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| Budapest Train Station Cuts Off Service to Migrants Amid Crisis | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| BUDAPEST — Keleti train station here, which has emerged as ground zero in Europe’s spiraling migration crisis, cut off service to migrants on Tuesday as European countries remained bitterly divided and confused over how to handle the thousands trekking northward. | |
| As migrants were greeted early Tuesday by an announcement that the station was “shut down for departure and arrivals for an indefinite time. Please leave the area of this station,” thousands of others were pouring into stations at the preferred destination for many of the migrants, Germany, and being greeted with promises of accommodations and legalized status. | |
| The contrasting scenes in Budapest and Munich reflected a continent polarized by how to respond to a wave of migrants trying to reach Europe. | |
| Emphasizing the sense of confusion, Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, called on Germany, the preferred destination for many of the migrants, to clarify its stance on asylum rules. And the Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, lashed out at Hungary for its seeming failure to register migrants before they were sent on. | Emphasizing the sense of confusion, Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, called on Germany, the preferred destination for many of the migrants, to clarify its stance on asylum rules. And the Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, lashed out at Hungary for its seeming failure to register migrants before they were sent on. |
| “That they are simply getting on board in Budapest and they make sure they will travel to the neighboring country — what sort of politics is that?” he asked on Austrian television. | “That they are simply getting on board in Budapest and they make sure they will travel to the neighboring country — what sort of politics is that?” he asked on Austrian television. |
| Hungary, in turn, expressed its anger by summoning the Austrian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry. | Hungary, in turn, expressed its anger by summoning the Austrian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry. |
| “It is disappointing and incomprehensible that the leader of a neighboring country should talk in this vein about an issue which is causing Hungary, as well as Europe, immense difficulties amounting to a historic challenge,” the minister of foreign affairs and trade, Peter Szijjarto, told the Hungarian news agency MTI. | “It is disappointing and incomprehensible that the leader of a neighboring country should talk in this vein about an issue which is causing Hungary, as well as Europe, immense difficulties amounting to a historic challenge,” the minister of foreign affairs and trade, Peter Szijjarto, told the Hungarian news agency MTI. |
| The cold reception migrants received in Budapest was in marked contrast to the welcome in Munich, where the police said on Tuesday that about 2,500 people had arrived on trains from Budapest, via Vienna, in the span of 24 hours. Hundreds more continued to arrive early Tuesday. | The cold reception migrants received in Budapest was in marked contrast to the welcome in Munich, where the police said on Tuesday that about 2,500 people had arrived on trains from Budapest, via Vienna, in the span of 24 hours. Hundreds more continued to arrive early Tuesday. |
| The scenes of confusion and despair at Keleti and the acrimonious exchanges underlined the challenges facing Europe as tens of thousands of migrants, buffeted by civil war and conflict in the Middle East and Syria, try to make the perilous journey. Once there, they face a patchwork of policies across a 28-member bloc that is ill equipped to deal with the surge. | The scenes of confusion and despair at Keleti and the acrimonious exchanges underlined the challenges facing Europe as tens of thousands of migrants, buffeted by civil war and conflict in the Middle East and Syria, try to make the perilous journey. Once there, they face a patchwork of policies across a 28-member bloc that is ill equipped to deal with the surge. |
| In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, under pressure from a far-right anti-immigrant party with a sizable voice in Parliament, has aired some of the most strident speech against immigrants on the Continent, and it is in the process of building a fence on the Serbian border. | In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, under pressure from a far-right anti-immigrant party with a sizable voice in Parliament, has aired some of the most strident speech against immigrants on the Continent, and it is in the process of building a fence on the Serbian border. |
| Adding to the divisions, Janos Lazar, Mr. Orban’s chief of staff, on Tuesday blamed the European Union for stoking the migration crisis. He said that a leftist approach by the bloc over the past 10 years had saddled it with a difficult crisis. | Adding to the divisions, Janos Lazar, Mr. Orban’s chief of staff, on Tuesday blamed the European Union for stoking the migration crisis. He said that a leftist approach by the bloc over the past 10 years had saddled it with a difficult crisis. |
