2015-08-21 Balkanin maiden turvapaikanhakijatilanne (yhdistetty)

[Lady Deadpool]

Serbian maahanmuuttovirasto on vaikeuksissa. Tänä vuonna on vastaanotettu 150 hakemusta, kaksi hakemusta on käsitelty ja hyväksytty. Satoja hakemuksia on myös jonossa. Maahanmuuttovirastoa vaivaa työvoimapula, mutta mahdollisesti myös asenteella on vaikutusta takkuiluun.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-slow-to-process-refugees-asylum-requests-08-09-2017 (10.8.2017)

Serbia Struggles to Process Refugees' Asylum Claims

Serbia's asylum office has accepted just two applications this year, with hundreds more pending due to understaffing, although some NGOs also blame a lack of political will to approve asylum claims.

Serbia has granted only two asylum requests out of more than 150 applications submitted in 2017, and the National Office for Asylum is backed up with hundreds more cases, mostly due to lack of staff.

"The number [of requests] they processed is extremely small compared to last year. They did much fewer because they are backed up," said Nikola Kovacevic from the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights.

Kovacevic told BIRN that one Afghan and one Syrian citizen were granted asylum in July and August, respectively.

According to the National Office for Asylum's statistics, obtained by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, not a single asylum request was granted out of 151 filed in the first six months of 2017, while 28 people were denied asylum.

In 2016, the total number of applications was 574, of which 105 were denied and only 19 were accepted.

The other 450 cases from last year haven't been processed yet.

Kovacevic said that only a handful of people are working to process hundreds of applications, which is the reason why work has been slow.

The National Office for Asylum, which is part of the Interior Ministry, did not respond to BIRN's request for a comment by the time of publication.

The director of the NGO Crisis Response and Policy Centre, Vladimir Sjekloca, also blamed poor state policy for the slow processing of applications.

"The system for seeking asylum is undeveloped, and it is not in [the state's] interest to develop it, because more people might perceive our country as their destination," Sjekloca told BIRN.

He added that many applications are denied because refugees had previously registered in Bulgaria, which he considers to be wrong because Bulgaria is not a safe third country for them.

While recognising that the Office for Asylum is understaffed, Sjekloca said that there is also no political will on behalf of the state to change the situation.

He quoted former Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who is now president, as saying that Serbia cannot be a "parking lot for Afghanis and Pakistanis who other countries don't wish to see, let alone accept".

"When you have statements like that, it is perfectly clear what the policy of the Office for Asylum will be, since most applicants come from Afghanistan," Sjekloca claimed.

Bulgariaan kohdistuva siirtolaisvirta on vähentynyt 80% viime vuodesta.

[tweet]895573165488750592[/tweet]

[Alaric]

[tweet]896064898710388738[/tweet]

https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-sid/28671845.html (11.8.2017)

Migrants Camp In Serbian Fields, Avoiding Official Camps

About a hundred migrants have been camping near the Serbian town of Sid, on the border with Croatia, sleeping in corn fields and fearing that they will remain stuck in Serbia for years if they go to official camps instead.

Linkissä minuutin mittainen video leiristä.

[Alaric]

Albania yrittää saada maasta lähteviä turvapaikkahuijareita kuriin.

Vuonna 2016 lähes 29 000 albanialaista haki turvapaikkaa EU-maista. Suosituin kohde oli tuolloin Saksa, mutta tänä vuonna Ranska on ollut ykkösenä.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/albania-pledges-to-tackle-exodus-of-asylum-seekers/article/499938 (14.8.2017)

Albania pledges to tackle exodus of asylum-seekers

The Albanian market vendor paid 1,200 euros ($1,419) to a "chaperone" late last year to take her 16-year-old son to France, where he joined thousands from the Balkan country seeking asylum.

"It's a huge sacrifice, I pray to God every night," said Bukurie, 40, who declined to give her family name for fear of problems with authorities.

She said the teenager, her only son, is now in a centre for unaccompanied minors, studying French and hoping to start a cooking apprenticeship so that he can apply to stay in France when he turns 18.

"My only wish is that he can have a better future," she told AFP.

Despite being considered a safe and democratic country, Albania remains a leading source of asylum seekers to the European Union, an irregular emigration pattern that Tirana has vowed to crack down on.

Mass migration from the former communist state is driven by Albania's average monthly salary of about 340 euros and an unemployment rate affecting nearly one in three young people.

Bukurie said she and her husband struggle to support their family of seven, coming to the capital from the rural outskirts each day to sell just a few kilogrammes of vegetables and two or three litres of milk.

"A mother should not be condemned for only thinking about better prospects for her child," she said.

Nearly 29,000 Albanians sought asylum in the European Union in 2016, according to EU data agency Eurostat - one percent of the country's entire 2.9 million population.

It places Albania, a candidate for EU membership, among the top asylum-seeking nations along with Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Eritrea.

"We have decided to stop this phenomenon, which really worries us," said Rovena Voda, Deputy Interior Minister, who expressed particular concern about unaccompanied minors.

Eurostat figures show Germany was the favoured destination of first-time Albanian asylum applicants last year, but France took the top spot in the first quarter of 2017.

(...)

Paris and Berlin's threats to reinstate visas for Albanians appear to have galvanised authorities back home. Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati met Collomb in late July to discuss the problem.

Tirana presented France with "an action plan to get concrete results within three months in the fight against irregular immigration", Voda said.

The plan includes stronger controls on those leaving, particularly to prevent the emigration of unaccompanied minors. Another is strengthening the crackdown on criminal networks.

Albanian police "are investigating agencies, law firms, associations or registry offices who provide false papers to asylum seekers," according to Voda.

