Migrants waiting at Serbian-Croatian border have tried to forcibly enter into Croatia.
After spending a night in the open on the border between Serbia and Croatia, a group of migrants has unsuccessfully tried to enter Croatia and continue its passage towards Europe. They were prevented by the police, and another incident followed when they tried to cross the border through the nearby field, but this illegal attempt was once again prevented by the police, reports tportal.hr on November 14, 2016.
On Friday, the group of about hundred migrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan started walking from Serbian capital Belgrade in a protest march, hoping to enter Croatia and continue their voyage to other European countries. The police did not allow them to pass through the border crossing. They remained near the border crossing over the night, protesting and demanding that the border be opened. They also rejected accommodation at reception centres provided by the Serbian government.
They spent the night in the open near the Šid border crossing, and the border was secured by a large number of police officers. Although it is very cold, they said they would not give up, but also added that they would not try to illegally cross the border. Their final destinations are Italy and France.
However, today they did try to illegally cross the border, but they probably did it more to draw the media attention to their problem than to cause unrest. But, because of the situation, the border crossing was closed for a while. Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepić said yesterday that “there is no reason why someone would illegally cross the border and enter Croatia”. Asked what would happen with the migrants, he said they would not be allowed to enter Croatia.
In the meantime, civil society organizations on both sides of the border complained about the behaviour of governments and were appalled by the behaviour of the authorities. “While people knock on the door of Croatia, we need to put human solidarity first and respond to their cries for help. It is a shame that the Croatian police is “securing” the border from refugees and there is nothing professional in that, let alone ethical. Interior Minister has an obligation to protect constitutional values which dictate that Croatia needs to provide shelter to the refugees, especially since Serbia has no capacity needed for all the people who are there. It is wrong and shameful to present refugees as a threat, spreading moral panic and scaring the Croatian public”, said the Welcome Initiative.
