Rétvári: The border hunters undertake a very important mission
The border guards have taken on a very important mission, because security and order are the basis of all freedom and development, so that we can protect our borders afterwards, said the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior in Szeged on Tuesday.
Bence Rétvári said at the press conference following the visit to the police training academy of the Police Education and Training Center, where one of the border hunting groups was trained: the protection of the southern border must be organized in the long term, because Western Europe is constantly encouraging migration. He comes up with free quota proposals month after month, and Hungary is undergoing continuous procedures because it is protecting its southern border, he said.
He emphasized that legal and political pressure on the government is continuous, but he did not give in on this issue either. It is clearly visible, as the results of the national consultation, referendums and elections also confirm that the government shares the same position as the people. And the vast majority of Hungarian people expect that it will protect its borders and not transform it into a country with a mixed population, as has already happened in many large cities in Western Europe, and where even the police can no longer control the situation in individual districts – he said to it.
The state secretary highlighted: two years earlier, 120 people wanted to cross the Hungarian border illegally every day, last year 340, and this year around 640 are trying every day. The numbers also show that protecting the border is an increasingly important task, which is why the border hunter training is starting, he underlined.
Bence Rétvári pointed out that the protection of the southern border section is extremely important for Hungary. It is clear that if there were no border fence, strict security, policemen, soldiers and border hunters, an even larger crowd, even thousands of illegal migrants, would arrive.
He said that from September, the border hunters will take over the role of soldiers and policemen, as they will initially patrol together in order to gain knowledge of the terrain. The training sessions start every week with a hundred or two hundred future border hunters, he added.
Government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi emphasized that it is necessary for as many border patrols as possible to serve, because illegal migration has become a huge problem for the European Union in recent years, and only Hungary has given a firm and decisive response from the beginning.
According to the government spokesman, it is clear how successfully Hungary has been able to protect not only the Hungarian borders but also the Schengen borders since 2015. Unfortunately, however, the pressure on the border sections has increased in the recent period, which is why it is necessary to strengthen the Hungarian border with another defensive line, he added.
Alexandra Szentkirályi emphasized:
the government provided the border hunters with even stronger protection than before for all Hungarian citizens.
He emphasized: in 2022, more than 156,000 illegal border crossings were no longer necessary, which means that the average number of illegal border crossing attempts per day has almost doubled. Therefore, we owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who has been working since 2015 to ensure that the Hungarian people are safe, he added.
He emphasized:
unfortunately, global processes show that as a result of the war and the erroneous sanctions given to it, an economic crisis is spreading in several places in the world, which also amplifies the problem of migration.
As economic difficulties approach, people are trying to find a way out, and many see the solution in moving to Western Europe. A lot of people are trying to get to the West through Hungary, but illegally, so we have to prepare for the fact that this problem will not only live with us, but will be a part of our lives more markedly than ever before, he said.
Alexandra Szentkirályi emphasized that, in addition to its firm position, the Hungarian government always acts in the toughest way against illegal migration, protecting the safety of the Hungarian people, because this is the most important thing.