FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiFour weeks before parliamentary elections on October 15, 2023, Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party appears to be falling into a trap of its own making. For years, Polish right-wing populists have agitated against refugees from predominantly Muslim countries.
In the election campaign, politicians ask for votes with the slogan "Safe future for Poland" and claim that only they can save the country and Europe from the "avalanche" of illegal immigration from Africa and Asia. And in the referendum, which PiS wants to hold together with the parliamentary elections to win votes through the raised issues, two of the four questions are related to immigration.
However, recent revelations by independent Polish media call into question the credibility of the PiS government. It is said that there were irregularities and corruption in the granting of visas at Polish consulates outside Europe. The image of a party that presents itself as the sole guarantor of border security is shaking.
Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister must resign
When Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk, who among other things oversaw Polish consulates around the world, was suddenly fired on August 31, 2023, only a few insiders knew the real reason. He also lost his place on the electoral list, which he considered safe. Until the second week of September, it was not known that the prosecution had already opened an investigation into irregularities in the granting of visas in March 2023. Meanwhile, seven people have been arrested and three remain in the preventive measure.
Shortly before the elections, the Polish opposition took the opportunity to accuse PiS of hypocrisy in the issue of immigration. "PiS has betrayed its ideals, its values. It has promised security and created a danger,” Michal Szczerba, deputy of the largest opposition party, the Civic Platform (PO), told TVN on Monday. After an inspection at the Foreign Ministry last week, opposition leader Donald Tusk announced that around 250,000 Polish visas issued in the past 30 months - to people from Africa and Asia - were contestable.
Fake Bollywood movie to get Schengen visa
According to the Onet portal and the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, Deputy Foreign Minister Wawrzyk instigated a visa-issuance system that allowed speeding up the procedure in exchange for bribes. He had also put pressure on the heads of consulates to grant fast-track visas to people selected by him.
According to Onet, around 36 Indian nationals posing as Bollywood movie stars had obtained multiple-entry Schengen visas in this way. According to the news portal, the film also had a title, but further investigation revealed that the alleged choreographer did not know how to dance and the make-up artist had never worked in the film industry. Multiple-entry visas are particularly coveted because they allow entry into Mexico, from where it is easier to smuggle into the US. According to Onet information, 21 of the 36 members of the alleged shooting group took advantage of this opportunity.
Big scandal or just a "stupid idea"?
At first, the government side tried to downplay the issue and sidestep it. "Tusk talks about hundreds of thousands. This is a lie, a lie and another lie,” PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski attacked his biggest opponent in the current election campaign at an election rally held in Thorn on Saturday (16.09.2023). "There is no problem, not even an issue, but just a stupid idea with a criminal background," declared the leader of Poland's right-wing populists.
Ministri i Drejtësisë Zbigniew Ziobro njoftoi se hetimet kishin të bënin me saktësisht 268 raste dhe jo 250.000. Ndër të tjera, konsullatat në Indi, Filipine, Singapor dhe Hong Kong, si dhe Tajvan, ishin në qendër të vëmendjes së prokurorëve. Sipas Ziobros, korrupsionin e zbuloi vetë shërbimi sekret polak. Përkundrazi, mediat polake larg qeverisë pretendojnë se shërbimet e huaja të inteligjencës, veçanërisht SHBA e kishin paralajmëruar palën polake.
Opozita kërkon dorëheqjen e ministrit të Jashtëm Zbigniew Rau, i cili megjithatë e përjashtoi këtë. “Nuk ka pasur asnjë problem me vizat,” u tha ai gazetarëve në Nju Jork të hënën. Ai theksoi se agjencia e tij kishte lëshuar pothuajse dy milionë viza në dy vitet e gjysmë të fundit, shumica e tyre për qytetarët e Ukrainës dhe Bjellorusisë. Ajo që po diskutohet tani në publik është “një kaskadë lajmesh të rreme”.
Qeveria polake merr masa kundër çështjes së vizave
Megjithatë, masat e marra nga qeveria e Varshavës të premten e kaluar (15.09.2023) tregojnë se çështja nuk perceptohet aspak si e parëndësishme diku tjetër. Shefi i departamentit juridik të Ministrisë së Jashtme, Jakub Osajda, i besuari i Wawrzyk-ut, u shkarkua me efekt të menjëhershëm. Janë urdhëruar kontrolle në departamentin konsullor të Ministrisë së Jashtme, si dhe në të gjitha konsullatat polake në mbarë botën. Gjithashtu, u ndërprenë të gjitha kontratat me kompanitë private që kishin vepruar si ndërmjetës në çështjet e vizave.
Për një kohë të gjatë, mediat e kontrolluara nga PiS nuk e përmendën fare çështjen e vizave; në vend të kësaj, kanali televiziv shtetëror TVP raportoi për numrin e lartë të emigrantëve të rinj që mbërrinin në Lampeduza. Për të thyer këtë mur heshtjeje, politikani i PO Tomasz Grodzki mbajti një fjalim televiziv në kohën kryesore të premten, i cili gjithashtu duhej të transmetohej drejtpërdrejt në televizionin shtetëror – si president i Senatit, Grodzki ka të drejtë për këtë lloj fjalimi. “Çështja e vizave është skandali më i madh i Polonisë deri tani në shekullin e 21-të”, deklaroi politikani i PO.
A day later, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in the Sejm and PiS politician, Elzbieta Witek, counterattacked: "Lies cannot be left unanswered." She again used her televised speech to attack the opposition. "Tusk means Lampedusa in Poland," she warned.
Will Poland remain in the Schengen area?
Some Poles are now worried about Poland's position in the Schengen area because of the issue. "If the charges are confirmed, Poland will be expelled from the Schengen area," warned the former Polish ambassador to Latvia and Armenia, Jerzy Marek Nowakowski.
In a survey published by the newspaper Rzeczpospolita this Monday, 18.09.2023, 30 percent of respondents say that the visa issue will harm PiS in the elections. Almost 40 percent believe that right-wing populists will survive this scandal. /DW
Lini një Përgjigje