2015-10-19 Latvia rakentaa aidan Venäjän rajalle

[Ink Visitor]

Latvia on julkistanut suunnitelman rakentaa 90 kilometrin mittaisen aidan Venäjän rajalle. Asiasta kertoi paikallismedia Delfi uutistoimisto BNS:n haastattelun perusteella lauantaina.

Aidan tarkoituksena on estää laiton maahanmuutto, ja sen lisäksi rajalla on sensorivalvontaa ja valvontakameroita. Aidan kustannukset ovat noin 3,5 miljoonaa euroa.

Hankkeen esittänyt sisäministeri Rihards Kozlovskis on sanonut, että aidasta ei ole tarkoitus muotoutua "Kiinan muuria", vaan dialogi maiden välillä jatkuu.

Sitä tarvitaan - ei siksi, että Venäjän ja Latvian välille rakennettaisiin Kiinan muuri, vaan laittomien maahanmuuttajien määrän rajoittamiseksi", Kozlovskis sanoo BNS-uutistoimistolle.

http://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/latvia-rakentaa-90-km-aidan-venajan-rajalle-6058867

[Alaric]

Latviassa on saatu hiljalleen aitaa pystytettyä Venäjän vastaiselle rajalle ja muutenkin raja-aluetta vahvistettua. Projekti jatkunee vuoteen 2019 saakka.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/763298/Baltic-Latvia-illegal-migrants-wall-finish-fence-Russia-border-European-Union-EU-Brussels (5.2.2017)

EUROPEAN FORTRESS: Baltic state completes 'anti-migrant fence' on RUSSIAN border

LATVIA has completed the first stages of protecting EU borders after erecting a 14-mile fence along the Russian border to stop illegal migrants entering the European Union.

The Baltic state is set to add another 37 miles this year, the country's State Border Guard spokeswoman Jevgenija Poznaka confirmed.

He said: "The construction was started back in 2015, and we are planning to finish it by 2019. Forty miles of the border zone was built up, and the 14-mile fence was constructed."

The fence stands at 2.7 metres tall and will also include barbed wire on top as Latvia looks to protect itself and the EU from migrants coming into the superstate.

The fence will stand around 20cm taller than the planned "Great Estonian Wall" which is expected to be only 2.5 metres in height.

According to Delfi news agency, Riga has received almost £1.6million from Brussels to help construct the first part of the protective measure.

Latvia, who joined the EU in 2003, allocated almost £5.5million for the construction of the 37 miles of fence and 93 miles of border zone, a spokeswoman confirmed.

The completion comes as neighbouring countries Estonia and Lithuania also vowed to significantly tighten up border controls amid fears migrants are attempting to avoid Greece by travelling through Russia instead.

Renatas Pozela, commander of the Lithuanian state border guard, said: "Until last year, neither Norway nor Finland had any migration problems on the Russian border.

"Then migrant flows on that border jumped up in a single week, as if by the wave of a magic wand."

Speaking last year about contracting the wall, Ojars Eriks Kalnins, a member of the Latvian parliament European Affairs Committee, said: "It's unfortunate that we would need a border fence, but given the circumstances in Europe right now, the whole refugee crisis, it may be necessary."

Tensions have been high on the Russian border since the migrant crisis in Europe began.

Finland criticised Russia for allowing asylum seekers across their Arctic border, with numbers at one point reaching 20 per day.

About 5,000 asylum seekers arrived in Norway in 2015 via Russia, out of the total 31,000 asylum seekers.

[Lady Deadpool]

Latvia jakaa rajan Venäjän kanssa, joten tämä uutinen lienee hyvä iskeä tähän ketjuun kun ei parempaakan löytynyt. Sputnik uutisoi Latvian haluista rakentaa aita Valko-Venäjän rajalle. Tällä on tarkoitus estää salakuljettajien ja matujen lentäminen rajojen yli.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201705141053605862-border-fence-project/ (15.5.2017)

Great Baltic Wall: Latvia Seeks to Build Giant Fence Along Border With Belarus

The Latvian Interior Ministry seeks to erect a 120-kilometer wall along the border with Belarus in order to stem the flow of smugglers and illegal migrants.

According to a recently published report which is about to be reviewed by the Latvian government, the country's interior ministry proposes to construct a giant fence along the border with Belarus.

If the proposal is approved, the construction of this fence may begin in 2018, and is expected to cost about 10 million euros.

The metallic fence is expected to be at least two-meters high with barbed wire on top and outfitted with surveillance cameras and motion sensors.

The goal of the new fence is to serve as a deterrent against smugglers, illegal migrants and other 'intruders', according to the ministry.

However, Belarusian political scientist Vitaly Burbo told RT that the total length of the border between Latvia and Belarus is about 173 kilometers, so it remains unclear how Latvian authorities would secure the remaining 50 kilometers.

"The chief reason for building such walls is ideology. Latvia and Lithuania, the European neophytes, seek to stress their distinction. 'Here we are, free democratic countries, part of NATO and Europe, and there they are – the backward Russia and its ally Belarus.' In that regard the fences serve as a symbol of a barrier between civilizations, while illegal migrants are just a convenient pretext," Burbo explained.

The State Border Committee of Belarus reacted calmly to this development, pointing out that installing additional security measures on the border is a good and useful idea.

It should be noted that in 2015 Latvia decided to construct a wall along several sections of the border with Russia, with a total length of 90 kilometers.