Between January and May, 1,083 citizens were readmitted in Albania after presenting false papers in France to claim asylum, the interior ministry said.

(...)

[Alaric]

Hmm... alkaakohan Mustanmeren poikki vyörymään seuraavaksi sitten matuja Eurooppaan?

Romaniaan tuli veneellä 70 syyrialaista/irakilaista. Tuo viimeviikkoinen 69 hengen porukka oli irakilaisia (kts. alempi uutinen).

http://www.novinite.com/articles/182500/The+Romanina+Coastal+Guard+Detained+a+Boat+Carrying+70+Refugees#sthash.8BGUrwT8.uxfs (21.8.2017)

The Romanina Coastal Guard Detained a Boat Carrying 70 Refugees

The Romaninan coastal guard detained a boat carrying 70 migrants near the port of Mangalia, reports Agerpress.

On the boat there were 23 children, 12 women and 35 man from Syrian and Iraqi descent. One of the women was pregnant and had to be transported to the hospital in Mangalia. In the end of last week the Romanian coastal guard captured motor yacht sailing with Turkish flag that had 69 migrants and was again in the same area. Romanian media say that the Black sea is increasingly preffered and turning into alternative route for migrants fleeing to Europe.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/08/16/migrant-crisis-fourth-maritime-migrant-route-black-sea/ (16.8.2017)

Migrant Crisis: New Maritime Migrant Route Opens on Black Sea

Romanian authorities warn that a fourth migrant route could be opening along the Black Sea after the country experienced a five-fold increase in landings on last year.

The warning comes after 69 Iraqi migrants in a yacht were detained on Sunday after being spotted by a coastguard patrol ship in Romanian territorial waters, about 10 nautical miles from the port of Mangalia.

Bulgarian news agency Novinite reports that the yacht was sailing under the Turkish flag piloted by Bulgarian and Cypriot traffickers.

Romanian authorities note that 2,500 people have been caught trying to cross the country's borders illegally in the first six months of this year – a five-fold increase on last year. Frontex figures show that only one person attempted to illegally enter the European Union via the Black Sea in the whole of 2016.

(...)

[Alaric]

Romanian ja Serbian rajalla havaittiin serbialaisten salakuljettajien autoissa 12 pakistanilaista ja afganistanilaista laitonta siirtolaista varhain maanantaiaamuna. Autoilla yritettiin kaahata rajan yli, jolloin Romanian rajavartiosto avasi tulen.

Kaksi laitonta haavoittui, toinen on kriittisessä tilassa.

https://www.kansalainen.fi/romanian-rajavartiosto-avasi-tulen-kohti-ihmissalakuljettajia/ (29.8.2017)

Romanian rajavartiosto avasi tulen kohti ihmissalakuljettajia

Laiton siirtolaisuus kohdistuu Romaniaan koko ajan enenevässä määrin.

Romanian rajavartiosto avasi tulen serbialaisen ihmissalakuljettajan autoa kohti Timișoarassa Serbian rajalla ja Unkarin rajan tuntumassa, kertoo Visegrad Post.

Aikaisin maanantai-aamuna 28. elokuuta Romanian poliisi havaitsi rajalla 12 pakistanilaista ja afganistanilaista laitonta siirtolaista. Serbialaisen salakuljettajan kaksi autoa yritti kaahata rajan yli laittomat siirtolaiset kyydissään, jolloin romanialainen virkailija loukkaantui ja paikalla ollut poliisiauto kärsi vaurioita.

Tapaus todistaa taas sitä, että Romanian kautta on avautumassa uusi laittomien siirtolaisten salakuljettajien reitti Schengen-alueelle. Vain kaksi viikkoa sitten Romanian rannikkovartiosto pidätti 69 laitonta siirtolaista salakuljettaneen aluksen Mustamerellä.

Unkari vartioi tiukasti Serbian ja Kroatian vastaista rajaansa, mutta Romanian vastainen raja on suojattomampi: Unkari ei ole vielä rakentanut rajalle aitaa, vaikka on sanonut olevansa siihen valmis tarvittaessa.

Vaikka Visegrad-maiden ja Itävallan yhteistyö on hillinnyt merkittävästi Balkanilta Keski-Eurooppaan suuntautuvaa laitonta siirtolaisuutta, merkittävä määrä laittomia siirtolaisia yrittää Turkista Bulgarian kautta edemmäs Eurooppaan.

Alkuperäinen lähde: https://visegradpost.com/en/2017/08/29/romanian-border-guards-shots-two-smugglers-cars/ (28.8.2017)

The Romanian border guards then opened fire to stop fleeing vehicles, wounding two illegal migrants, one of which is in a critical situation.

[internetsi]

26 päivän päästä on Saksan vaalit. Tänään jo tuli katseltua vaihtoehtoista roadia Berliiniin. Halpoja lentoja olisi Bulgariaan, Romaniaan (kolmeen kohteeseen) ja Serbiaan (myös Kosovoon) naapurimme Sverigestanian kautta. Majoitushan tuolla ei maksa juuri mitään, niin voisi olla hyvä vaihtoehto seuraavalle hompanssimatkalle.

[Finis Finlandiae]

Puola ja Unkari aloittaneet vastaiskun Euroopan mädättäjiä vastaan. 

Puola(laiset poliitikot) vaatii Saksalta sotakorvauksia.

Puolalaispoliitikot vaativat Saksalta korvauksia toisen maailmansodan tuhoista

http://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/201708312200364652_ul.shtml

Ja Unkari vaatii EU:lta 400 miljoonaa euroa korvauksia aidan rakentamisesta.

http://www.tvp.info/33813230/wegry-zazadaly-od-brukseli-zwrotu-400-milionow-euro-za-budowe-muru

Niin sitä pitää!

