It is not allowed that we feel like strangers in our own city, and it is not allowed that taxi drivers or local entrepreneurs help migrants for profit, stated István Pásztor, the president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association (VMSZ) on Friday in Belgrade, after a meeting with Aleksandar Vučić with Serbian President.

As he said, at every meeting for the past seven years, the VMSZ has drawn the attention of the authorities to the difficult situation in which people living near the Hungarian border have found themselves due to migration pressure. He pointed out, this time again he tried to draw the attention of the head of state to the fact that this is a serious problem, a problem with which the state cannot leave the people alone , and that it must stand on the side of the citizens against the migrants.

"Everything must be done to free the border regions from the migratory pressure they are exposed to. The taxi drivers must be reined in, and the entrepreneurs who are willing to cross over to the other side of legality in order to make a profit must be reined in. This is what we expect from the state," stated the president of the VMSZ.

István Pásztor explained: in the last seven years, the representatives of the VMSZ have spoken out many times about the migration pressure, but so far no serious progress has been made. Now, however, something seems to have started, and the authorities' actions have become more powerful. Perhaps the population has never been exposed to such pressure - pointed out the politician, who reminded that migrants already use weapons. "All this proves that it is a serious issue," he stated. As he said: it must be achieved that Serbia can protect its southern border, because everything else is only symptomatic treatment.

The operative group of the Serbian Ministry of Interior seized a large amount of weapons, ammunition and stabbing tools from migrants during an operation on Thursday. A total of 85 migrants were caught in Subotica, Zombor, Nagykikinda and Belgrade, six of whom were immediately arrested. Proceedings were initiated against two migrants because they were suspected of having committed a crime, forty were prosecuted for violation of regulations, and another forty were transported to the reception center in Padinska Skela near Belgrade. More and more illegal immigrants are staying in Subotica and near the Serbian-Hungarian border, and the number of incidents has increased. The biggest clash happened two weeks ago, when two groups of migrants attacked each other with firearms in the Makkhets forest near the border. The showdown resulted in several serious injuries and one fatality. Residents of the district organized a protest last weekend due to the situation and announced another demonstration for Saturday.

According to official data, there are approximately six thousand illegal immigrants in Serbia. The destination of migrants from Africa and the Middle East is not the Western Balkan countries, but the European Union, mainly Germany, but many are stuck in Serbia for a long time due to the Hungarian border closure.

According to official data, Hungarian border guards have arrested more than 120,000 illegal migrants this year , two and a half times as many as at this time last year. Last year, the authorities took action against a total of 123,000 illegal migrants.

Source: MTI

(Cover image: Origo.hu)