MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) - The situation with migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border is a real humanitarian catastrophe, reads an address of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic in connection with the situation at the border, BelTA learned from the press service of the upper house of Belarusian Parliament.
“We, the members of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, authorized representatives of the Belarusian people, address the entire international community in connection with the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border. A large number of citizens of the Middle East countries, seeking to get into the European Union, are forced to live in inhuman conditions. Having placed faith in the sincerity of the statements of European governments, migrants put everything they had on the line and headed to the EU countries with the last hope of finding a better life. However, on the Polish border, they have faced a barbed wire fence, an aggressive and dehumanizing attitude," the address said.
“This is a real humanitarian catastrophe, where there is no place for the universally recognized principles of international law, or for the conventions on the rights of refugees, or for universal values and norms of behavior. "For several decades, the collective West has been convincing the whole world of its moral superiority, flaunting its achievements in human rights and social communication. However, on the migration issue the EU has failed to reaffirm the declared postulates in practice. The situation undermines the good-neighborly relations, creates risks of a possible break-off between the Western and Eastern civilizations,” the document reads. “Accusations against Belarus are cynical and illegitimate. For Belarusians, peace and security have always been the main values. For us, human life is priceless, because our country has repeatedly become the scene of wars unleashed not by us and not through our fault. We are particularly concerned over injustice, indifference to human plight and violations of international law."
Members of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic call on the national governments of the EU countries to fulfill the promises they made to people. "MEPs, international organizations and all those who have not yet lost their sense of humanity, we urge you to objectively assess the situation and not to stand aside as it comes to the life and well-being of people," the address said.