[Alaric]

Bosnia-Hertsegovinassa on nähty nousua matumäärissä. Pienistä määristä vielä puhutaan, mutta jonkinmoinen reitti tuokin on. Serbiassa ja Makedoniassa jumissa olevat saattavat yrittää sitä kautta pohjoiseen.

http://www.balkaneu.com//bosnian-migrant-route-active-more-than-before/ (1.9.2017)

Bosnian migrant route active more than before

BiH Border Police (BiH BP) Unit Trebinje detected on Friday six foreigners who illegally crossed the state border in the area of Bileća, South East BiH.

As it was announced from BiH BP, citizens of Cuba and citizen of Algeria were prosecuted for minor offence and were handed over to officers of BiH Service for Foreigners Affairs, for further procedure. This was just one more in the line of more often similar cases with a larger number of illegal migrants who are trying to reach West European countries. Since routes through Serbia, Croatia and Hungary have been closed for several months now, it was expected that foreign citizens will try to find a new path toward their final destination. That path, as it seems, leads over BiH.

The fact is that just in period from August 1 up to September 1 more than 65 illegal migrants were found on the BiH territory and were subsequently handed over to officers of BiH Service for Foreigners Affairs. Most of them are citizens of Syria and Afghanistan, but they also came from Algeria, Turkey and other destinations with the same wish, to travel over BiH to other countries. It is interesting that just few of them stated that they want to stay in BiH, but probably they were just trying to avoid extradition.

A few days ago, BiH BP Director, Zoran Galic, on the meeting with representatives of other relevant agencies, said that operational information, data and reports of EUROPOL, IOM, FRONTEX and other relevant international authorities indicate that BiH is currently not exposed to mass migratory pressure.

"However, the current situation in the regional countries, in particular in the Republic of Serbia and Macedonia, where a large number of migrants have been staying for a long time, indicates to possible activities of migrants and searches for alternative routes for movement towards the EU countries, which may include transit over the BiH territory. Cases registered in 2017 indicate that migrants from high migration risk countries, in individual cases and in smaller groups, attempt to use the BiH territory as transit area on their way to the EU countries", Galic stated.

He emphasized that, in the course of this year, officers of BP BiH detected 311 persons in illegal crossing of the state border.

According to press release from BiH BP, the increased number of illegal migrants in the area of Eastern Herzegovina was the reason for this meeting. In 2017, said BiH BP, there were 88 nationals of high migration risk countries detected in illegal crossing, or attempted illegal crossing, in the responsibility zone of Border Police Unit Trebinje, of which only in August, 49 persons were detected.

It is important, as Galic said, that BiH BP created local and regional plans, in a timely manner, in case of a mass inflow of illegal migrants to the BiH border. Moreover, a framework action plan of BP BiH was made at the central level, foreseeing redistribution of human potentials and material and technical resources to the parts of the state border where necessary, in accordance with the capabilities of this police agency.

According to BiH Service for Foreigners Affairs in the first half of 2017, the number of illegal migrants in BiH increased by almost 300 percent compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the increase in the entry and stay of foreigners from the countries of visa-free and visa regime, as a result of the increased interest of foreigners for visiting and staying in BiH, is also significant.

BiH Minister of Security, Dragan Mektic, said recently that Eastern Herzegovina is not a new route for migrants, but rather an old route that has been activated. He added that EU and Turkey, with the agreement on migrant crisis, stopped the arrival of new migrants but the problem is about 10 000 of them who is still in Serbia and FYRO Macedonia. They, as Mektic said, will try to reach EU at any route, including BiH, but the state institutions are prepared for such a scenario.

[Alaric]

Mustanmeren reitillä alkaa näkyä yhä enemmän liikennettä.

Romanian rannikkovartiosto pysäytti tänä aamuna kohti maan rannikkoa suunnanneen aluksen, jossa oli 87 maahantunkeutujaa. Näiden kansallisuuksia ei kerrottu.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/09/03/romanian-coastguard-intercept-boat-87-migrants-black-sea/ (3.9.2017)

Romanian Coastguard Intercept Boat of 87 Migrants on Black Sea

Romania's coastguard says it has intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 87 migrants in the Black Sea that was sailing toward the Romanian coast.

A statement said border police spotted the vessel on Sunday morning east of the port of Midia outside Romania's territorial waters. The coastguard sent two patrol boats to identify the vessel and its passengers which sailed into Romanian waters. The statement said the boat did not respond to warnings to stop.

Authorities found 48 men, 16 women and 23 minors on board.

Border police will question the migrants. The statement did not provide the nationality of the migrants.

Migrants are increasingly using the Black Sea route to reach Romania, which is not a member of the visa-free Schengen zone.

[Alaric]

Turkki on napannut muutaman viime päivän aikana rajan läheltä 81 läpsyä (irakilaisia, syyrialaisia, afgaaneja), jotka yrittivät päästä Bulgariaan.

http://www.novinite.com/articles/182950/Turkey+has+Detained+81+Migrants+on+the+Border+with+Bulgaria+in+the+Last+3+Days

Turkey has Detained 81 Migrants on the Border with Bulgaria in the Last 3 Days

In the Turkish province of Kirklareli, a total of 81 illegal migrants have been captured before crossing the border illegally, the Haberler electronic edition quoted by Sega as saying.

In the beginning of September gendarmerie teams caught in preparation three separate groups for illegal crossing in Bulgaria near Derekoy - Malko Tarnovo border checkpoint and in the district of Kohchaz (near the Edirne province). In the area of ​​the border crossing in question, gendarmerie has begun tracking minibuses with illegal migrants.

