Security chief: Europe needs to stop thinking of immigrants as ‘terrorists’
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
07.12.2016 15:14
The perception of immigrants as potential terrorists is a stereotype that should be overcome, the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau has said.
Paweł Soloch (C) addressing the conference on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Speaking at a security conference on Wednesday, Paweł Soloch said that the stereotype should be overcome by both politicians and institutions who are responsible for these matters.
“I would like to strongly warn [people] against automatically, thoughtlessly connecting organised crime or terrorism with immigrants,” Soloch said.
“The perception of migrants as potential terrorists is a stereotype that should be overcome, both by politicians and by all institutions who are responsible for these matters,” Soloch said at a conference organised by the Bureau and the foreign ministry.
After coming to power in October last year, the Law and Justice (PiS) party said it was unhappy at the agreement by the former government led by the Civic Platform to accept 7,000 migrants as part of an EU-wide programme to resettle some 150,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea who are in camps in Italy and Greece.
Following terrorist attacks in Brussels earlier this year, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło said that Poland would not be able to take in asylum seekers from the EU for now. (rg)