| He said that Europe and Hungary must prepare for millions of people heading to the Continent, and that the unrest in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria had made it obvious that one-off measures were not enough. He accused the bloc of failing to properly police its territory, saying that the “E.U. has failed to manage the situation, and the problem is the E.U. itself, which is incapable of protecting its own borders.” | He said that Europe and Hungary must prepare for millions of people heading to the Continent, and that the unrest in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria had made it obvious that one-off measures were not enough. He accused the bloc of failing to properly police its territory, saying that the “E.U. has failed to manage the situation, and the problem is the E.U. itself, which is incapable of protecting its own borders.” |
| Early in the day, at Keleti in Budapest, rows of riot police officers wearing red caps tried to contain the migrants, and the station was shut down under the strain of the influx of migrants trying to travel to Germany from Hungary. The migrants erupted in protest after the station stopped allowing them to board trains, and they were instead funneled into its courtyard, which had been transformed into a makeshift camp. | |
| The migrants, who had been gathered since 5 a.m. in hopes of boarding a train, chanted: “Go free! Go free! Go free!” Later, they shouted, “Merkel, Merkel,” referring to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, whose country is expected to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year. | The migrants, who had been gathered since 5 a.m. in hopes of boarding a train, chanted: “Go free! Go free! Go free!” Later, they shouted, “Merkel, Merkel,” referring to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, whose country is expected to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year. |
| Train services at Keleti were restored shortly after 10 a.m., but no migrants were being allowed back into the station. By late afternoon, the large angry crowds of migrants had dispersed, and police officers were guarding all entrances. | Train services at Keleti were restored shortly after 10 a.m., but no migrants were being allowed back into the station. By late afternoon, the large angry crowds of migrants had dispersed, and police officers were guarding all entrances. |
| It was a different story in Munich, where streets around the central train station were blocked off to allow the authorities to organize the migrants and bring them to the city’s processing centers, where they were to be registered and begin the process of applying for asylum. | It was a different story in Munich, where streets around the central train station were blocked off to allow the authorities to organize the migrants and bring them to the city’s processing centers, where they were to be registered and begin the process of applying for asylum. |
| Matching the flood of people was a flow of donations of drinks, food and baby necessities. “There is no end to the willingness of people to help — Great!” the police said on Twitter. | Matching the flood of people was a flow of donations of drinks, food and baby necessities. “There is no end to the willingness of people to help — Great!” the police said on Twitter. |
| In a post on Twitter from its federal office for migrant affairs last week, Germany indicated that it was easing its rules, which call for migrants to seek asylum in the European Union country where they first arrive or are registered, for those coming from Syria. | In a post on Twitter from its federal office for migrant affairs last week, Germany indicated that it was easing its rules, which call for migrants to seek asylum in the European Union country where they first arrive or are registered, for those coming from Syria. |
| Although the language made clear that Germany was not changing its overall policy, it was reported as a general easing of the rules, stirring hope among the migrants and confusing European partners. | Although the language made clear that Germany was not changing its overall policy, it was reported as a general easing of the rules, stirring hope among the migrants and confusing European partners. |
| The German action appeared to cast doubt on whether the Dublin Regulation, which establishes the criteria for handling asylum seekers, was still in force. | The German action appeared to cast doubt on whether the Dublin Regulation, which establishes the criteria for handling asylum seekers, was still in force. |
| “There were even rumors that Germany is sending trains to Budapest to pick up refugees,” Reuters quoted Ms. Mikl-Leitner as saying before a regular cabinet meeting in Vienna. “It is all the more important that Germany informs refugees in Hungary that Dublin has not been suspended.” | “There were even rumors that Germany is sending trains to Budapest to pick up refugees,” Reuters quoted Ms. Mikl-Leitner as saying before a regular cabinet meeting in Vienna. “It is all the more important that Germany informs refugees in Hungary that Dublin has not been suspended.” |