The minibus driver noticed he was followed, stopped in the village of Chaglauk and escaped on foot. 28 illegal migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan were found in the minibus. At the same time, a total of 53 illegal migrants from Afghanistan and Syria were detained in operations in the Kohkhod region. Following the legal procedures by the gendarmerie, the captured illegal migrants were handed over to the local office of the Migration Directorate.

[Alaric]

Romanian ja Bulgarian rannikkovartiostot nappasivat/blokkasivat Mustallamerellä eri operaatioissa yhteensä 217 maahantunkeutujaa.

https://www.apnews.com/1c961573836f48efb58906b60694afd8/The-Latest:-217-migrants-found-in-Black-Sea-seeking-Europe (9.9.2017)

The Latest: 217 migrants found in Black Sea seeking Europe

Coast guard forces from Romania and Bulgaria have intercepted 217 migrants in the Black Sea who are suspected of trying to illegally enter Romania.

Romanian border police said Saturday they spotted a tourist ship carrying 97 migrants from Iran and Iraq sailing close to Romanian waters late Friday. The ship, carrying 40 men, 21 women and 36 children, was taken to the port of Mangalia.

Separately, a joint Romanian-Bulgarian effort blocked a fishing vessel carrying 120 migrants in the Black Sea late Friday near the northern Bulgarian town of Shabla. The ship and its passengers were handed over to Turkey.

Romania and Bulgaria are members of the European Union but are not part of Europe's visa-free travel zone. Migrants are increasingly using the Black Sea from Turkey to reach Romania.

...

[Alaric]

Mustanmeren reitti on hiljalleen aktivoitumassa ja ihmissalakuljettajat testailevat Romanian rannikkovartioston valppautta.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/12/smugglers-make-test-runs-with-migrants-across-even-more-deadly-black-sea-route-romania?CMP=share_btn_tw (12.9.2017)

Smugglers make test runs with migrants across even more deadly Black Sea route

Rise in boats intercepted by Romanian coastguard fuels fears that smugglers are trying to reactivate dangerous transit passage to Europe

A dangerous new route for refugees trying to reach Europe is thought to have opened up in the Black Sea, which coastguards in Romania are warning could prove more deadly than the current Mediterranean crossings.

As neighbouring countries struggle with the refugee crisis that has seen millions flee conflicts in the Middle East, Romania has largely been bypassed. However the past few days suggest its waters are being eyed by smugglers keen to avoid crackdowns elsewhere.

On Saturday, the Romanian coastguard intercepted a fishing boat in the Black Sea with 97 migrants on board, 36 of them children. Border police said that they were Iranian and Iraqi nationals, picked up close to the Romanian-Bulgarian sea border. The evening before, coastguards had spotted another boat heading for Romanian territorial waters. The fishing boat, carrying around 120 people, was intercepted by border police and handed over to Turkish coastguards.

On 3 September, a fishing boat carrying 87 migrants, was stopped as it sailed towards the Romanian coast on the Black Sea. That boat is believed to have set out from the northern coast of Turkey.

The coastguard had also intercepted a boat with 68 asylum seekers off the Romanian coast on 21 August and a few days later, 150 Syrian refugees were discovered boarding a fishing boat in Turkey heading for Romania. On 13 August the coastguard had found 69 Iraqi migrants in a boat in Romanian waters.

While these are still small numbers compared with the hundreds of thousands who have made the perilous crossing between Turkey and Greece, it could still be a significant development.

Romania's interior minister, Carmen Dan, visited the Black Sea border police last week. "We treat migrants as people who need help, not criminals," she said.

Krzysztof Borowski, a spokesperson for the EU border protection agency Frontex, said it was too early to discuss the incidents as a change in trend, pointing to the limited number of incidents over a short period of time.

(...)

Romanian authorities have so far taken into custody six individuals on suspicion of human trafficking related to the incidents, including two Turks, a Bulgarian, a Syrian, an Iraqi and a Cyprian.

Sea routes are notoriously dangerous. Between January and July 2017, 2,224 migrants died trying to cross the Med, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Border police say no one has died trying to cross into Romania in recent years.

Romania, which is outside the Schengen zone, has largely escaped the refugee crisis; few migrants have targeted Romania as an end destination and most have chosen more well-trodden routes to western Europe. However, the number of people trying to cross Romania's land borders illegally has also been on the rise.

According to data from the Romanian border police, in the first seven months of 2017, 2,800 people were caught trying to illegally cross Romania's borders, up from 1,624 in the whole of 2016. The majority, 1,370 people, were from Iraq, followed by 525 from Syria and 319 from Pakistan.

(...)

[Alaric]

Tiistaina romanialaiset pelastivat mereltä 153 "siirtolaista", joista monet ovat irakilaisia.

Mustanmeren reitin pelätään kasvattavan suosiotaan. Jutussa muistutetaan siitä, että Mustameri on Välimereen verrattuna kylmempi, siellä on kovemmat tuulet ja voimakkaammat virtaukset, joten varsinkin pienillä veneillä reitti on vaarallinen.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4881776/153-migrants-land-Romania-crossing-Black-Sea.html (13.9.2017)

More than 150 migrants land in Romania after being rescued from a dangerously overcrowded boat as they find a perilous new doorway into Europe

Lucky to be alive, 153 migrants land in Romania yesterday after being rescued from an overcrowded boat that threatened to capsize in the Black Sea – the perilous new route into Europe.

The pre-dawn drama, in which 53 children were saved, fuelled fears that the crossing from Turkey to eastern Europe was becoming increasingly popular with unscrupulous North African traffickers.

