Hungarian Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér announced in Budapest on Wednesday that Hungary is officially in a “state of emergency” because of the migrant crisis and has called up thousands of troops to the border with Romania.
Announcing the deployment of troops, the minister said: “we don’t know exactly what reactions those refugees and illegal migrants will have, [those] who are already inside the neighbouring countries. Therefore the government has decided that to prepare for this situation Hungary will strengthen protection of its borders, and we declare a crisis situation due to migration for the entire country.”
New fears of migrants passing through both Romania and Bulgaria to get to Hungary triggered the move, with the unpredictability of the migrant crisis and the migrant flow being a huge cause for concern for the Hungarian government, reports Kronen Zeitung.
The Hungarians are also worried about the growing number of migrants who are stuck in Greece along the border with Macedonia and Bulgaria. There are concerns the tens of thousands now stuck along the Balkans may attempt to force their way through borders, as has been observed in Greece.
Some border regions of Hungary have already been in a state of crisis, but this is the first time the whole country has been placed on an emergency footing. The move has not gone without criticism in Hungary, with opponents of Prime Minister Viktor Orban saying that such a move in not necessary given the flow of migrants has dwindled since border controls were introduced last year.
Also causing concern are events in Greece, where “No Borders” activists have attempted to arm migrants with bolt cutters and other tools to physically dismantle the border fences along the Macedonian border. Hungary has serious worries that growing numbers and the actions of groups like No Borders could have a domino effect that many smaller countries along the Balkan route may not be able to handle.
The Bulgarian government in Sofia is also concerned about the build-up of migrants in Greece, fearing migrants may try to push through their country to find an alternate way to Europe. The Bulgarian Interior minister vowed to make sure it does not happen remarking on state television: “we have recognized this risk and will take any action against it”.
A new report on migrant crime reveals that for every 100 people who attempt to claim asylum in Austria an average of 55 criminal offences are committed, with some communities significantly more represented in statistics than others.
The majority of the crimes were perpetrated by Algerians, who have been held as responsible for many of the high profile migrant crimes like the mass sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Germany.
Algerians commit a staggering 155 crimes per 100 asylum seekers, with Georgians close behind at 151 per 100, and Nigerians at 129 per 100, reports Kronen Zeitung. Syrians are presently reasonably low on the list at only around 8 offence per 100 applicants, but the Federal statistics agency says that because the study only covers up to 2014 it doesn’t account for the mass influx of Syrians experienced during 2015.
The report also notes 80 per cent of the criminals were young men.
Assuming the statistics are correct, one in every two migrants have been suspected of committing crimes. The study did not include whether charges were pressed upon the criminals or whether they were simply released.
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