Hungary's new 'Iron Curtain' shuts Europe's back door to refugees
CBC Radio | Posted: September 15, 2015 12:13 PM | Last Updated: September 15, 2015
For months, tens of thousands of migrants and refugees have pushed across the border, from Serbia into Hungary... and they hope, to a safer, better life inside Europe.
But as of today, the rules of the game have changed.
New Hungarian laws allow police to arrest anyone attempting to cross the border illegally. The final gaps were sealed in Hungary's 175-kilometre, razor-wire-topped fence running the entire length of the border, forcing refugees to line up at official crossings to be let through a handful at a time and, according to reports, many are now being turned away.
Hungary has found itself as one of the main European fronts in the ongoing crisis of refugees... but it's also stood apart from other European countries in the way it views these newcomers.
Zoltan Kovacs, a Hungarian government spokesperson, spoke last month about his country being "overrun." He noted that the refugees are predominantly Muslim, and argued it's important to protect Europe's "Christian culture."
"These are people arriving from different civilizations, trying to enter Europe illegally, causing lots of problems, lots of unsolved issues that has been with Western Europe for the past couple of decades. We definitely would like to avoid this happening in Hungary." - Zoltan Kovacs, a Hungary government spokesman, speaking last month.
Babar Baloch is a spokesperson for the Central Europe office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He joined us this morning from in Budapest, Hungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is standing firm behind his decisions on the refugee issue. But not all of Hungary's politicians support him. Viktor Szigetvári is the leader of the left-leaning opposition party, Együtt. He was in Roszke, Hungary, on the border with Serbia
For the Hungarian Government's view, we were joined by Stefánia Szabó. She is Hungary's Consul General in Toronto.
Munich struggles with nearly 13,000 more asylum seekers
What do you think of Hungary's approach to the refugee crisis?
This segment was produced by The Current's Gord Westmacott and Karin Marley.
RELATED LINKS
♦ EU governments set to back new detention measures - The Guardian
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♦ Orbán's police state - Politico
♦ How does Europe solve a problem like Viktor Orbán? - The Guardian
♦ Orbán's police state - Politico