At least 627 migrants have been caught in rickety vessels heading to Romania this year – almost ten times the number intercepted over the past two years.

Experts believe the total is soaring as other nations crack down on the routes migrants traditionally take across the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece.

The Libyan coastguard has increased patrols of the Med and aid groups have suspended dangerous rescue missions.

But the Black Sea is more dangerous, with colder water, higher winds and stronger currents. In fact, until recently people smugglers rarely used the crossing, with just one person arriving last year.

Krzysztof Borowski, of Frontex, the EU border protection agency, said conditions in the Black Sea were often more hazardous than the Mediterranean, adding: 'Migrants are in bigger danger, especially if they take smaller vessels. It is a rough sea and a difficult one to cross.'

Razvan Samoila, of the Romanian aid group Arca, said: 'The Mediterranean is not like the Black Sea. In the Black Sea, you don't know what will happen in 20 minutes. These migrants who took this route on the Black Sea must have experienced a very hard journey.'

Many of those rescued yesterday were Iraqi. They sent a distress signal when the sea suddenly became stormy, with gale-force winds churning up 10ft waves that could have capsized their vessel. Two Romanian coastguard boats towed the ship to the port of Midia, 150 miles east of Bucharest, shortly before dawn.

(...)

Experts fear that Romania is ill-prepared for the rising influx. Until now, very few migrants have considered using the country to get into Europe because it is outside the Schengen free-movement zone.

But Romania does have a border with Hungary, which is part of the Schengen area, and it has become a more attractive option as other routes are more heavily policed.

Romanian border police have reported a big spike in the number of people caught trying to cross their borders illegally.

From January to July 2,800 people, mostly Iraqis, were stopped, up from 1,634 in 2016.

(...)

[Mr.Reese]

Vaikka pitäisi Kap horn kiertää kumipaatilla päästäkseen taikaseinälle, niin uskon noiden Sinbad merenkävijöiden siihen ryhtyvän. Allah suojelee ja niin pois päin.

[Alaric]

Balkanilla on ollut iso poliisioperaatio, jossa pidätettiin 21 ihmissalakuljettajaa. Nämä ovat salakuljettaneet lähes 200 turkkilaista EU:n alueelle Kroatiaan Bosnian/Montenegron kautta.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-balkans-arrests/balkan-police-break-up-turkish-migrant-smuggling-ring-idUKKCN1BP25D (14.9.2017)

Balkan police break up Turkish migrant smuggling ring

Police in the Balkans have arrested 21 men suspected of smuggling close to 200 Turks to the European Union, officials said on Thursday.

The suspects, including a Turkish national who is believed to be the ring leader, are accused of taking advantage of visa -free travel between Turkey and Bosnia and Montenegro to transfer migrants by plane from Istanbul to Sarajevo and Podgorica.

They were then smuggled into EU member Croatia and further on to Western Europe, said police who ran a joint operation involving officers from Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro.

The suspected smugglers, who are nationals of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, charged migrants 3,500 to 5,000 euros per person to reach EU member states, said Adnan Kosovac, a Bosnian border police official.

Kosovac said that as well as the arrests on Wednesday, the police also raided several houses in western Bosnia and neighbouring Croatia where the gang kept illegal migrants and seized mobile phones, SIM cards and money.

[Alaric]

Pääministeri Orbán kertoo, että Unkari aloittaa Romanian kanssa yhteistyön merkittävän siirtolaisreitin tukkimiseksi EU:n ulkorajalla.

Hän sanoo, että mikäli Romaniaan iskee siirtolaistulva, Unkari joutuu rakentamaan aidan myös Romanian vastaiselle rajalle ja että tämä tilanne halutaan välttää.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/864197/viktor-organ-hungary-romania-eu-migrant-crisis (9.10.2017)

Viktor Orban reveals 'mission' as Hungary and Romania team up to block migrant route

HUNGARIAN leader Viktor Orban has launched an "important mission" to team up with Romania to block a major European migrant route.

Mr Orban has vowed to help Romania protect the European eternal border and is urging the country to build an "efficient bored barrier system".

A new report issued by the Hungarian government revealed the partnership aiming to combat weaknesses on Europe's eastern borders.

Mr Orban said: "Romania is an important country in this regard, and will have an important mission to stop the uncontrolled masses of migrants flowing to Europe at its eastern."

He warned of "uncontrolled migrant masses flowing to Europe" and said Romania risked being "flooded".

In this case, Mr Orban explained, Hungary would have no choice but to build a fence on the Romanian border.

He added: "We definitely want to avoid this."

Frontex, the European border agency, said the Eastern border route poses a "significant challenge".

The agency said: "The European Union's 6,000-kilometre-long land border between Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, the Russian Federation and its eastern Member States (Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania) presents significant challenges for border control."

Hungary and Romania could also unite through Christianity, Mr Orban said in a recent interview, and pledged support for the Orthodox Church of Romania.

And he concluded his interview with a rallying call for eastern Europe, claiming "great success" was on the way after it had shown its worth to Western Europe during the migrant crisis.

He said: "Poland, Czechs, Hungary and Slovaks. Together, we can achieve great success in Europe."

(...)

[Alaric]

Médecins Sans Frontières eli Lääkärit ilman rajoja väittää, että 90 % nuorista turvapaikanhakijoista on saanut rajavartijoilta epäasiallista kohtelua Balkanin "siirtolaisreitillä". Bulgarian rajavartijat ovat kuulemma olleet erityisen väkivaltaisia.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/10/13/msf-claims-90-per-cent-young-migrants-abused-border-guards/ (13.10.2017)

Charity Claims 90 Per Cent of Young Migrants Are 'Abused' by Border Guards

NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has claimed that 90 per cent of young migrants between the ages of 15 and 25 have been abused by border guards and that Bulgarian guards are particularly violent.

