strong reactions from the opposition and created controversy in the country,” said Bartek Rumienczyk.
The creation of the new emergency zone also obscures the police’s duties there. NGOs and immigrant communities frequently denounce police brutality at the border. Groupa Granica saw “a rise in the sense of impunity of the nationalists and uniformed forces, who want to ‘take matters into their own hands'” for a month.
Early in June, a migrant captured on camera and uploaded it to the internet depicted police officers brutally beating a helpless migrant on the ground with batons. Apart from the violence, there are also growing “pushbacks” against Belarus.
