ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The leading minister of the German state of Saxony told Rudaw on Thursday that residents of the Kurdistan Region have the chance to build their future at home rather than taking the dangerous route of migration to Europe via the Belarus-Poland border, adding Germany’s commitment to supporting the region to improve the lives of its people.
Michael Kretschmer, Minister-President of Saxony, told Rudaw’s Alla Shally that the continuous migration of people to the borders of Poland and Belarus, and “the fake promises” that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s government has given them, “will cause a humanitarian catastrophe.”
The recent wave of migration from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to Belarus and, from there, the Polish borders with the hope of finding better lives in Europe has seen dramatic scenes of thousands at the border, with people sustaining injuries and in some cases losing their lives. On Friday news broke of the death of a 14-year old Kurdish boy, who reportedly died from the freezing conditions.
Jotiar Adil, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said on Thursday that there are currently around 8,000 residents from the Region on the Belarus-Poland border, blaming Minsk for using Kurds as a trump card against Europe.
Many of those at the border are attempting to enter Germany. Speaking to Rudaw on Thursday, Kretschmer stressed that Germany will not grant immigration permits to people who are trying to “illegally” enter the country, particularly those from the Kurdistan Region because it is a “stable” location.
“A very few number of Iraqis are granted immigration because the country, especially the Kurdistan Region, is stable and we gladly see that we have good relations with the Kurdistan Region, and we want to support and improve the lives of people there,” said the official whose Saxony state, in eastern Germany, borders with Poland.
“They have the chance to build the future of their countries like the Kurdistan Region. Now, they have a chance in the Kurdistan Region to build better futures for themselves. Do not let them put your lives at risk through this criminal and perilous path which does not end,” he addressed the Kurdish migrants.
The KRG spokesperson said the government is working on improving living conditions in the Kurdistan Region and providing humanitarian aid to those stuck on the border. The KRG’s representative in Poland said on Monday that their office will help any migrant trapped on the Polish-Belarus border to return home.
Most of the Kurdish migrants are from areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad where a security gap has given the Islamic State (ISIS) a chance to regroup and carry out attacks, and Duhok province where Turkey’s armed conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has caused displacement, according to Adil, who added that another reason is unemployment in the Kurdistan Region.
Germany is one of the foreign countries contributing the lion's share in helping the Kurdistan Region across various sectors, including humanitarian and military projects. German non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also work on developing the human capacity of young people in the Region, supporting them to find jobs.
Kretschmer said that most of the migrants on Belarusian-Polish borders are from Iraq. A senior Iraqi official told Rudaw on Thursday that 80 percent of them are from the Kurdistan Region.
The German official also said that there is a “European solution” for the migration issue. “The European Union should hold intensive talks with the countries where these people come from, such as Iraq, to prevent this and protect the fate of these people. We can impose sanctions on the flights of those companies that are involved in these illegal travels.”
Iraq has suspended the work of both the honorary embassy of Belarus in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, in a bid to prevent more people from migrating. Turkey, which many Kurds use as a pathway to Belarus, has banned flights from several countries in the Middle East to the country.
Iraq has also begun registering its people who have set up camp on the border in Europe. A spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry called on the migrants on Thursday to submit their optional return requests. The flights will be free of charge.
Since October 2020, the EU has imposed progressively restrictive measures against Belarus, adopted in response to concerns over the 2020 presidential election, and the increasing intimidation and violent repression of peaceful protesters, opposition members, and journalists.
Neighbouring countries to Belarus, including Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, have fortified their borders against the migrants, leaving thousands desperate in a country they had thought would be an easy gateway to western Europe.
“The European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany have discussed this subject intensely. Most of the travels [made by migrants] were not normal ones but organized exclusively to target other countries. This dictatorial regime [in Minsk] will not give up this game and it wants to divide the European Union in this way,” said Kretschmer.
“It should be clear that no one from Iraq has come to Belarus by chance. I believe few people previously knew such a country even existed. Therefore, this [migration] has many clear consequences and this issue should be resolved,” he added.
EU members of the United Nations Security Council and the US condemned Belarus for the migrant crisis on its borders on Friday, describing it as an “orchestrated instrumentalisation of human beings whose lives and wellbeing have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus.”
The United Kingdom sent troops to assist Poland in their attempt to fortify the border on Friday, with the UK Ministry of Defence stating that they would not be policing the border but instead providing “engineer support.”
Belarus' Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said on Wednesday that European countries have deployed 15,000 troops “against crying women and children to prevent them from getting into Europe... I cannot comprehend it. This is a violation of all possible norms.”
