Freenations

GERMAN GUARDS TO POLICE "EUROPE'S" NEW BORDER

Date of report 6 May 2003
Translated on 10 May 2003

"HAENDE HOCH!" (Hands up!)

GDANSK/BERLIN (Own report) The transfer of national sovereign rights to German police authorities is being publicly discussed in Poland. The debate concerns German plans to transfer several thousand uniformed officials to Poland's eastern borders. There the Berlin officials would be in charge of law and order.

The timing of the proposed transfer has arisen because of the lifting of the present German/Polish border regime. This delays permitted travel rights for for those going to the West but will permit them as soon as Poland is a full member of the EU. The EU external frontier will then be the present eastern Polish border and the sovereignty of the Warsaw government will be subordinated to the EU.

GERMAN GUARDS NEED A BORDER TO GUARD

In contrast the German proposal is to "internationalise" the Polish eastern frontier. According to a press report (1) the leader of the German Customs Administration, Gerd Meny, has proposed to the EU Commission that customs controls at Poland's eastern borders should be strengthened and offered the "experience" of German officials. This unselfish suggestion takes account of the fact that about 4,000 German border guards will become unemployed at the time of EU eastern expansion. Therefore they would be looking for new tasks in "Europe".

A WELL-KNOWN COMMAND

The Polish press has expressed concern that "on Polish soil the command "Hands up!" will be given in German and not Polish" and that this is an unreasonable imposition. The young generation "Only knows the command "Haende hoch!" from war films but their elders know it from their own bitter experience".

SOURCE
(1) Tygodnik Solidarnosc 30.04.2003