DISINFO: Poland declared a state of emergency after the appearance of 32 refugees on its border
SUMMARY
Poland did not declare an emergency state in a situation of floods and the pandemic. However, the state of emergency was declared after the appearance of 32 refugees on the Belarusian-Polish border.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative about the ongoing migration crisis on the eastern border of the European Union directly caused by the Belarusian authorities.
On 2 September 2021, Poland declared a state of emergency in two regions bordering Belarus – this step is implemented in order to face the ongoing “migration crisis” orchestrated by Belarusian authorities. In August 2021, about 3500 irregular migrants attempted to enter the territory of Poland from Belarus.
According to the position of the Polish authorities, the ongoing situation on the Belarusian border is a hybrid attack on Poland in order to destabilise the country and the entire EU. There is plenty of evidence that the Belarusian authorities have instigated the ongoing migration crisis in Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. Lukashenka's regime is using refugees from the Middle East as "political and hybrid" tools against Lithuania and the entire EU. Commissioner Ylva Johansson said, inter alia: "The authoritarian regime in Belarus is exploiting human beings for political reasons: this is completely unacceptable."
Several investigative journalists (here) and (here) have proven that some migrants arrive in Belarus by commercial flights from Baghdad to Minsk. Information gathered also suggests that migrants are regularly transported by bus to the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. More information about Lukashenka's role in the organisation of the current migration crisis can be found here and here.
See other disinformation cases concerning the ongoing migration crisis on the Belarusian border: Lithuanian border guards use violence against migrants, including abandoning pregnant women; Migrants in Lithuania are kept in concentration camps in unsanitary conditions and Polish Defense Minister tries to exert psychological and propaganda influence on the Poles.