Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a legislation on Tuesday (November 30) that will restrict aid charities and journalists from entering the Belarusian border because the country is responding to a brewing immigration crisis.
The law is a blow to opposition parties that advocate unlimited media access. The amendment was approved by the upper house of parliament on Friday but was rejected by the lower house.
In the state of emergency declared in September in the border area and ended at midnight, the media and aid charities were completely banned. The opposition stated that the ban is intended to cover up violations of rights and seek unrestricted access.
The government stated that these restrictions are necessary for security reasons.
According to the new regulations, the Minister of the Interior can restrict entry into the border area after consulting with the head of the border guard. However, journalists and NGOs may enter based on the judgment of the head of the local border guard.
Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Tuesday night that he would order a temporary ban on entering the border area.
The European Union accused Minsk of designing an immigration crisis to fight back against sanctions. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko accused the European Union of deliberately provoking a humanitarian crisis.
Polish human rights monitors criticized the new law, saying it gives the Minister of the Interior indefinite restrictions on freedom of movement and the right to restrict access to information about what is happening at the border.
Although the situation on the border has calmed down since the Polish security forces fired water cannons on the stone-throwing migrants in mid-November, there are still groups trying to force through the barbed wire fences on the border every night.
The Polish Border Guard said there were 134 attempts to cross the Belarusian border on Monday.