[Tragedian synty]

Latvian vaaleissa Venäjä-mieliset sosiaalidemokraatit kokivat rökäletappion: puolue putosi suurimman asemasta ulos parlamentista ja vieläpä oltuaan päättyneen vaalikauden oppositiossa. Tosin luin jostain, että puolue tuomitsi Venäjän hyökkäyksen Ukrainaan, ja sen takia se menetti kannatusta venäläisväestön keskuudessa. Parlamenttiin ei kuitenkaan noussut mitään muuta venäläismielistä puoluetta, joten maahantunkeutujat jäivät vaille edunvalvojaa parlamentissa. Sopii toivoa, että tämä vaalitulos innostaa heitä painumaan sinne, minne he kuuluvatkin.

Kansallinen liitto menetti kannatusta, mutta säilytti paikkansa. Uutena parlamenttiin nousi puolue, joka Wikipedian mukaan on oikeistopopulistinen. Suurimmaksi puolueeksi nousi paikallinen Kokoomus, joka johti hallitusta edelliselläkin vaalikaudella. Monta uutta puoluetta nousi parlamenttiin ja sieltä putosi edellisissä vaaleissa kannatusta saaneet silloiset uudet tulijat. Puoluekenttä tuntuu elävän voimakkaasti Latviassa.

[viisitoista]

Latvian vaaleissa Venäjä-mieliset sosiaalidemokraatit kokivat rökäletappion: puolue putosi suurimman asemasta ulos parlamentista ja vieläpä oltuaan päättyneen vaalikauden oppositiossa. Tosin luin jostain, että puolue tuomitsi Venäjän hyökkäyksen Ukrainaan, ja sen takia se menetti kannatusta venäläisväestön keskuudessa. Parlamenttiin ei kuitenkaan noussut mitään muuta venäläismielistä puoluetta, joten maahantunkeutujat jäivät vaille edunvalvojaa parlamentissa. Sopii toivoa, että tämä vaalitulos innostaa heitä painumaan sinne, minne he kuuluvatkin.

Ei kuitenkaan käynyt ihan niin:

https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/politics/verdict-saeima-elections-2022-winners-and-losers.a476213/

Stabilitātei! (For Stability!)

It might be argued that the most spectacular success of the night belongs to For Stability! Little-fancied before polling day, this populist force founded as a breakaway from Harmony seems to have stolen a large number of that party's votes and is already arguing that it is the new voice of Latvia's Russian speakers. With more than 6% of the vote it could have around 10 seats in Saeima, making it a considerable force in opposition, particularly if it hooks up with other populists.

[Tragedian synty]

^ No voi räkä. Olisi pitänyt katsoa kaikki uudet puolueet tarkemmin läpi.

[viisitoista]

Tämä oli viime elokuussa Latvian rajavartioston kylmän virallinen vastaus Amnestyn valituksiin - he näköjään pitävät Valko-Venäjää turvallisena maana, joten sieltä saapuvilla siirtolaisilla ei ole oikeutta ruinata turvapaikkaa Latviasta:

https://www.baltictimes.com/allegations_about_mistreatment_of_migrants_by_latvia_are_one-sided_and_not_substantiated_by_evidence_-_border_guard_chief/

Allegations about mistreatment of migrants by Latvia are one-sided and not substantiated by evidence - Border Guard chief

2022-08-12 

LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - Allegations by Amnesty International about mistreatment of migrants on Latvia's borders are one-sided and not substantiated by evidence, the State Border Guard Chief Guntis Pujats said in an interview with Latvian Television on Friday.

According to Pujats, members of Amnesty International met with a number of representatives of Latvian state institutions who provided comprehensive information about the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border, but there is none of this information in the organization's report, which therefore is one-sided.

The report contains complaints of individual migrants about Latvia's actions, but there is no evidence to back up these accusations, said Pujats. Not a single migrant has been seriously injured or killed on the border, he added.

Pujats believes that the flow of migrants to Latvia's border has been deliberately created by the Belarusian regime in attempt to undermine the European asylum system and to make it more difficult to provide support for war refugees from Ukraine.

It is clear that Latvia has again been selected as the target country for the organized migrant movement from Belarus since August, said Pujats. Before that, migrants were moving to Lithuania, but Belarus has been slowly diverting the stream of migrants to Latvia's border.

Belarus also helps migrants illegally enter Latvia in other ways, for example, by cutting through the fence on the Latvian-Belarusian border, Pujats added.

The Border Guard has requested help from the State Police and National Armed Forces to improve border controls along the border with Belarus. The State Police said they would provide assistance to the Border Guard, but there has been no response from the Armed Forces so far.

As reported, Amnesty International said in a report released this past July that Latvia had exposed migrants at the Belarus border to ill-treatment and even torture, holding them in the forest for months.

For about a year already Latvian authorities have been taking measures to prevent illegal migrants, mainly from the Middle East, from entering Latvia from Belarus, said the report. As Latvia has repeatedly underlined, the migrant traffic across Latvia's border has been intentionally organized by Belarus' authoritarian regime as a hybrid operation against Latvia. Latvian authorities also indicate that these people have had the opportunity to request asylum in Belarus as the first safe country they have reached.

In a letter addressed to the Latvian interior minister that was published on August 9, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic also expresses her concern about the reports of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants having been violently prevented from entering Latvia from Belarus, held in inhumane conditions in the forest, denied access to the asylum procedure, and forced into signing voluntary return declarations.

[viisitoista]

Venäläismielinen lähde väittää että Latvian rajavartioston johtaja on sekaantunut erilaisiin korruptiojuttuihin - ihan mahdollista, mutta näyttää siltä että hän samalla käyttää kovia otteita maahantunkeutujia vastaan (eikä siis lahjuksia vastaan anna heidän päästä lävitse):

[tweet]1780247163575943574[/tweet]