The aid system reminds us of the illegality of the operation. The neighbors of Russia and Belarus justify the procedure with national security.
The aid organization Doctors Without Borders criticizes the EU’s border policy in harsh words in his recent report. The report, based on the stories of doctors and nurses who have been treated in border areas and who work there, paints a picture of the normalization of violence and inhumane treatment in EU border control.
The report draws attention to the so-called push back procedure, which has also been considered in Finland in recent months. As the name suggests, push back means pushing migrants who cross the border back across the border without accepting asylum applications.
The operation violates international human rights agreements. Despite this, several countries in southern Europe have been using the procedure for a long time. Also in Finland, the method has been considered as a solution to Russia’s hybrid operation on the eastern border.
The Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (co.) said in December that the possibility “needs to be investigated†. In the presidential election debates, almost all candidates expressed their readiness for push back on the eastern border, including future president Alexander Stubb.
In recent years, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have used push back on their borders with Belarus to combat hybrid operations. Doctors Without Borders says that dozens of people have died as a result of the procedure in the border area between Poland and Belarus.
– Pushbacks are talked about as if they were some kind of possible alternative to prevent migration. They are not. Pushbacks are always illegal. We have seen the even fatal consequences of pushbacks in our work around Europe, and we cannot accept that such an option is even being considered in Finland, says the communications manager. Kaisa Väkiparta In the press release of the Finnish section of the Doctors Without Borders organization.
The prime minister of Latvia who visited Finland in the fall Evika Siliņa defended his country’s strict border policy by appealing to national security.
– You have to understand that they are not just asylum seekers. This is a hybrid attack by Russia and Belarus, Siliņa said in November.
Even in Finland, the government has spoken about the situation on the eastern border primarily as a matter of national security. The aid system still calls for humane treatment of those trying to cross the border.
– Finland also needs to change direction and stop looking at migrants only from a security point of view. The dehumanization of people must stop, Väkiparta says.