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Transcript/Script English((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Finland Russia Border
HEADLINE: Finland Closes Russian Border Over Migrant Influx, Estonia Could Follow
TEASER: Helsinki accuses Moscow of weaponizing migrants amid fears migrants could freeze to death
PUBLISHED AT: 12/1/23 at 5:20p
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Bill Ide
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, APTN, Reuters, AFP, Zoom
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:12
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[Finland closed its entire 1,340-kilometer-long border with Russia this week, accusing Moscow of sending asylum-seekers across the frontier in a hybrid attack in retaliation for its decision to join NATO. Russia denies the accusation. VOA’s Henry Ridgwell has more.]]
((NARRATOR))
More than nine hundred asylum-seekers from countries including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November, according to the Finnish border guard. Previously, the rate was less than one per day.
By November 24, Finland had closed all but one of its eight official border crossings. On Thursday, the remaining Raja-Jooseppi crossing inside the Arctic Circle was also closed, sealing off the entire border.
((FOR RADIO: Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that his country would not accept Russian interference. In recent days, he said, there has been a growing understanding that this is an organized activity, not a genuine emergency.))
((Petteri Orpo, Finnish Prime Minister (male, in Finnish) ))
“This is about Russian interference, and we do not accept that. In recent days, there has been a growing understanding that this is an organized activity, not a genuine emergency.”
((NARRATOR))
Russia is trying to weaponize migration, says analyst Charly Salonius-Pasternak, an expert in Finnish security.
((Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (in English) ))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“There are interviews [with migrants] saying that some of these people have been given an option: either go to the front in Ukraine, or then jump in a bus or military truck, be driven up to the Arctic Circle or further north, and then be forced to buy a bicycle and try to get across. So it’s very structured, how the Russian authorities have done this.”
((NARRATOR))
Russia’s actions are in retaliation for Finland's joining of NATO following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine – ending decades of non-alignment, says Salonius-Pasternak.
((Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (in English) ))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“Finland is considered by Russia to be a hostile state.”
((NARRATOR))
Poland offered to send military advisers to help Helsinki police the frontier, though this was declined by Finland. Poland accused Belarus of sending thousands of asylum-seekers to their shared border in 2021.
Russia denies accusations that it is driving the migrant flows to the Finnish border.
((OPT OUT))
((FOR RADIO: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there is no threat or tension at the border – and that tensions may arise if Finland deploys extra units at the border because the Finns must be clearly aware that this will pose a threat to Russia.))
((Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Spokesman (male, in Russian) ))
“There is no threat there, in reality there is no tension. Tension may actually arise during the concentration of additional units on our border, because the Finns must be clearly aware that this will pose a threat to us.”
The Finland-Russia border stretches some 1,340 kilometers. There are concerns that some migrants may try to cross the border illegally – risking their lives.
((FOR RADIO: Again, analyst Charly Salonius-Pasternak.))
((Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (in English) ))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“It’s been down to minus 25 (degrees Celsius). It will go there again. It’s supremely inhospitable to anyone seeking to cross the border. So there is this fear of, will we start seeing video or pictures of people just having frozen in the wilderness.”
((OPT IN))
((NARRATOR))
Finland says the border will remain closed for at least two weeks.
Estonia said this week it was also ready to close its border with Russia if there was a big influx of migrants – and warned its citizens against travelling to Russia.
((Henry Ridgwell, VOA News, London.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)London
Embargo DateDecember 1, 2023 19:04 EST
BylineHenry Ridgwell
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
