Crisis Leaves ‘No Choice’ As Croatia Seals Its Entry Points With Serbia


09/21/2015

Croatia is left with no more room to accommodate migrants. Consequently, it closed down seven entry points, whereby refugees coming from Serbia sought entry into Croatia.



As the incoming flow of migrants continues to move into Croatia, the country has now sealed seven out of eight of its border roads that pass into Serbia. Sometimes, in the beginning of last week, Hungary sealed off its border completely on the Serbian side, causing the shelter seeking migrants to move towards Croatia. Following this incident, after “more than 13,000 people” were allowed to enter Croatia, the country was left with “no choice” but to restrict entry points, informs officials.
 
Among the migrants who passed through safely to Croatia, some were taken to the “reception centres” by bus while others are planning on walking down to the neighbour country Slovenia. This massive influx of people who are headed north, away from the Mediterranean, have given birth to a historical “political crisis” in the region of European Union. In fact, as per the officials of Croatia:
“...roads leading to the border crossings had also been shut”.
 
In the hour of immense need, the only road open to the migrant seeking entrance into Croatis is the road that links “Belgrade and Zagreb” at Bajakovo; the only one, out of the total eight, which still remains open. According to the reports of local media, the border crossings are congested heavily, wherein almost a six kilometres long queue of lorries can be observed that stretches on the Serbian side of the border.
 
In a B.B.C analysis, Guy Delauney comments that in the region of south Eastern Europe, people ‘freedom of movement’ are put under restriction to the extent that it is almost in the verge of disappearance. Moreover, Slovenia stopped its rail facilities which connected it with its neighbour Croatia, followed by the incident wherein “150 refugees arrived by train”; while, the latter is now sealing the common borders with Serbia like the other neighbour Hungary.
 
On Wednesday, illegal or unofficial migrant entry into Hungary has been announced as act of criminal. Subsequently, the wave of refugees, flooded Croatia, whereby over “11,000 refugees” entered into the country, leaving the authorities back at Zagreb, with “no choice”. In fact, there have been attempts on Croatia’s part to safely bring the “newcomers to asylum centres” but given the enormous extent of the crowd people are being “left on the streets”. There are a number of migrants who plan on making it to the “free Schengen Area” across the border on the other end to the land of Slovenia.
 
Ranko Ostojic, the Interior Minister of Croatia, announced on Thursday, that “his country” didn’t have any room left for accommodating the refugees as it was "absolutely full". His message to the migrants said:
"Don't come here any more. Stay in refugee centres in Serbia and Macedonia and Greece. This is not the road to Europe. Buses can't take you there. It's a lie."
 
Nevertheless, a journalist of Reuters present at the scene has reported that “migrants were walking through fields to bypass one of the border crossings”. There has been fight and confusion in two of Serbia’s border points on Thursday, as the impatient people were “left waiting for hours” for vehicles to carry them into further north. In the midst of this scuffle, for few moments crowds pushed through the “police lines at Tovarnik and Batina” which are now closed.
 
B.B.C reports informed that buses came to the borders “just before midnight” yet they were not enough in numbers to accommodate all; while some “slipped away” on foot and continued to move northward. One of the Syrian migrants told the B.B.C News that people are travelling “without sleep”:
"There's no time. The rules change every day”.





References:
http://www.bbc.com