UKRAINE
AND BELARUS
ARE DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH HASIDIM WHO WERE STOPPED AT BORDER
ON WAY TO UMAN
Religiia
v Ukraine,
16 September 2020
A
detachment of the
State Service for States of Emergency has settled near the
memorial complex of
Tzadik Nachman in Uman of Cherkassy oblast on the eve of the
start of
celebration of the Jewish New Year. At the same time, on the
Ukrainian-Belorussia
sector of the state boundary, the arrival of groups of foreign
citizens has
been recorded, who, despite the restriction on entry, are trying
to get into
Ukraine for celebration of Rosh Hashanah, Religiia v Ukraine
reports, with
reference to Pravda.com.ua.
"The
detachment
includes forces of the fire and rescue subdivisions of various
regions of
Cherkassy oblast, specialists of the division of water rescue
tasks, groups of
pyrotechnics and underwater mine-sweeping, a division of
radiation, chemical,
and biological protection, pilot-less flying devices, and
medical
service," the press service of the State Service for States of
Emergency
reports.
The
total number of
people in the detachment is 96. The group also is reinforced by
30 units of
special fire and rescue technology. At places where holiday
events are
conducted and places of compact housing of pilgrims, four
stationary posts have
been set up.
Also
rescue personnel
report five checkpoints for disinfection. Yesterday, divers of
the State
Service for States of Emergency surveyed and removed dangerous
objects in about
250 square meters of the bottom of the reservoir, which pilgrims
will use
during religious rituals.
In the
past few days,
the arrivals of groups of foreign citizens have been registered
in the
Ukrainian-Belorussian sector of the state boundary, who, despite
restriction on
entry, are trying to get into Ukraine for celebration of Rosh
Hashanah.
The
Ukrainian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MZS) has called the attention of foreigners
and persons
without citizenship to the necessity of strict compliance with
the legislation
of Ukraine regarding matters of entry and stay on its territory.
The
Ukrainian MZS
notes that persons who do not fall into the category of
exceptions from the
aforementioned prohibition cannot be granted entry onto the
territory of
Ukraine. To quote: "In order to prevent illegal entry into
Ukraine of
groups of foreigners, the Ukrainian MZS asks the Belorussian
side not to
process for exit into Ukraine persons who do not fall into the
category of
exceptions. The Ukrainian MZS insistently calls all travelers to
respect
existing regulations in the sphere of border control and to
prevent the
creation of difficult situations at checkpoints for crossing the
state
boundary."
Yesterday
President
Vladimir Zelensky discussed the situation at the border with the
chairman of
the State Border Service. Sergei Deineko reported that border
troops expect
more than 3,000 more pilgrims to arrive at the sector of the
Ukrainian border
with Belarus.
Acting
Belarusian
President Alexander Lukashenko instructed his government to
communicate with
Ukraine and to come to agreement about providing a green
corridor for Hasidim.
Lukashenko's
press
secretary, Natalia Eismont, commented: "At the same time Belarus
is
prepared to provide transportation. For example, buses in which
pilgrims will
reach their destination (Ukrainian shrines) and return, and then
to the airport
for departure for their homeland. Our country is prepared to
take all these
functions on itself and, of course, to arrange a process of
maximum safety,
including that the incidence of COVID infection will not affect
the situation
in any way." (tr. by PDS, posted 16 September 2020)
UKRAINE
URGES
BELORUSSIA NOT TO ESCALATE TENSIONS AT THE BORDER AND NOT TO
MAKE FALSE
STATEMENTS FOR HASIDIC PILGRIMS
Interfax-Religiia,
16
September 2020
The
office of the
president of Ukraine is calling the leadership of Belorussia
to stop creating
additional tensions on their shared state boundary and not to
spread false
encouraging statements for Hasidic pilgrims.
"We
urge the
Belorussian authorities to stop creating additional tension on
the border of
our state and not to spread false encouraging statements for
pilgrims, which
may create in them the feeling that the border of Ukraine may
still be open for
foreigners," a statement of the office of the president
regarding the
situation for Hasidim on the Belorussian-Ukrainian border,
which was released
Wednesday afternoon, says.
The
office of the
president notes that as of today up to 2,000 Hasidic pilgrims
are on the border
between Belorussia and Ukraine. Most of them have come from
Israel, having
believed rumors that the Ukrainian border with Belorussia is
supposedly open.
"The government of Belarus, by some of its ill-considered
statements has,
intentionally or unintentionally, fueled these rumors," the
office of the
president declared.
The
office of the
president has reminded the Belorussian side that Ukraine was
forced to make the
decision to close the state boundary for foreigners because of
a substantial
deterioration of the situation regarding the spread of
COVID-19.
The
office of the
Ukrainian president thinks that personal resentment of certain
persons in the
de facto existing Belorussian government extends today to the
level of
inter-state relations.
"We
recall that
Ukraine occupied a neutral position regarding the political
crisis that
accompanied the badly organized voting in the election of the
president of the
republic of Belarus on 9 August of this year. We support the
democratic values
that are generally recognized on the European continued, and
we consider that
every state must observe its obligation to fully guarantee
human rights and
freedoms, which are guaranteed by international conventions
and pertinent
national legislation, which at least formally exist also in
Belarus," the
office of the president of Ukraine added.
The
office also
believes that every state, during the pandemic, must conduct a
transparent and
responsible policy directed at the halting of the spread of
COVID-19, and
refrain from provoking negative variations of the development
of the epidemic
situation in neighboring countries. (tr. by PDS, posted 16
September 2020)
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