Hungary is new hot spot on migrant route into EU - Part 1

bb1 wrote:Old Holborn retweeted
Joey Ayoub جووي أيوب ‏@joeyayoub  6h6 hours ago
Tomorrow, this man will be beheaded and crucified by the government sitting at the head of the @UN Human Rights panel



http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/23/middleeast/saudi-arabia-ali-al-nimr-execution/

CNN)A group of U.N. experts has joined rights groups in calling on Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a Shiite man convicted of crimes reportedly committed as a teenager during protests inspired by the Arab Spring.

Ali al-Nimr, the nephew of firebrand Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, faces execution by beheading and an additional rare punishment of "crucifixion," which means publicly displaying the body after death as a warning to others, according to Saudi state media.

"Any judgment imposing the death penalty upon persons who were children at the time of the offense, and their execution, are incompatible with Saudi Arabia's international obligations," the U.N. group said in a statement Tuesday, invoking the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a party.

Arrested as a teenager

Ali al-Nimr was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested for taking part in Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2012 calling for social and political reforms in the country's restive and predominantly Shiite province of Qatif.

A court later convicted him of charges including belonging to a terror cell, attacking police with Molotov cocktails, incitement, and stoking sectarianism, according to the state media report.

His final appeal was rejected when the Appeals Court and High Court ratified his verdict last week, the report said.



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September 23rd, 2015
In absurd twist, Slovak nationalist leader makes anti-migrant speech with simultaneous Hungarian interpretation
By Zoltán Szécsi

Although the refugee crisis and its treatment have provided plenty of absurd developments, it will be hard to beat the fact that a Slovak nationalist leader made a speech against refugees with simultaneous Hungarian interpretation, reports 444.hu.

Marián Kotleba (left) made a speech in Bős (Gabcikovo) last weekend against the refugee camp opened there and against the Slovakian government’s “too refugee-friendly” policy. Since Bős is a town with a solid majority of ethnic Hungarian residents, Kotleba felt it appropriate to provide simultaneous Hungarian interpretation for the audience – a rare thing at a nationalist party’s demonstration. During his speech Kotleba accused the Slovak government of “failing to protect the honest, hard-working people”, then went on to praise the “decisive” measures made by Hungary – such as deploying the army at the border and criminalizing refugees.

There were only about sixty participants at the rally according to the Slovakian Hungarian news site Parameter. Some of the Hungarian far-right sympathizers held a banner with the caption “Real Syrian men fight for their homeland and family. Pussies come to Europe!”.

September 23rd, 2015
Orbán to submit proposals on handling refugee crisis in Brussels meeting
By Hungary Matters

Hungary’s prime minister is planning to submit six proposals on handling the migrant crisis at the European Council extraordinary meeting in Brussels this evening. After attending a meeting of the legislative committee of the conservative CSU in Bavaria today, Viktor Orbán told journalists he would propose that Greece should hand over the duties of protecting its borders to European countries willing to participate in such a scheme. Orbán will also propose separating refugees and economic migrants before they enter the Schengen area and for the EU to draw up a list of countries considered safe to live in.

Under the fourth proposal, every member state should increase contribution to the EU by 1% and cut spending by 1%, resulting in 3 billion euros to be spent on refugees. He will also propose developing a partnership with states whose involvement in handling the migrant crisis is unavoidable, such as Turkey and Russia. Finally, Orbán said global quotas should be introduced and all countries in the world should be involved in managing the migrant crisis. “Hungary is protecting Bavaria’s borders,” Orbán said after meeting the Bavarian minister-president Horst Seehofer.

The All Hungary Media Group

September 22nd, 2015
Orbán’s address on illegal migration elicit mixed reactions in Parliament
By Hungary Matters

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Monday address in Parliament concerning measures to tackle illegal migration met with support from the governing parties and far-right Jobbik, and elicited criticism from the rest of the opposition parties. Fidesz said that the influx of migrants cannot be tackled “unless Europe declares that the continent cannot accommodate all”, protects its borders, and ensures that asylum requests are evaluated outside Europe’s external borders.

The Socialist Party said that the refugee crisis cannot be resolved through “confrontational policies creating tension”. Socialist leader József Tóbiás said that the Dublin III rule was “over” and called for common European migration rules. He added that community funds should not only be used for crisis management but for protection of the European borders, too.

