- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SLOVENIA PM Slovenia will use army to handle migrant influx - PM
- Date: 17th October 2015
- Summary: OPATOVAC, CROATIA (OCTOBER 17, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CROATIA'S INTERIOR MINISTER, RANKO OSTOJIC, SAYING: "Plan D is a domino effect, it will cause a lot of trouble for all countries and I don't want to predict what will happen in this situation, because this organised system, you know, where we are receiving people, (migrants are going through) registration
- Embargoed: 1st November 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Croatia
- Country: Croatia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABM7IFBP5J1YTL6DJJKC5LJXX7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Slovenian army will support police in handling an influx of migrants, Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Saturday (October 17), after Hungary sealed its border with Croatia overnight, diverting migrants west into Slovenia.
"The government has decided to include the army in helping police. Army personnel and army equipment will be used to secure the state border," Cerar told a news conference after a meeting of Slovenia's national security council.
The Prime Minister added the army would be providing logistical support and surveillance near borders.
Hungary's right-wing government declared its southern frontier with Croatia off limits to migrants, blocking entry with a metal fence and razor wire just as it did a month ago on its border with Serbia.
Croatia began directing migrants west to Slovenia, which said hundreds had arrived already and more were on their way.
Slovenia said they would be registered before continuing their journey to Austria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority, many of them Syrians fleeing war.
But their movement had slowed visibly, with dozens of buses lined up at Serbia's border with Croatia through the night and into Saturday as Croatian police controlled their entry, a Reuters reporter said.
Slovenia suspended rail traffic with Croatia, saying it needed "complete control" over the flow.
Asked what would happen if Germany was to close its doors, Croatia's interior minister, Ranko Ostojic warned of a "domino effect".
"Plan D is a domino effect, it will cause a lot of trouble for all countries and I don't want to predict what will happen in this situation, because this organised system, you know, where we are receiving people, (migrants are going through) registration, security check and also medical check, it is giving a better, let's say security situation," Ostojic said.
The interior minister added that it was difficult to stem the flow of migrants.
"Trying to measure what's happening with people, who are not able to be stopped in the sea. They are swimming, they are risking their lives and nobody is able to stop this flow coming without shooting," he said.
Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of migrants building in the Balkans, battered by autumn winds and rain as temperatures drop before winter.
Hungary said it had reinstated border controls on its frontier with Slovenia, effectively suspending Europe's Schengen system of passport-free travel though it said it was acting within the Schengen rules. Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of the Schengen Area while Croatia is not.
A government spokesman said Budapest had taken the step because "migrants appeared" on the Slovenian side of the border.
Hungary says it is duty-bound to protect the borders of the European Union from the tide of migrants, most of them Muslims who Hungary says threaten the prosperity, security and "Christian values" of Europe.
With several other ex-Communist members of the EU, Hungary opposes a plan by the bloc to share out 120,000 refugees among its members. That is only a small proportion of the 700,000 migrants expected to reach Europe's shores by boat and dinghy from North Africa and Turkey this year, many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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