Péter Szijjártó insisted that migrants were "increasingly aggressive and violent," adding that "they now have weapons and they are using them."Continue reading
Due to the incredible migration pressure on the southern border, it is reasonable and necessary to set up border guard regiments, the chairman of the National Assembly’s Defense and Law Enforcement Committee, told public media at an off-site meeting of the Fidesz parliamentary group’s Defense and Anti-Migration Cabinet in Röszke on Thursday.
In the first stage, 2,200 border guards will be deployed to protect the Hungarian border, while in the second stage, 1,800, Fidesz MP Lajos Kósa said.
At the same time, the legal framework for border protection needs to be reconsidered, as the “ancient” agreement with Yugoslavia concluded in 1974, cannot be applied in any way under the current circumstances, he added.
To give an idea of the migration pressure, Kósa said that in the first half of 2018, 3,000 people crossed the border illegally, whereas in the first half of this year that number was 114,000.
At the same time, in 2019, an average of 30 people per day tried to cross the border illegally, whereas in 2022, 580 people attempted to do so.
He added that in the entire period of last year, the authorities took action against 123,000 illegal migrants.
The Fidesz politician pointed out that migrants illegally crossing the borders are also becoming increasingly aggressive, with incidents of armed attacks on police and soldiers, and gangs of people smugglers and migrants shooting at each other.
The representative of the ruling party said that in this situation, the law enforcement code also needs to be amended, because in some cases police officers are now at the mercy of migrants. The lives of those who are responsible for protecting the Schengen border and the security of the country are being put at risk, Kósa stressed.
To this end, Fidesz wants to coordinate with the government and the parliamentary groups before the autumn session of the National Assembly, the politician said.
Featured photo by Zoltán Balogh/MTI
