shut down frontex - protest at frontex HQ in warsaw

On June 5-6, activists from many different countries came to Warsaw to protest against the deadly policies of Frontex, the EU agency which conducts migrant hunting operations, trains border guards and special units to hunt down people crossing so-called "national borders" and which helps to coordinate and implement EU immigration policy. Frontex has its headquarters in Warsaw.

On June 5, a transnational conference took place with presentations from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and Mauritania. Here Amadou M'Bow, a human rights activist from Nouakchott / Mauritania (mp3: 1. on repression in Mauritania, 2. on Mauritanian organisations aiding migrants and 3. on some African States responses to EU migration policies ).

The speakers presented information about the Frontex operations near the coast of Africa and their consequences, the operations in Libya and the Mediterraen and Agean Seas as well as an overview of Frontex operations, the ideology behind this and our arguments against this regime. It was pointed out during the presentations and later discussions how destructive these policies are and how the migrants can be victimized twice - for example, by the practices of some businesses which undermine their traditional livelihoods at home and then by the policies of the countries these businesses tend to come from, which seek to exclude people.

On June 6, a demonstration was held in front of Frontex headquarters. People from many countries were present, people from various social movements, some refugees living in Poland as well. The protestors demand that Frontex be shut down and that freedom of movement should be given to all, that there be an end to descrimination of all sorts against immigrants.

The sleazy head of Frontex, Ilkka Laitinen, came out to try to assure the press that he's a nice, decent guy who's just doing his job, which most people agree with.

Afterwards, a demonstration was held. People went to the Presidential Palace to protest Poland's immigration policies, in particular it's agreement with the Vietnamese government to deport 5000 Vietnamese people. The Polish border police, along with Vietnamese security forces, carried out a number of raids recently in which Vietnamese people were beaten, detained and deported. This government agreement has driven many of Poland's Vietnamese (70,000 people in Warsaw) underground.