30 September 2003
Over 100 Chechens recently denied entry to Poland
Polish border control officers at the Terespol checkpoint have recently turned back a total of more than 100 Chechens.
Belarus' border guards found the Chechens' documents to be in order and let them through, the press office of the Brest Border Control Unit told BelaPAN.
Some 140 Chechens boarded a Brest-Terespol train on the morning of September 30, the day before Poland starts applying new visa regulations for Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian citizens. It is yet unclear whether or not they were allowed to enter Poland, according to the press office. Several hundred Chechens were turned away from the Terespol border crossing last November and were finally allowed
to enter Poland only after Russian diplomats interfered. Poland's border control authorities declined to comment on the reasons for their decision. There were reports that Poland, having a large Chechen community, sought to close the country's doors to new immigrants. It is Chechen women with children and seniors that settle in Poland first as a rule.
They are later joined by men, who, as the Polish authorities believe, might have been involved in combat operations in the breakaway Russian republic.
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news467.html