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In an extraordinary situation regarding migrants flowing to Lithuania, Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė and Deputy Minister Vitalij Dmitrijev visited Alytus on Sunday. The Minister said that he understood that the residents of Alytus were sensitive to the accommodation of illegal immigrants at the airport, in their own city, and was concerned about safety, but assured that the safety of the population was guaranteed.
“If necessary, the Ministry will use other forces to guarantee total security. Currently, migrants are protected by the police. If necessary, we will also use private security services,” said A. Bilotaitė.
The authorities initially visited the Alytus airfield, after which a meeting was held with members of the municipal council of the municipality. Virgilijus Raugalė, Commander of the Varėna Border Team of the State Border Guard Service, and Mantas Struckas, representative of the police, and Gintarė Jociunskaitė, Director of the Municipal Administration of the Alytus District, also participated here.
“We currently have around 1,000 illegal immigrants, the situation is constantly changing and it is difficult to predict how many will continue. Our goal is to manage the flows and the current situation. To make things easier and to be able to use the state reserve, an emergency situation has been introduced: public procurement has been accelerated to offset the costs incurred by the state. This was also done during COVID, the minister said.
A. Bilotaitė said that he can assure those who say that the Lithuanian border is “through”: the border is definitely not “through”.
“Border guards are professionals and do a great job. Most migrants are detained because without them we would find them in cities and towns. Others ask: why do we let them in?
There are international laws and obligations that bind us. Migrants apply for asylum, then a comprehensive system is activated, many procedures have to be carried out. In the past, they were returned to Belarus in good faith and without difficulty, and now this is not possible. This is a hybrid war of the regime against all of us. We must be united and focused, we must show that no one can break us, ”said the Minister.
Deputy Minister of the Interior V. Dmitrijev. He argued that if the influx of migrants is not stopped, a similar situation could exist in all municipalities. The deputy minister has said that they will try to speed up the procedures for the return of migrants to their country, but this is limited by EU regulations.
V. Raugalė, the commander of the Varėna border team of the State Border Guard Service, thanked the municipality for the attention and assistance that was unexpectedly needed. According to him, in the past the flows were not large, they were managed. The commander mentioned that he had already contacted the Lazdijai District Municipality, which was communicating with Varėna today, and that consultations would be held with the Alytus District in the near future.
Police Officer M. Struck said officers are prepared and ensure public order. Sufficient force is allocated.
Council members pointed out that their citizens were sometimes not as caring as migrants, they were interested in what would compensate for the health services provided to them and also asked if it was known which people had stayed at the airport.
“It just came to our knowledge then. As far as I know, I studied in Belarus and had to emigrate for some special reason. They have no identity documents. Until we are identified, we do not know their status. Because the virus is rampant, they need to isolate themselves. After that, the court will be applied so that these people are detained, they cannot move around the country and after identification, “said A. Bilotait.ė The Minister emphasized that it was important to create a situation for those people to know that Lithuania was not worth going to, but it could not be a drastic measure.
The minister also stated that Lithuania is not a five-star hotel, no one here offers exceptional conditions for migrants, but EU directives need to be implemented, international legislation is in force, and the basic needs of asylum seekers must be guaranteed.
Ona Balevičiūtė, President of the Emergency Situations Commission of the Alytus City Municipality, Director of the Alytus City Municipality Administration, and Jurgita Šukevičienė, Deputy Mayor, thanked everyone who worked operationally during the weekend. weekdays and took care of the migrants’ accommodation. He asked for clarification and said there was no time for long meetings, immediate action was needed.
