ASYLUM SEEKERS “THE WEAPONIZED HUMANS” RECRUITED IN HYBRID WARFARE

Some leaders have been increasingly using humans without weapons as a weapon in their conflicts with other countries. This is a strategy that has been allegedly employed by both Türkiye’s President Erdoğan and Russia’s President Putin.

In late November 2023, Finland accused Russia of sending asylum seekers to its border as a form of hybrid warfare in response to its decision to join NATO. Finnish authorities said that the surge of migrants arriving at the Finnish border was planned by Moscow. A Finnish newspaper reported that Russian Embassies had started to give visas to people from the Horn of Africa to enter Russia and then travel to the Finnish border with the help of the Kremlin’s security services. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the accusations.

Finland’s Minister of European Affairs Anders Adlercreutz said that Russia’s actions of flooding the Finnish border with migrants were intentional, cynical hybrid moves aimed at creating fear and dissatisfaction. “It’s not really about trying to get a lot of people across the border,” Adlercreutz said in an interview. “It’s a proof of concept, making us aware that it views this kind of hybrid action as a tool that it can use, whenever it feels that it’s appropriate or needed.”

Asylum seekers at Finnish border

Finland’s reaction to this wave of refugees was to temporarily shut down its entire border with Russia to reduce the movement of asylum seekers to the border. This reaction was seen as a threat to the right to seek asylum by Finland’s ombudsman for non-discrimination.

The use of refugees and asylum seekers as a weapon is not a new tactic. The President of Türkiye, Erdoğan, has also threatened to open the way for refugees to seek refuge in Europe.

Erdoğan uses his refugee card as a bargaining chip in his negotiations with European countries when he has problems with them. “Either you will provide support, or excuse us, but we are not going to carry this weight alone. We have not been able to get help from the international community, namely the European Union.” Erdoğan said, warning “to open gates” for refugees.

In 2016, the EU made a deal with Türkiye that effectively shut down the so-called Balkan route, which was the main route for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war in Syria. Erdoğan’s negotiation was based on €6 billion ($6.6 billion) and the opportunity to speed up EU accession talks.

Türkiye is hosting millions of refugees mostly from Syria and Afghanistan within its borders. On the other hand, if this mobile population moves to the border of Türkiye with Greece, then it is a serious problem for EU countries. Therefore, EU countries are doing their best to please Erdoğan so that he will not “open the gates” to the refugees who seek asylum in EU countries. Due to fear of refugee influx into EU zone, European countries turned a blind eye to the human rights violations of Erdoğan government that increased at a skyrocketing speed after the alleged coup attempt in 2016. This policy of EU leaders is sometimes criticized by some sources, accusing EU leaders of being hypocrite at the expense of EU values such as human rights, rule of law, and democracy just to keep Erdoğan happy.

The arrival of immigrants in Europe, especially from Muslim countries, in recent years has caused increasing public dissatisfaction and worry. Finland has struggled to integrate the newcomers, who often face prejudice and exclusion in the labor market and society. In some countries, some refugees such as Ukrainians were welcomed, while others were not. Therefore, while the passport of Ukrainian refugees allowed them to travel freely in these countries, other refugees had to pay relatively high travel costs to travel. Refugees in many EU companies face bias and face many challenges to adapt to their new life.

This does not mean EU countries completely reject the refugees. However, there are many things that can be done to help the forced refugees to adjust to their new lives.

MIGRATION vs INSTABILITY

Migration pressure forces democracies to give up some of their democratic commitment to granting asylum seekers the right to seek protection, revealing the weakness of democratic systems.

Many EU countries have experienced a backlash against migrants that has also boosted far-right parties, as they have been under heavy migration pressure for years. The latest example is in the Netherlands, where anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders won an election victory in late November 2023. On the other hand, The Finns Party, which came second in the April 2023 elections with its highest support ever, has exploited the anti-immigration sentiment and campaigned for a strict line on immigration, blaming immigrants for Finland’s social and economic problems.

In Poland, the border crisis worsened existing social divisions, dividing those who wanted a harsh stance on migration from those who favored a more welcoming approach toward migrants and refugees. The government accused those who sided with migrants of unknowingly helping hostile foreign powers.

New walls and barriers have been built across Europe as a result of migration and Russia’s aggression. But they don’t fully work. Poland’s Border Guard has detected 25,500 attempts this year to illegally cross the border from Belarus, where a large steel wall was completed last year.

Finland asked for help from EU border agency Frontex, which said it would send dozens of officers and equipment as reinforcements to the Finnish border.

Many people are forced to flee due to security and safety reasons seeking a better and more humane life. However, it is a sad fact that they become a tool for some leaders in their negotiation or conflicts with some other countries. Use of human who are trying to start a new life as a refugee is becoming a new instrument in the “hybrid warfare”.