National Alliance and Golubeva agree on necessity to declare emergency in border area

RIGA - The National Alliance group in the Saeima and Interior Minister Marija Golubeva (For Development/For) agreed during a meeting on Tuesday on the necessity to declare a state of emergency in the area bordering with Belarus, representatives of the National Alliance informed LETA. 

Lawmakers of the National Alliance group met with Golubeva today to discuss the worrisome situation at the Latvian-Belarusian border. 

The meeting resulted in an agreement on the necessity to declare a state of emergency in the border area. Representatives of the National Alliance argued that it will allow to speed up construction of the fence along the Latvian-Belarusian border, which has been stalling in recent years but would be a serious obstacle preventing migrants from trespassing the border. 

The MPs and the minister also agreed that in addition to the construction of the fence, it is also necessary to remove various legislative obstacles and to amend the Criminal Law by toughening penalties for human trafficking. 

Janis Dombrava, deputy chair of the National Alliance group, voiced satisfaction that the meeting with the interior minister resulted in a common realization that the people entering Latvia from Belarus are not classical asylum seekers trying to find refuge in Latvia and that the events currently taking place at the Belarusian border is a hybrid threat. 

"It is essential that Latvian authorities and the National Armed Forces are prepared to stave off dangerous trespassers," Dombrava stressed. 

As reported, the National Armed Forces (NAF) have sent home guards to Latvia's eastern border to help prevent illegal immigration. The home guards have been involved in border patrols since July 12.

The home guards were sent to patrol Latvia's borders with Russia and Belarus because for several weeks already Lithuania has seen an increased inflow of illegal migrants from Belarus, which has caused Latvia to step up its border controls as well. European politicians assume that the migrants are crossing from Belarus with the support of Belarusian authorities.