Activists call for the End of Corruption at Checkpoints

Activists call for an end to corruption when crossing the demarcation line of the ATO, for an increase in the number of border guards, and for a prohibition on people skipping the queue.

This was stated in an address about the situation at the checkpoints which has been sent to Secretary of National Security and Defense Council, the head of the State Border Service, and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine by the NGO Donbass SOS.

The activists say that in the last 4 months they have received about 100 messages a day with requests to solve problems related to the control of the movement of people and goods into and out of the area of the ATO in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

On June 16, 2015, a new checkpoint timetable was reported. Representatives of Donbass SOS have reported the violations of rights and freedoms. The corridors through which you can cross the border work unreliably and the official sources do not provide information about their work. The border guards are incapable of coping with the large number of people and cars who are waiting many hours in a tense atmosphere.

In view of this, activists in their address are calling to:

– Increase the number of guards responsible for supervising the border, and thereby increase the capacity of the corridors;

– Require all employees to wear name tags and introduce themselves upon request;

– To train border police on the rules on treating people in critical and stressful situations;

– Revise the terms of the border guards’ work rotation in order to decrease stress;

– Enforce line regulations to ensure that people and transport do not pass a checkpoint out of turn except in cases of emergency: people who are seriously ill or pregnant, ambulances, and rescue services;

– Stop corruption among border guards regarding people cutting in line or crossing without permission.