Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Activists protest EU migration policies at Croatian border

Dozens of human rights activists have briefly blocked Croatia's border with Bosnia to protest European Union's migration policies

Via AP news wire
Saturday 19 June 2021 16:04 EDT
Migration Croatia Protest
Migration Croatia Protest (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Dozens of human rights advocates briefly blocked Croatia’s border with Bosnia on Saturday to protest the European Union’s migration policies.

The protesters demanded that EU’s border agency, Frontex be dismantled and countries end their pushbacks of migrants trying to reach Western Europe Waving banners reading “Stop deportation,” or “No human is illegal,” they parked cars at the border and shouted slogans against EU policies.

No incidents were reported as Croatian police stood nearby.

Croatian officers have faced allegations of using violence to turn back migrants trying to come in from Bosnia, which authorities have denied.

Thousands of people remain stranded in Bosnia while waiting for a chance to cross into the EU member state Croatia and move on toward other, wealthier EU nations.

Francesco Cibati, from a rights group based in Trieste Italy said protesters came to demand that everyone be granted the right to seek asylum. He said organizations from Spain, Germany, France, Austria and Slovenia supported the protest.

“European Union is violently pushing back people and Croatian police is doing that on behalf of European Union, paid by European Union," he said. "So we are here to protest this situation, which is intolerable.”

Migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Mideast, Africa or Asia come to the Balkans by first arriving in Turkey, then slipping into Greece or Bulgaria before moving on toward North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in