[Ian Smith son]

Migrant crisis is unifying Czech society - President Zeman

Prague - The migrant crisis is unifying Czech society and an approval of the refugee influx violating the Dublin regulations means an approval of crime, President Milos Zeman, an ardent opponent of accepting refugees from Islamic countries, told CTK today.

He rejected the view that the migrant crisis divides society, arguing that the very opposite is true.

"Even people, who have very different opinions on other affairs, more or less agree on their opinions on illegal migration," Zeman said.

According to the Dublin regulations, those who enter the territory of a safe country have the duty to apply for asylum, but they should not choose the country, he added.

Zeman said 90 or even 95 percent of Czech society had the same view of the migrant crisis. Only Prague intellectuals did not share it, he indicated.

The president arrived at a meeting of the National Security Council dealing with migration this evening.

Zeman has been against the introduction of mandatory quotas for the redistribution of refugees across the EU. He has supported the deployment of the Czech military along the country´s border to protect it from refugees.

Zeman welcomed it that 25 Czech soldiers would be sent to protect the Hungarian border. "Any step, no matter how big or small, is positive. To express verbal support is one thing and to provide real support is something else," he told CTK.

Migrant crisis is unifying Czech society - President Zeman - ?eskéNoviny.cz

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