– It is a cynical use of people. There are people who stand in minus 20. You can have incidents where people try to escape across the border posts, or people freeze to death. That’s what Karen-Anna Eggen, Russia researcher at the Department of Defense Studies, says about the migration situation that has unfolded at the Finnish-Russian border crossings over the past month. Karen-Anna Eggen, researcher at the Department of Defense Studies, believes that the FSB is involved in the migration flows, both this year and in the past. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news From midnight on Friday night, Finland closed all border crossings to Russia, except for one. The reason is the marked increase in undocumented asylum seekers. In November, over 600 people without valid travel documents came from Russia to Finland. On Monday afternoon, 35 refugees cycled to the border crossing in Salla. The scale showed minus 20 degrees. According to the Finnish Immigration Service, the asylum seekers come from several countries, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. Eggen draws the thread back to what happened in 2015. – I think we saw the test in 2015 and 2016, but now the tool has been taken out of the toolbox. Cykkelfjellet In autumn 2015, the police’s border control at Storskog almost collapsed. Over 5,000 refugees cycled across the Norwegian-Russian border in Sør-Varanger. Russian authorities do not allow anyone to cross the border on foot. Eventually, thousands of bicycles piled up on the Norwegian side of the border. Lots of bicycles were left on the Norwegian side, after over 5,000 asylum seekers crossed the border at Storskog. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / news For some, the cycling refugees became a border shop. A man has previously told news that he earned between 5,000 and 7,000 dollars a week when it was going on. This corresponds to a monthly salary of up to NOK 240,000. Of the 5,464 who crossed the border in autumn 2015, just over 2,000 were granted residence in Norway. The following year, Finland also experienced an increased migration flow from Russia. From 1 January to 16 February 2016, almost 800 asylum seekers came to the northern border in Finland from Russia. Hybrid war After the increased traffic over Finnish-Russian border crossings in November, the Finnish authorities have accused Russia of deliberately letting undocumented asylum seekers through. – It appears to be organized and appears to continue, said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo earlier this week. The Kremlin denies the allegations. – The Finnish authorities have started with clumsy excuses to stir up Russophobic attitudes, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo from the Finnish Conservative Party is clear that the situation at the border is organized from the Russian side. Photo: Reuters Estonia has also noticed an increase. A total of 75 migrants have tried to cross the border from Russia to Estonia since last Thursday. Estonia’s interior minister, Lauri Laanemets, has accused Russia of waging hybrid warfare by helping migrants to the border. “Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border authorities and possibly other agencies are involved,” Laanemets said on Wednesday. Willful act Karen-Anna Eggen has previously told news that what happened at Storskog in 2015 was a willful act by the Russian authorities. She believes that the Finnish and Estonian analyzes are credible. – There are many more stories which now confirm, or point with a fairly high degree of certainty, to FSB involvement which has deliberately transported refugees towards borders. Eggen believes there may be several reasons why Russia allegedly organizes mass migration, including creating unrest and uncertainty. – It can either be to close borders, to try to reinforce an enemy image of Finland and Norway. It could be part of trying to sow discord between Finland and Europe, or Norway, in connection with Schengen cooperation. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) said on Wednesday evening that he will close the border with Russia at Storskog if necessary. Now only the Rajajooseppi border crossing in northern Finland is open. This is 150 kilometers as the crow flies from the Norwegian-Russian border crossing at Storskog in Sør-Varanger. Eggen believes that 2015 could be repeated, but is unsure whether Russia is interested in this, as Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has given clear notice that Storskog will be closed if necessary. – Russia seems to have more interest in keeping that border post open. – Calm on the border – The status is as it has been lately. It is calm on the border, says chief of staff in the Finnmark police district, Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen. The police are in close dialogue with the Finnish authorities to monitor the situation there. – After the Finnish borders were closed, and only Rajajooseppi is open, we have received feedback that they have received three asylum seekers so far, he says. The chief of staff says that they have no indications so far that the migration flow may come to Sør-Varanger. Nevertheless, the police district in Finnmark is ready to react if an increase in border crossings is noticed. For now, traffic over Storskog in Sør-Varanger is as normal. Photo: Amund Trellevik/news – We have good contingency plans that will be implemented. I cannot be specific about which contingency measures are being taken, says Sirma-Tellefsen. Ronny Schjelderup, the director of preparedness at the State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark, tells news that they are as prepared as they can be. He says that the State Administrator has a good dialogue with the other actors at regional level. – We are connected, and there is good situational awareness among the actors related to what is happening in Finland.
ttn-69
Finnish borders closed: – Cynical use of people – news Troms and Finnmark
