“The role of fences is to channel migration so that there is not one group of people for every kilometre, but to gather them at certain points where the main groups of migrants are located. As a result, it is easier for the police to deal with them. However, it is impossible to expect the police to do anything effective because they do not currently have the right powers to do so. At most, patrols will detect migrants more quickly. They may have a psychological impact on the well-being of citizens (giving them a greater sense of security) in these environments. But the police can’t really do all that much. At the moment, the police are faced with a Sisyphean task,” warned security expert and former Director of the Slovene Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA), Andrej Rupnik.
The migrant problem in certain parts of Slovenia is getting worse. On the one hand, the authorities are announcing the removal of the border fence, while at the same time, the police are announcing increased patrols in critical areas. Namely, the police have said: “Due to the unauthorised entry of foreigners into Slovenia, especially in the Posavje region, we have increased the presence of police officers in this area, we are carrying out mixed patrols in cooperation with Croatian police officers, we are adapting our working methods, and we are detecting unauthorised entries with the help of technical means. Most importantly, we are ensuring the safety of the people living along the border and are working together with the citizens who know their environment best and who regularly inform us of observations and any factors that they believe could have an impact on the safety of their environment.”
Security expert Andrej Rupnik tried to answer the question of whether it makes sense to simultaneously tear down the fence and increase police presence (strengthen border police patrols), saying, among other things, that “The security problems are certainly related to the fact that people in the areas where there is the biggest influx of migrants entering Slovenia (which is currently Rigonce – it is the busiest area) … People simply feel uncomfortable there, although there have been no serious incidents so far.” Rupnik recalled the words of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who said that the border fence is ineffective. This fence is not really something that migrants are climbing over at the moment – instead, they cross the border where there is no fence. And there is no fence in the Rigonce part of the area, so that is where they are entering. This makes people feel uneasy and fearful, which may or may not be justified (it is a subjective category). People cannot be persuaded not to be afraid by the authorities merely saying that “everything is under control.”
Ljubljana Vič: frequent conflicts in the overcrowded asylum centre
The second security aspect is overcrowding in asylum centres – there are simply too many people there, and the crowding generates conflicts. In Logatec and Ljubljana, there are simply too many people being accommodated, given the available capacity. There have been no serious incidents in Logatec so far, but migrants are constantly wandering the city streets. However, there are problems of an ecological nature (discarded clothes, food, etc.). On the other hand, there have been incidents in Ljubljana, Vič. The police are “regular guests” at the asylum centre there. There have also been confrontations among the migrants themselves, as they are not a homogeneous group. The different nationalities are already intolerant of each other, which is why there are disputes. Some groups are also more dangerous than others, taking personal belongings, mobile phones, etc. The situation in the migrant centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina was similar some time ago, with Afghans and Pakistanis taking control of the situation. Finally, Rupnik also touched upon the authorities’ behaviour, which, on the one hand, wants to remove the fences on the border with Croatia, and on the other hand, wants to strengthen border patrols.
In Metelkova, in particular, migrants are taking the lead in the supply of illegal drugs!
Rupnik: “At the moment, it is like heavy rain pouring down – all the time. And you are trying to stop the flood with small bags. It is not working! Migrants are jumping from one country to another, with the magic word ‘asylum’. As soon as that word is used, repression stops, and the so-called socialisation begins. Migrants are brought to the asylum centres.” There, they wait for their official asylum application to be lodged, but in reality, they do not wait – instead, they move on to the next border – after getting enough clothes, food, etc. Rupnik believes that this is one of the most widespread abuses of legal solutions in Europe, in this case, on the subject of asylum. The police are almost completely powerless in this respect. The role of fences is to channel migration so that there is not one group of people for every kilometre but to gather them at certain points where the main groups of migrants are located. As a result, it is easier for the police to deal with them. “However, it is impossible to expect the police to do something effective, because at the moment, they do not have the right powers to do so. At most, patrols will detect migrants more quickly. Maybe they will have a psychological impact on the well-being of citizens (a greater sense of security) in these environments.”
“But the police can’t really do all that much. At the moment, the police are faced with a Sisyphean task,” Rupnik believes that ministers of the countries currently most affected by migrant flows (Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and Italy, etc.) should meet and, in cooperation with the other countries on the Balkan route (which are also affected), form some kind of political coalition and push for changes in the legal order that would make it impossible to abuse the asylum system. This means that if someone has applied for asylum in the first safe country but has not waited until the end of the procedure, he or she loses the right to apply for asylum in any other European Union country. Deportation to the country of origin should follow. Solutions should also be found as close as possible to the migrants’ countries of origin (for example, transit centres in Africa for those awaiting asylum in Denmark). The above applies to economic migrants, who make up the vast majority of the population. In this mass, those who are actually eligible for international protection, according to Rupnik, simply get lost and go with the flow. Finally, it is also interesting to note that in some places in Ljubljana, especially Metelkova, migrants are taking on the leading role in the supply of illegal drugs.
Domen Mezeg
