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I have a question. Has anyone seen any media reports of the Turkish authorities acting to try and stem the flow of refugees from Turkish camp at source? I thought not.
Croatia refuses to accept refugees, partly closes borders with Serbia
RT,
18
September, 2015
Croatia
has closed seven of its eight border crossings with Serbia
overwhelmed by a huge surge of refugees turned away by Hungary. PM
said Croatia will not accept or accommodate asylum seekers any
longer.
On
Thursday Croatia closed most of its road border crossings with Serbia
leaving only one on the main road linking Belgrade and Zagreb at
Bajakovo. The decision came as over 13,000 refugees entered the
country after Hungary closed its borders on Wednesday failing to cope
with the refugee flow. Police told Reuters that about 500 refugees
had been detained after crossing into the south of Hungary from
Croatia on Thursday.
In no man's land, border between #Serbia & #Hungary. Police say they don't know how many #refugeeshave come today pic.twitter.com/EliySj0sb7
— Daniel Hawkins (@DanhawkinsDh) September 18, 2015
Some
of the refugees appear to be stuck on the border between Croatia and
Hungary. Reuters reported on Thursday that a convoy of more than 10
buses which was heading towards the Croatian city of Osijek was
turned towards the Hungarian border. Refugees were offloaded at the
Croatian border village Beremend, according to a Reuters reporter at
the scene. Hundreds of migrants were also witnessed on Friday at a
petrol station by a road in the Croatian border town of Beli Manastir
Scuffles
between refugees erupted on Friday at the Croatian Beli Monastir
train station as the people were boarding the trains bound for
Zagreb. Some were injured and received first aid.
Dozens
of refugees staged a silent sit-in protest at the Serbian-Hungarian
border near the town of Horgos on Friday. They held placards which
read: “We
don’t have houses anymore. We will live here,” and “This
is shame for Europe.”
The
site was a scene of violence on Tuesday, when police used water
cannon and teargas to push back refugees attempting to enter Hungary.
Milanovic
said on Friday he has called a session of Croatia's National Security
Council. Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told N1 Television that
“it’s
a matter of time” before
Croatia closes all borders.
Columns
of asylum seekers were expected to turn to Slovenia, however the
Interior Ministry said on Friday that Slovenia does not intend to
open a corridor for the refugees heading to Western Europe to pass
through.
"At
the moment we have no basis on which we could form a
corridor," Interior
Ministry state secretary Bostjan Sefic told reporters.
'Time is running out'
The
UN refugee agency (UNCHR) on Friday issued a stark warning that time
was running out for Europe to resolve the current refugee crisis.
"With
more than 442,440 refugees and migrants having arrived via the
Mediterranean so far this year, some 2,921 deaths, and 4,000 people
arriving on the Greek islands daily, the crisis is growing and being
pushed from one country to another without solution," UNHCR
spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
The
agency blamed an absence of a “coherent
response”
to the situation as the main reason for confusion which sometimes
resulted in violence at the border crossings and camp.
"This
environment is fertile ground for people-smugglers and others seeking
to prey on this vulnerable population," he
said.
He
welcomed European Parliament’s Thursday decision to relocate an
additional 120,000 people to all countries of the EU.
#Sid border closed, but unofficial route through fields. People stock up on water & walk to #Croatia, met by police pic.twitter.com/Ui2FrhKpbL
— Daniel Hawkins (@DanhawkinsDh) September 18, 2015
Adrian
Edwards said that the Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council
meeting called for Tuesday and the European Council meeting slated
for Wednesday may be “the last opportunity for a positive, united
and coherent European response to this crisis.”
“Time
is running out,"
he said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Friday that the situation risked turning into another WWII
The
International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Friday that
the situation risked turning into another WWII.
"It's
very similar to what happened in the 1920s in Europe when the
beggar-thy-neighbour policy on trade pitted countries against each
other and led to the war,” said
Joel Millman, spokesman for the IOM.
“We
fear that something similar is happening now with the kind of
hardening of borders and as a response to Germany's decisions."
New fencing and security at #Horgos border post #Serbia#Hungarypic.twitter.com/Obh6XG71QB
— Daniel Hawkins (@DanhawkinsDh) September 18, 2015
In
a report issued on Friday, the European statistics agency (Eurostat)
said that the number of people seeking refuge in the EU in the second
quarter of 2015 was 85% higher than during the same period in 2014.
213,200
people have applied for asylum in second quarter of 2015, with
Germany receiving the highest number of applications – more than a
third. Hungary had 15 percent; Austria had 8 % followed by Italy,
France and Sweden – each 7 %.
Compared with the population of each
EU member state, the highest rates of registered first time
applicants during the second quarter 2015 were recorded in Hungary,
according to Eurostat. Most of the asylum seekers are from Syria and
Afghanistan, it said.
Admittedly from British tabloid press (that were baying for war just the other day - as was the Guardian), but it fits with the story I've been getting.
35 MILLION migrants heading to Europe, says Hungary as it builds second fece
SHOCK estimates predict up to 35 MILLION refugees could head for Europe due to hugely unstable situations across the world
18
September, 2015
The
huge figure was revealed today by Hungary's minister for foreign
affairs and trade Peter Szijjártó.
Speaking
as the country begins work on its second fence to stop migrants
heading across its border he predicted the current crisis will
continue for years.
Mr
Szijjártó told Hungarian Times: "The name of the fence is
'Temporary Security Border Fence' but I think there is no question
that in this case temporary means years.
"It's
a self delusion to call this situation a migration crisis; it is a
massive migration of nations, with inexhaustible reserves.
"I
don't think that the analysis results, stating that 30-35 million
people out there could possibly become migrants, would be an
exaggeration.
The Hungarian government also defended itself from criticism over its fences.
The first barrier was put up at its border with Serbia but, after migrants changed their route,they have now begun erecting a 41 kilometre fence at Croatia.
Migrants look to break through to Hungary as that sees them enter the European Union's Schengen Zone which offers free movement between member countries.
He said: "The recent international political decisions created an unstable situation around Europe that makes sure that the amount of people won't decrease.
GETTY Peter Szijjártó said
estimates of 30-35 million were likely"This is why it's
extremely important to protect our borders. "This issue wasn't this important until now, so the European Union neglected it a little bit.
"It became clear that - though its the border of Schengen - Greece couldn't protect the border of the European Union.
"The Hungarian/Serbian border is another border of Schengen. If we want to follow the orders of Schengen, we have to build a physical obstruction, because this 175 km long area is quite easy to cross.
"The European Union just realised what the Schengen border means.
"If we want to keep the freedom of movement in the European Union, we have to protect the outer borders.''
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