Visa waiver for music festival in Belarus may attract illegal migrants – Polish official

June 2, BPN. The Słavianski Bazar music festival in Viciebsk may attract migrants from high-risk countries to Belarus, said Stanisław Żaryn, secretary of state at the chancellery of the Polish prime minister.

Visa waivers for the festival participants and guests may cause an increase in Belarus-bound travel. The Belarusian special services may use it to “intensify their hybrid operation” to ratchet up tension at Poland’s eastern border, the official said on Twitter.

The festival will take place in Viciebsk from July 13 to 16. Belarusian authorities allowed visa-free travel for its participants and visitors from 73 countries provided they have tickets or invitations from the Belarusian Ministry of Culture.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated on November 8, 2021, when thousands of migrants set up a camp near the Polish border. The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.

Migration figures had dropped significantly by the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but have risen more recently with Poland being the prime target.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded over 15,000 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus.