Polish PM pitches against migrants, warns of 'Islamic fighters' among refugees

In an effort to bolster its reputation as being anti-immigrant before of a national election, Poland’s prime minister claimed on Thursday that refugees affected by the violence in Israel will include Islamic jihadists. Migration is at the centre of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party’s effort to secure a third term in office on October 15. “In this great wave of migration there will be Islamic fighters, terrorists, thousands of young men will migrate to Europe,” Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference. A European Union agreement for a quota system between member states for moving illegal migrants, who have been entering Europe in greater numbers, has been challenged by Poland and its neighbour Hungary. In a referendum that will be held concurrently with the election, voters will be requested to express their opinions on that system. The opposition would tear down a fence on the border with Belarus and accept migrant quotas, according to PiS, who has framed the election as a choice between a government dedicated to curb illegal immigration and the opposition. The European Commission dismissed Warsaw’s allegation that it would be compelled to accept more migrants under the new guidelines, stating that Poland would be excluded owing to the enormous number, while opposition parties said they would not tear down the border. The opposition has also questioned whether PiS is as strict on immigration as it claims to be, pointing to a rise in immigration from outside of Europe while it was in power and a scandal involving the payment of visas in cash. The government, according to opposition parties, was involved in a scheme whereby migrants acquired permits quickly and without adequate checks after paying middlemen. According to PiS, the scope of the issue has been inflated, and its roots go back to the opposition’s rule. (With agency inputs)