The NGO, who previously operated one of the largest migrant rescue vessels off the Libyan coast ferrying migrants from North Africa to Italy, says that European Union (EU) border guards along the Balkan route have become increasingly abusive. According to MSF, migrants say that Bulgarian guards have subjected them to beatings, pepper spray, and set dogs on them, Der Standard reports.

"Many of the victims were young, teenagers and their faces were bloodstained," an Afghan migrant told the NGO.

The NGO also claimed that it is very rare for the border guards to be prosecuted for abuse, though in Hungary, following an investigation, two border guards were found guilty of abusing their power.

(...)

[Alaric]

Romanian rajavartiosto on napannut 28 "siirtolaista", jotka yrittivät päästä laittomasti Unkariin.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/20/romanian-border-police-take-28-migrants-into-custody.html (20.10.2017)

Romanian border police take 28 migrants into custody

Romanian border police have taken into custody 28 migrants who are suspected of trying to cross into Hungary illegally.

The border police agency said in a statement that the group of nine women, eight men and 11 children was spotted close to the Hungarian border early Friday and couldn't explain why they were in the area.

The agency says they originally were from Afghanistan, India, Iran and Iraq and had been living in refugee centers around Romania after registering as asylum-seekers.

Border agents took the group into custody for investigation. The travelers told police they wanted to reach Western Europe.

Hungary is a member of the Schengen visa-free travel area, but Romania isn't.

[Lady Deadpool]

Myös Kroatiassa ja Sloveniassa on EU-projekteja siirtolaisiin liittyvistä asioista lasten keskuudessa.

https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/23711-croatian-and-slovenian-pupils-join-forces-in-project-on-migrants (2.12.2017)

Croatian and Slovenian pupils shares experiences about migrants - Most children's artworks shows barbed wire which has not yet been removed from the 133 km of border between the two countries.

[Lady Deadpool]

[tweet]937128350140813312[/tweet]

[jmk]

^ Vielä olennaisempaa olisi "I am ready to let you die if you attack my country".

Jos tuohon ei pystytä, niin rajavartiointi menee lekkeripeliksi.

[jahve]

Kuinkas moni on tiennyt että Ukraina nykyään ~ Schengen maa, vain 45 milj. asukasta ja Espanja on jo saanut osansa ukrainalaisista  joilla on tasa-arvoisempi ja laajempi käsitys omaisuuden omistusoikeudesta.


Aika vähän on ollut ukrainalaisten vapaasta matkustusoikeudesta julkisuudessa juttuja

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/eu-approves-visa-free-travel-ukrainians/

[Alaric]

https://www.kansalainen.fi/balkan-reitin-uusi-polttopiste-romania/ (21.2.2018)

Balkan-reitin uusi polttopiste: Romania

Ihmissalakuljettajat käyttävät romanialaista Timisoaran kaupunkia uutena salakuljetuskeskuksena Eurooppaan. Saksan liittotasavallan poliisi pitää kaupunkia vaarallisena keskuksena, josta käsin laittomia siirtolaisia tuodaan Eurooppaan kuorma-autoihin piilotettuna.

"Timisoaran kaupunki on uusi hotspot ihmissalakuljetusliigoille Balkanilla", kertoo Saksan liittotasavallan poliisi. Paikkaa pidetään keräys- ja risteyspaikkana, josta laittomia siirtolaisia kuljetetaan eteenpäin Keski-Eurooppaan. Tämä käy ilmi Saksan liittotasavallan poliisin selonteosta "Taistelu ihmissalakuljetusta vastaan" (Bekämpfung der Schleusungskriminalität).

Timisoara: laittomien siirtolaisten lastauspaikka

Unkarin rajan lähellä sijaitsevassa Timisoaran kaupungissa laittomat siirtolaiset pakataan kuorma-autoihin, joilla heidät kuljetetaan Unkarin läpi Keski-Eurooppaan. Unkarin hallitus on ilmoittanut tästä ilmiöstä jo aiemmin.

(...)

[Lady Deadpool]

Viisi miestä tuomittu 469 laittoman matun salakuljetuksesta aikavälillä kesäkuu - elokuu 2017. Reittinä on toiminut Bosnia ja Hertsegovina - Kroatia - Slovenia. Laittomien matujen salakuljetus ei ollut ainoa rötöstely vaan mm. huumeet olivat mukana kuvassa.

Liitteenä huono kuvakaappaus uutisesta, loppupätkän voi lukea linkistä:

https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/26351-five-men-indicted-for-smuggling-469-illegal-immigrants (3.3.2018)

[Alaric]

Nyt ilmeisesti osa läpsyttelijöistä kulkee uusia reittejä Albanian, Montenegron ja Bosnian kautta.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/migrants-take-new-balkan-route-through-bosnia/article/518216 (23.3.2018)

Migrants take new Balkan route through Bosnia

A new Balkan route through Bosnia has opened up for migrants, four years after a crisis in which more than one million people landed on Europe's shores.

Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, took the so-called Balkans route northwest of Greece in 2015 and 2016.

The route was effectively closed in March 2016 and until recently the few still making the journey avoided Bosnia and its mountains.

Instead they opted for a route through Serbia before dodging the Croatian and Hungarian authorities in order to make it into the European Union (EU).

But now an alternative migrants' itinerary from Greece through Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia has emerged.

The route, according to a western diplomatic source, matches the one taken by arms and drugs traffickers, indicating that human smuggling networks have been established.

- Thousands paid to people smugglers -

One migrant Ahmed Wessam, who spoke to AFP in Sarajevo, left the northeastern Syrian town of Hassake a month ago having paid people smugglers to get him to Europe.

"A thousand dollars (800 euros) to go from Turkey to Greece, a thousand euros to go from Greece to Albania and so on," Wessam told AFP.

According to Bosnian authorities, since the beginning of the year 700 migrants have entered the country illegally and almost 800 were intercepted at the border.

Most of them are Syrians, Pakistanis, Libyans or Afghans.

The authorities fear that the end of the cold weather could spell a big hike in numbers.

"We have no capacity to accept thousands of refugees... although they do not want to stay in Bosnia," Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic said recently.

Head of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Balkans Stephane Moissaing dismissed concerns of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis.

However, the Bosnian authorities should "handle (the situation) in a humane way, so it does not become a real humanitarian crisis", he said.

The country's current reception capacities are limited to a centre for asylum-seekers near Sarajevo, with space for just 154 people.

The situation "gets complicated," Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektic admitted recently, stating that there were currently between 45,000 and 50,000 migrants between Greece and Bosnia, many of whom might try their luck through Bosnia.

(...)

Europol ja paikallisviranomaiset pidättivät salakuljettajia, jotka veivät porukkaa Sloveniaan Kosovosta. Nämä ovat salakuljettaneet noin 300 läpsyä kuukaudessa.

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/300-migrants-smuggled-month-slovenia-and-kosovo-apprehend-major-organised-crime-group-in-balkans (22.3.2018)

300 migrants smuggled a month: Slovenia and Kosovo* apprehend major organised crime group in the Balkans

Law enforcement authorities worked together on 21 March to arrest 12 migrant smugglers operating in the Balkans. Slovenia, Kosovo*, the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and Europol arrested the individuals as part of a cross-border operation to dismantle an organised crime group based in the area.

The operation targeted the group as it was involved in smuggling migrants from Kosovo* to Slovenia, via the Balkan route. Operating the length of this particular route, the group used different modes of transport to cross borders and made use of safe houses and a network of contacts along the way.

Over the past year the group has smuggled 300 people, including minors, to Europe a month. The smugglers charged the migrants EUR 2 500-3 000 each and made EUR 900 000 every month through their illegal activities.

The Joint Action Day was seen as a success in the fight against migrant smuggling:

    8 arrested in Kosovo* and 4 in Slovenia;
    12 houses searched;
    19 mobile devices confiscated;
    4 guns with ammunition seized;
    forged passports found.

The Slovenian National Police and the District State Prosecutor's Office in Koper led the operation, with cooperation and support from the Kosovan Police and the Prosecutor's Office in Mitrovica, EULEX Kosovo and Europol.

Europol organised operational meetings in Pristina and provided analytical and investigative support. Europol's European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) deployed an officer with a mobile office to Pristina to support Kosovan Police and EULEX Kosovo* with a Universal Forensic Extraction Device – a mobile forensic kit that can extract data from mobile phones.

[Alaric]

Tämähän se olikin melkoisen viisas päätös Kiitoksia vaan, slobot.

https://www.kansalainen.fi/serbia-uusin-balkanin-reitin-lahtomaa/ (1.4.2018)

Serbia uusin Balkanin reitin lähtömaa

Serbiaan on saapunut yli 6 000 iranilaista lentokoneella tarkoituksenaan jatkaa matkaa kohti Länsi-Eurooppaa.

Serbiasta on muodostumassa Balkanin reitin uusi lähtöpiste. Serbia ilmoitti viime vuoden elokuussa poistavansa viisumipakon iranilaisilta. Tämä poisto on nyt realisoitumassa pakolaisaallon uutena lähtöpisteenä kohti Länsi-Eurooppaa.

Serbian viisumivapauden tarkoituksena oli uusien investointien houkutteleminen maahan, kertoo FAZ. Nyt Serbian viisumivapauden kääntöpuoli on näyttäytynyt maan hallitukselle, kun useat tulijat "myöhästyvät" paluulennolta, jättävät heti turvapaikkahakemuksen tai jatkavat välittömästi Balkanin reittiä eteenpäin kohti Länsi-Eurooppaa.

Iranilaiset käyttävät laillisen oleskeluaikansa luomalla kontakteja salakuljettajiin

"Ifo Park"-niminen organisaatio on Serbian hallituksen toimeksiannosta selvittänyt, että maahan on tullut yli 6 000 "iranilaista turistia" viisumipakon poistamisen jälkeen. Suurin osa näistä ei ole palannut kotimaahansa vaan jatkanut matkaansa kohti Länsi-Eurooppaa. Selvityksen mukaan suurin osa tulijoista käyttää laillisen oleskeluaikansa Belgradissa luomalla kontakteja salakuljettajiin.

[Alaric]

Unkarin ja Romanian rajalla on pysäytetty serbialainen kuorma-auto, jonka kyydissä oli 79 pääasiassa irakilaista ja syyrialaista läpsyttelijää.

https://hungarytoday.hu/serbian-truck-transporting-79-migrants-stopped-at-hungary-border/ (6.4.2018)

Serbian Truck Transporting 79 Migrants Stopped at Hungary Border

Police found 79 illegal migrants hiding in a Serbian lorry at the border crossing of Ártánd, in eastern Hungary, on Friday morning, the spokesman of the Hajdu-Bihar County police headquarters said.

