The Polish president on Tuesday signed a law that would limit the access of charities and journalists to its border with Belarus as the country grapples with a latent migrant crisis.
The law is a blow to opposition parties who have pleaded for unrestricted media access, an amendment approved by the upper house of parliament on Friday but rejected by the lower house.
Under the state of emergency declared in the border region in September and ending at midnight, the media and charities were completely banned. The opposition said the ban was intended to cover up rights violations and demanded unhindered access.
The government said the restrictions were necessary for security reasons.
Under the new rules, the interior minister can restrict access to the border area after consulting the head of the border guards. However, journalists and NGOs may be allowed entry at the discretion of local border guard chiefs.
Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Tuesday evening he would order a temporary ban from entering border areas.
The European Union accuses Minsk of having designed the migrant crisis to respond to sanctions. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko accuses the EU of deliberately provoking a humanitarian crisis.
The Polish human rights ombudsperson criticized the new law, saying it gives the interior minister the right to restrict freedom of movement and indefinitely limit access to information about what is happening in the home. frontier.
While the situation at the border has calmed down since mid-November, when Polish security forces fired water cannons at migrants throwing stones, groups still try to force their way through the streets every night. barbed wire fences at the border.
Polish border guards said there were 134 attempts to cross the Belarusian border on Monday.
