The number of people seeking asylum in Hungary almost doubled in August as the government was building a razor-wire fence to stop migrants from entering the country from Serbia. The U.N. refugee agency is reporting a "noticeable drop" this week in arrivals of refugees by sea into Greece — as the total figure for the year nears the 400,000 mark. Hungary's prime minister says his Croatian counterpart is an envoy of a global left-wing organization whose job is to attack Hungary. Orban said Friday on state radio that the parties in the Socialist International, which includes Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's Social Democratic Party, think the wave of migrants reaching Europe is a "good thing" and their leaders "are following the orders not so much of their people as of the Socialist International." Politicians from the two countries have been trading barbs since Hungary's decision on Sept. 15 to close its border with Serbia with a high fence protected by razor wire, police and soldiers. Hungary's prime minister says the refugees and migrants arriving in Europe are mostly young men who "look more like an army than asylum seekers." Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday on state radio that while he did not reject the right of any country to try to solve its demographic problems "with young men from the Arab world who look like warriors," it was unacceptable "to have this forced upon Hungary." Orban, who is advocating for global quotas for receiving migrants, says it is unfair for countries like the United States, the rich Arab states, Israel and Australia to expect Europe to take in the migrants while accepting few or none themselves.
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