The lorry with Serbian licence plates arrived at the Hungarian-Romanian border crossing. While the Romanian passport controllers were checking documents, Hungarian police inspected the lorry and its trailer, spotting that the storage area was not properly sealed. On further inspection, police found 79 people hiding between bags of briquette that the lorry was transporting.

The majority of the people said they were Iraqi and Syrian citizens. Romanian border police have launched a procedure against the illegal migrants.

[Kari Kinnunen]

Jaha ja oliko jollekulle uutinen, että slobot tekee mitä vain täyttääkseen taskunsa.
Varmasti viisumivapaus tuo uutta liiketoimintaa slobo(sala)kuljettajille. Serbia on varmasti tehnyt (sala)kuljetuliikkeiden kanssa  ihan vekkulin diilin.

[Alaric]

Pikakatsaus Balkanille.

Bosniassa ja Kroatiassa on pidätetty yli 20 henkilöä epäiltyinä jopa 200:n läpsyn salakuljetuksesta EU-alueelle. Reitti kulki Turkista Bosniaan ja Kroatian kautta länteen.

Salakuljettajien pomomiehet ovat turkkilaisia ja bosnialaisia. Lisäksi pidätettyjen joukossa on 11 kroatialaista.

Tämän vuoden puolella 1 139 läpsyä on ylittänyt Bosnian rajan.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-bosnian-croatian-police-detain-suspected-migrant-smugglers-2018-4?r=US&IR=T&IR=T (24.4.2018)

Bosnian, Croatian police detain suspected migrant smugglers

Police in Bosnia and Croatia detained more than 20 people on Tuesday suspected of being part of a criminal ring that has smuggled up to 200 migrants into the European Union, Bosnia's state prosecutor said.

The group, suspected of transporting, hiding and smuggling migrants mostly from Turkey via Bosnia, EU member Croatia and further on to Western Europe, has been monitored by the police since the start of 2018, the prosecutor said in a statement.

The investigation showed that the ring organizers, who are nationals of Turkey and Kosovo, charged migrants more than 10,000 Bosnian marka ($6,257) each to take them to EU member states, the office said.

Those detained also include 11 Croatia nationals and one Bosnian, the Croatian police told local media.

(...)

The authorities said this week that 1,139 migrants mostly from Syria, Pakistan, Libya and Afghanistan have entered Bosnia since the start of 2018 and almost as many were intercepted at the borders.

They warned that Bosnia cannot cope with a steep increase in the number of migrants expected with warmer weather. The country has only one center for asylum seekers and another one for illegal migrants, both of which are full.

(...)

Kroatiassa on havaittu 1 371 laitonta rajanylittäjää ensimmäisellä vuosineljänneksellä (nousua 72 % vuoden 2017 alkuun verrattuna). Lisäksi 292 on hakenut turvapaikkaa.

Poliisi uumoilee, että viisi Kroatian maakuntaa tulee olemaan läpsyjen reitillä keväällä 2018.

http://balkanspost.com/article/542/number-illegal-immigrants-increasing-rapidly-croatia (21.4.2018)

Number of illegal immigrants increasing rapidly: Croatia

The migration crisis has been on the rise in Europe during the past few years, with an increase especially in illegal migration through the Balkan countries. In comparison to 2017, the number of migrants entering Croatia this time illegally has increased by two-thirds, said the Croatia news.

According to police, it is expected that five counties inside Croatia will find themselves on the migrant route during the spring of 2018. These include Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Karlovak, Lika-Senj, and Sisak-Moslavina; which might be the top most areas through which illegal migrants try to reach Western Europe.

As the source reported, a total of 1,371 persons were caught in attempts to cross Croatia's border illegally during the first quarter of 2018. This is estimated as an increase of 72 per cent in comparison to last year. Not only the number of illegal immigrants has increased, but also the number of asylum seekers; where 292 people have applied for asylum in Croatia from January to March 2018.

In September 2015, the Croatian government said that the country cannot take in any more migrants at that time, as riot police clashed with people entering the EU country from Serbia.

Croatia's interior minister, Ranko Ostojić, said back then that Croatia would provide migrants and refugees with safe passage to reception centres around the capital, Zagreb, but that those not seeking asylum would be considered illegal immigrants.

(...)

[Totuus EPT]

3.5.2018  Slovenia: 50 000 turvapaikanhakijaa matkalla kohti länttä
Slovenian sisäministeriön valtiosihteeri Boštjan Šefic varoittaa 50 000 turvapaikanhakijan odottavan pääsyä Balkanin reittiä edemmäs länteen. Näitä massoja ei voida pitää pitkään paikallaan, kertoo Šefic paikalliselle Nova24TV-kanavalle.
Slovenian sisäministeri Vesna Györkös Žnidar kertoo, että ilmojen lämmitessä pakolaismassojen liikehdintä alkaa ja lisää turvapaikanhakijoita tulee päivittäin. Hän kertoo, että paikallinen poliisi on valmistautumassa toimintasuunnitelmilla massaliikkeiden hallintaan. Kuitenkin ministeri tunnusti itävaltalaiselle Wochenblick-julkaisulle, ettei hän maansa ole riittävästi valmistautunut mahdollisesti tulevaan massaliikehdintään.

Slovakian poliisi on varoittanut kansalaisia päästämästä turvapaikanhakijoita koteihinsa ja sen sijaan kehottanut ilmoittamaan poliisille uusista tulijoista. Kroatian media varoitteli kansalaisiaan uudesta turvapaikanhakijavyörystä jo helmikuussa perustuen YK-raporttiin, jossa ennustettiin turvapaikanhakijavirtaa kesälle 2018.

https://www.kansalainen.fi/slovenia-50-000-turvapaikanhakijaa-matkalla-kohti-lantta/
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