fence along Belarus border will hinder migrants and smugglers, not Belarusian asylum seekers / Article

Lithuania: Fence along Belarus border will hinder migrants and smugglers, not Belarusian asylum seekersUģis Lībietis00:00 / 03:03

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According to Lithuanian border guards, the largest group of detainees were from Chechnya and Dagestan, ie Russian citizens, and the rest were Afghans and Indians, some of whom had to be searched using a border guard helicopter.

Lying reduces the chances of obtaining asylum

Lithuanian authorities say that most migrants have used legal travel before arriving in Belarus, but Belarus is receiving instructions to cross the border further.

Lithuania is aware of both the companies involved in bringing migrants and the methods of operation of Belarusian law enforcement agencies, training migrants how to deceive Lithuanian border guards, how to destroy documents and hide their true identity.

However, according to Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvīds Anušausks, Lithuania has enough information to identify individuals, and lying only reduces the chances of obtaining asylum.

At the same time, there are fears these days that the new barbed wire fence on the border with Belarus could reduce the chances of leaving the country for Belarusian opponents who want to flee the repression of the Lukashenko regime.

The fence built by Lithuania would be beneficial to Lukashenko

Along the border now a barbed wire fence is laid, but then it is planned to create an even more thorough protective fence in the length of 550 km. This idea criticized by Belarusian NGOswho are concerned that it will be more difficult for Belarusians to flee the Lukashenko regime after the fence is erected.

Activists point out that building such a fence is in the interests of the Lukashenko regime to transform Belarus into a prison from which it is impossible to escape. But now Lukashenko himself will not have to do anything, because the fence will be built on the Lithuanian side, with Lithuanian hands and for the money of Lithuanian taxpayers.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Anušausks believes that the concerns of the Belarusian opposition are unfounded.

“I do not share that view. First of all, because these people usually come to Lithuania legally. They come to our country and ask for political asylum. Because they know this path, it has already been used by several hundred people.

There are a very small number of isolated attempts to cross the border, for example by paraglider or something else. In any case, the construction of a protective fence will also make it very difficult for smugglers to operate. “

Will learn from the Greek experience

Due to the aggravation of the migration crisis, several Lithuanian government ministers have canceled the planned leave. Meanwhile, other officials are actively thinking about how to stop the flow of migrants to Belarus as well.

For example, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabriel Landsberg plans to meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Faud Hussein on Thursday to discuss how to stop the flow of migrants, as most of those detained in Lithuania are Iraqi citizens.

Lithuania also plans to launch an information campaign in those regions of Iraq with the highest number of migrants, informing them of the companies that form illegal migration networks. Negotiations on the readmission of migrants in Iraq will be a much more difficult task.

The head of the Lithuanian government, Ingrida Šimonīte, is currently staying in Greece to get acquainted with the country’s experience in controlling illegal migration. Among other things, it is planned to discuss how Greek experts could train Lithuanian officials in the implementation of asylum procedures.

According to Šimonīte, cooperation and exchange of experience is also important at the level of the European Union, because Lithuania, Greece, as well as Latvia and Estonia guard the external borders of the European Union.

Actions and procedures must be coordinated so that none of these regions becomes a common European weakness.

CONTEXT:

In the summer of 2021 the number of migrants has increased significantly, which is trying to enter the territory of Lithuania from Belarus. Most migrants are refugees from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Lithuanian officials believe that the Belarusian authorities deliberately does not constitute an obstacle to the crossing of the borderto punish Lithuania for supporting the Belarusian opposition and imposing sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime. Lithuania describes such action as the spread of a hybrid war against the European Union.

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