Croatia has consistently denied illegally deporting refugees to neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. But in a recent TV interview, the Croatian president admitted border guards were forcing migrants back over the border.
Image: DW/A. Kamber
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Croatia, a member of the European Union since 2013, is aiming to join the border-free Schengen area. But it has become increasingly clear to what lengths the government will go so Croatians can enjoy this freedom of movement.
Over the past year, many refugees trying to cross into the EU through unofficial border crossings between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have reported brutal treatment by Croatian border police. Media reports have shown refugees — including children — with wounds they say were inflicted by police.
Most Croatian media outlets have ignored these reports of incidents taking place less than 150 kilometers (about 90 miles) from the capital, Zagreb. And the Interior Ministry has rejected reports of ill-treatment of refugees along the border, denying border police have been carrying out so-called push-backs.
Denial in Zagreb, silence in Brussels
Amnesty International has called out the silence of EU officials. "By prioritizing border control over compliance with international law, European governments are not just turning a blind eye to vicious assaults by the Croatian police, but also funding their activities," the human rights organization said in a statement in March.
But ever since Swiss broadcaster SRF showed footage of illegal deportations on the Croatian-Bosnian border in May, it has become increasingly difficult for Croatian authorities to conceal these incidents.
Yet, early this month, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic continued to downplay the actions of border police. "When someone travels through this difficult terrain, it's normal for them to get scrapes, bruises and injuries," she told local journalists during a visit to the border. "Next time you hear stories about the brutality of our police officers, you should think twice. They are not violent, I can guarantee that."
Grabar-Kitarovic insisted that police were not pushing refugees back over the border, claiming the people trying to cross into the EU weren't refugees anyway, but simply economic migrants.
Croatia's president has tried to downplay reports of bruises and injuriesImage: picture-alliance/P. Macek
'A little bit of force is needed'
But a few days later, while speaking with SRF during a visit to Switzerland, the president ended up confirming exactly what Croatian politicians have been denying for months, essentially admitting that Croatian police have been carrying out push-backs.
"I have spoken with the interior minister, the chief of police and officers on the ground, and they assured me they have not been using excessive force," said Grabar-Kitarovic, as the camera was running. "Of course, a little bit of force is needed when doing push-backs."
Jelena Sesar, a researcher at Amnesty International, told DW that she found the president's statement "shocking."
"Under international law and EU law, collective evictions and push-backs are always illegal," she said.
New refugee crisis looms on Bosnian border
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Sesar said it was scandalous that the Croatian president was trying to present push-backs as a legal measure, and justifying "a little bit of force." Amnesty International has called on the European Commission to put pressure on Croatia to end its border tactics.
In response to a request for more information on Grabar-Kitarovic's comments, the European Commission said it had no comment to make.
'Inhumane conditions' at Bosnian refugee camp in Vucjak
Within eyeshot of the Bosnian-Croatian border, thousands of refugees are camping in squalor on a former garbage site. Their supplies are scarce. Photographer Dirk Planert was among them.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Forced removals
It's estimated that 8,000 refugees live in Bihac. The camps are overcrowded and every day there is talk of burglaries. There was a stabbing in front of the kindergarten. Next to Camp Bira, there were about 500 people not registered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In mid-June police picked them up and drove them to a site called Vucjak.
Image: DW/D. Planert
800 people living on garbage
Within a few days, police continued to bring more refugees to Vucjak — a site that was the city's garbage dump for decades. It was covered with soil and then flattened. Local residents say it is omitting methane gas. Apart from the putrid stench, there are only three tents and some drinking water tanks. No toilets, no showers, no electricity, no paramedics.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Red Cross hopes for relief workers
Local Red Cross workers from Bihac say that neither the government in Sarajevo nor the IOM are giving them any funds to look after the refugees or buy medical supplies. The IOM staff stopped by briefly but did nothing. They then made a plea to the people of Bihac to donate food.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Eating in filth
Those at the camp receive paltry soup and bread twice a day from the Red Cross.
There is no electricity, no toilets, no showers, and no way to wash clothing. Almost everyone has skin rashes, open or purulent wounds, and their legs and feet are bloodied. There are no doctors. Red Cross medics say they have inadequate supplies to provide relief.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Medical emergency
Abdul Rahim Bilal screamed in pain as he was unloaded from a police van. Shortly afterward he became unresponsive and lay in the dirt with his hands on his appendix. The bus drove off. After desperate calls for help, another policeman called an ambulance which took half an hour to arrive. According to the hospital, he was released three days later.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Stories of war
Most in the camp are young men from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria; some are also from India, Egypt and Gaza. The refugees in Vucjak have been making their way to Europe for at least 10 weeks, some even up to three years. They speak of the war in Syria, terrorist attacks and police violence in Pakistan and air raids in Gaza.
Image: DW/D. Planert
No strength left
Jouma Al Hamid was in an Assad prison in Syria. He comes from the Idlib area. He's been on the road for three years and spent one year in Camp Moria on Lesbos. "I can't take it anymore," says the 26-year-old. "I just want to live in a house, that's all. I'm frightened, by the police, by criminal gang lords here." People smugglers charge €3,000 ($3,400) but he does not have it.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Without rights
Hassan Ali was forcibly removed from Camp Bira to Vucjak by police despite being registered as a migrant at IOM and having a place in the camp. They gave him no explanation: "The police arrested me in town. When I showed my IOM card and said I was in Bira, they said if I say that again they will beat me. Then they brought me here. I don't know why."
Image: DW/D. Planert
Being a child at the garbage dump
The youngest refugee at former-garbage dump campsite is 12 years old. He actually should be at Camp Bira, or in one of the hotels where women and children are accommodated but the police picked him up and brought him to Vucjak. His only possessions are the clothes he is wearing.
Image: DW/D. Planert
'This is not camp'
The people here are crying out to be heard. With a paper and a marker, a woman from a French human rights organization helped them write a legible sign, in a desperate attempt to get help.
Image: DW/D. Planert
The EU knows everything
The European Union can't deny that they know what the situation is like here. Two EUFOR soldiers were in Vucjak and witnessed everything. They will have reported to their headquarters. This situation is strongly reminiscent of the war in Bosnia. Bihac was a "UN protection zone," but only on paper. UN observers were here and they didn't do anything. Just like EUFOR.
Image: DW/D. Planert
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A year ago, it was already clear that Croatia intended to take its new role as the EU's border guard seriously. During a visit to Berlin in June 2018, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic proudly proclaimed that "Croatia…has the strongest border police in this part of Europe." In return, he campaigned for his country to become a member of the Schengen Zone.