| Ms. Mikl-Leitner was speaking after a day of ambiguity about whether migrants who had reached Hungary, a European Union member and part of the open-border Schengen zone, could head west to Austria and on to Germany. | Ms. Mikl-Leitner was speaking after a day of ambiguity about whether migrants who had reached Hungary, a European Union member and part of the open-border Schengen zone, could head west to Austria and on to Germany. |
| Many migrants have been apparently avoiding registering in Hungary or Austria in hopes of finding refuge in Germany, even as migrant advocates say that European Union countries appear to be selectively applying the Dublin rules, in some cases failing to register or fingerprint migrants to avoid having to take responsibility. | Many migrants have been apparently avoiding registering in Hungary or Austria in hopes of finding refuge in Germany, even as migrant advocates say that European Union countries appear to be selectively applying the Dublin rules, in some cases failing to register or fingerprint migrants to avoid having to take responsibility. |
| Ms. Merkel has insisted that her country continued to apply the Dublin rules, and a spokesman for the Interior Ministry reiterated that point on Tuesday, Reuters reported. | Ms. Merkel has insisted that her country continued to apply the Dublin rules, and a spokesman for the Interior Ministry reiterated that point on Tuesday, Reuters reported. |
| In Hungary, the authorities said in a statement that the Budapest police chief had heightened controls in the capital for the next seven days, with a focus on districts with large migrant populations. The police said they would intensify checks of documents, as well as search clothing and vehicles. | In Hungary, the authorities said in a statement that the Budapest police chief had heightened controls in the capital for the next seven days, with a focus on districts with large migrant populations. The police said they would intensify checks of documents, as well as search clothing and vehicles. |
| Karoly Papp, the national police chief, said that the flow of migrants at the border was continuing, and that 500 people had been detained for illegal crossings from Serbia between the start of Tuesday and 6 a.m. Zsuzsanna Vegh, head of the immigration office, said 2,000 asylum requests had been registered overnight, bringing the total to over 44,000. Most of those came from people claiming to be Syrians, she said. | Karoly Papp, the national police chief, said that the flow of migrants at the border was continuing, and that 500 people had been detained for illegal crossings from Serbia between the start of Tuesday and 6 a.m. Zsuzsanna Vegh, head of the immigration office, said 2,000 asylum requests had been registered overnight, bringing the total to over 44,000. Most of those came from people claiming to be Syrians, she said. |
| Tamas Lederer, a volunteer who is helping to coordinate the response at Keleti, said he had been told that as of Tuesday, only those with visas from countries in the Schengen zone would be allowed to board the trains. | Tamas Lederer, a volunteer who is helping to coordinate the response at Keleti, said he had been told that as of Tuesday, only those with visas from countries in the Schengen zone would be allowed to board the trains. |
| He said that migrants and asylum seekers with identity cards and passports from places like Syria had been able to travel on Monday, but that the authorities had toughened their stance. | He said that migrants and asylum seekers with identity cards and passports from places like Syria had been able to travel on Monday, but that the authorities had toughened their stance. |
| In the last five days, the number of migrants trying to leave from the Budapest station has grown to 2,000 a day from about 800, he said. | In the last five days, the number of migrants trying to leave from the Budapest station has grown to 2,000 a day from about 800, he said. |
| The increase in train travelers may be related to a crackdown in the region on human traffickers following the discovery in Austria last Thursday of the bodies of 71 migrants who were believed to have smothered in the summer heat after being packed into a truck by smugglers for the journey from Hungary. | |
| On Tuesday, investigators said they had found about a dozen Syrian travel documents in the truck and were checking to see if they were genuine. | |
| Authorities said a sixth suspect in the investigation had been arrested in Bulgaria. The suspect was among those sought by international arrest warrants issued by Austria, said Verena Strnad, spokeswoman for state prosecutors in the eastern state of Burgenland. An additional suspect sought by international warrant has been detained in Hungary, she said. | |
| The Burgenland police spokesman Gerhard Pangl said that 40 autopsies had been completed, but declined to give further details. The authorities plan a news conference on Friday to announce the results of their inquiry so far, he said. | |