Green LMP co-leader András Schiffer said that Europe’s borders cannot be protected without cooperation and called for a common European policy and allocation of the necessary funds. Schiffer pointed out that a global crisis is now impacting Hungary, and the country “must not trample on international law”. “What will happen if all countries start building fences? What if the Austrians and Germans return all those migrants that were registered in Hungary?” he asked

“What will happen if all countries start building fences? What if the Austrians and Germans return all those migrants that were registered in Hungary?”

September 24th, 2015
Brussels takes steps against Hungary and other EU members over asylum procedures
By Hungary Matters

Hungary is among 20 member states against which Brussels has launched infringement procedures related to the migrant crisis, the European Commission said.The EC has taken steps against these states for failing to inform the body on how they incorporated the EU directive on refugee procedures into their national legislation, as well as regulations on the minimum level of services and conditions at refugee reception centres. Brussels already sent an “administrative letter” — a step which precedes infringement procedures — to Hungary and four other states at the end of August, criticising them for failing to use the EURODAC system, a database for comparing the fingerprints of asylum seekers.

September 24th, 2015
Socialists call for EU migrant system, PM for humane refugee services
By Hungary Matters

The Socialist Party have called for a common European migrant system whereas the PM party has demanded that the government should treat migrants more humanely and draft programmes to help them get accommodated to the new environment. Socialist leader József Tóbiás said after attending a meeting of European Union left-wing party group leaders ahead of the European Council meeting in Brussels that the common EU asylum system should cover organising registration, the assessment of asylum applications and the distribution and financing of refugees. He said the Socialists had submitted a draft resolution to Parliament that outlines an action plan and proposes that Hungary should initiate suspending the Dublin regulations and developing an assessment system for temporary asylum applications.

Spokesman of the PM party Bence Tordai said that the government should elaborate programs promoting the integration of asylum seekers. All the more so because under the EU interior ministers’ Tuesday agreement Hungary will be expected to take in at least 1,000 refugees annually. The agreement indicates that the Hungarian government is forced to give up its “spectacularly failed unorthodox policies.” The PM party expects the cabinet to normalise relations with neighbouring states and take a proactive approach to resolving the Syrian, especially by supporting refugee camps in Turkey, he said.

The Latest: Hungary starts on latest border fence: Slovenia

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungarian troops have started laying down spools of razor wire at a new border — this time, a crossing with Slovenia.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told The Associated Press on Thursday that the razor wire was being installed near a checkpoint between the Hungarian village of Tornyiszentmiklos and Pince, Slovenia.

State television showed soldiers in thick protective gloves installing the razor wire across hundreds of meters (yards) on the Slovenian border.

Kovacs called it a precautionary measure. But both Hungary and Slovenia are part of the European Union's Schengen zone of passport-free travel, so, theoretically at least, there's no need for border checks or fences between them.

Hungary has already built a 4-meter (13-feet) high fence on its border with Serbia and hopes to finish a similar barrier on the Croatian border shortly. Preparations are also underway to extend the fence along the Romanian border as well.

The fence has succeeded in stopping most migrants from entering Hungary from Serbia but over 10,000 entered Hungary from Croatia on Wednesday.

About 500 migrants have been stranded at a Christian Orthodox cemetery in no man's land between Serbia and Croatia.

Croatian police on Thursday blocked their entry from Serbia near the Tovarnik border crossing, which has been one of the main entry points for migrants as they seek to continue their hazardous journey toward Western Europe.

The influx of mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans has caused tensions between Balkan rivals Serbia and Croatia, with countries criticizing each other over border closures and traffic blockades.

Croatia is blaming Serbia for busing migrants to the Croatian border, instead of channeling them further north toward Hungary.

Border tensions rise between Croatia and Serbia

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Tensions escalated between Serbia and Croatia on Thursday as the longtime rivals struggled to come up with a coherent way to deal with tens of thousands of migrants streaming through the Balkan nations to seek sanctuary in other parts of Europe.  
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http://www.mail.com/int/news/world/3841868-border-tensions-rise-croatia-serbia.html#.1258-stage-hero1-12