DISINFO: Polish fence on the border with Belarus is meant to frighten Poles with a perspective of war
SUMMARY
The ruling Polish elite is trying to cut all ties with the East using the rhetoric of war. The most recent manifestation of this process is the construction of a fence on the Polish-Belarusian border. This border fence has a primarily a symbolic meaning – it is supposed to introduce a permanent division between "us" and "them", creating an additional barrier against the East. The border fence sends a message that it is necessary to prepare for war – it frightens the society with the perspective of war.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative about the ongoing migration crisis on the eastern border of the European Union directly caused by the Belarusian authorities.
On 23 August 2021, the Polish authorities announced the construction of the fence on the border with Belarus to stop the ongoing influx of irregular migrants orchestrated by the Belarusian regime. 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 migrants 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."
In 2021, Lithuania, Poland and Latvia faced an influx of irregular migrants from Belarus. Earlier, Belarus ended cooperation with the EU to stem illegal migration. This was Minsk's answer to the European Union sanctions on the political regime of Belarus (read more about sanctions here).
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.