Djurovic: Use of Force against Refugees in Croatia Will Not Solve the Problem of Migration

Director of the Asylum Protection Center Rados Djurovic assessed today, as the Croatian police wounded two young migrants with firearms, that the use of force against this population is not legally permissible and that there are other ways to prevent illegal migration and activities of human smugglers.

"Children cannot be the victims of attempts to reduce the smuggling of migrants, and this violence can only push these people away from the police in the embrace of smugglers. After all, the use of force against children and migrants is not allowed and lawful and very problematic, especially as it is people who have escaped persecution in their countries. Refugees are not smugglers, they are their victims, "Djurovic told BETA.

Two children were wounded last night when the Croatian police fired on a van carrying illegal immigrants on the Lower Serbs who entered Croatia from BiH. Children who had gunfire infections were transferred to the Zadar hospital and were not in a life-threatening condition. It's supposed to be 12-year-olds.

Djurovic said that the use of firearms is not the only way to stop the vehicle and arrest a smuggler, but also that there is no talk about the fact that in a country of the European Union the right to life is inviolable.

"We had a case earlier in which a six-year-old girl, Medina, died when a Croatian police force forced her and her family into Serbia on the border, and the young girl was hit by a train on the tracks," Djurovic said.

He added that migrants are mostly desperate people who are far from their homes and that there is no doubt that they will continue to try to get to Western Europe, which is why it is realistic to expect that they will be even more focused on the smugglers if they think that the police enemy.

According to him, in the last three months, it is noticeable that the behavior of the Croatian police at the border is much sharper than before.

"We have information from refugees that the Croatian police use physical force and dogs to beat people and detain them for more than ten hours without water. The treatment of refugees on the Croatian-Serbian border has been violated, but everyone should understand that the use of force cannot stop the smuggling "said Djurovic.

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