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The increase in the number of immigrants from Belarus by more than a dozen times and the increase in political tension between Lithuania and Belarus are also reflected in foreign media. Until there are larger events, the media in Germany, Great Britain, Russia and other countries emphasize the desire of the Minsk dictator to destabilize the situation in neighboring Lithuania, thus taking revenge for supporting the opposition during the protests.
German media: Minsk uses hybrid warfare methods
“Alexander Lukashenko, who rules Belarus, is making good on his threat by sending immigrants across the border into the European Union. As a result, a state of emergency has been declared in Lithuania,” writes the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The German publication reports that more than 100 migrants entering Lithuania illegally through border forests are detained in Lithuania every day.
Lithuanian authorities see this as an example of the Lukashenko regime’s hybrid war against the European Union, the publication said. “This year, the dictator has publicly threatened that Belarus has already stopped” drugs and migrants “at the border, but that will soon change.
The German news portal also announces that immigrants in Lithuania are urgently housed in a tent town near Pabradė, and another is planned. “The Lithuanian government also wants to mobilize the army and even members of the Rifle Union to control the situation,” the publication said.
“The liberal mayor of the capital Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius, was skeptical of the government’s proposals. He said it would not be able to provide migrants with a comfortable place to live. The choice of school facilities over hotels is being considered. He suggested “Speak openly and let the international community and potential migrants understand that we are not a country that will keep its doors open and where they will live carefree and well,” said the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“We need a fence or an active firewall or something else to limit their numbers. Today we have hundreds of migrants, they could turn into tens of thousands if we do not solve the problem in principle,” the mayor of Vilnius is quoted as saying.
Migrants as a tool in the fight against Lithuania
“Alexander Lukashenko is on the border,” the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing the Belarusian dictator’s use of migrants as a means of warfare. The newspaper notes that the influx of immigrants to Lithuania worries not only Vilnius, but also Brussels.
The Russian publication notes that the number of flights from the Middle East has increased several times this year: “A direct Iraqi Airways flight is organized from Baghdad to Minsk twice a week. It was also in 2020, but then he flew less frequently, once a week. The new order came into effect only in May 2021. Since then, not only have there been more Iraqi Airways flights, the Fly Baghdad flight (twice a week) has also contributed. Additionally, according to FlightRadar24, nine aircraft from Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir, and Antalya) landed at Minsk airport on July 4 alone, as well as one aircraft each from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Alena Čechovič, a lawyer for the Minsk-based non-governmental organization for migrant rights, who spoke with the publication, acknowledged that such a sudden increase in trafficking is difficult to explain. “Unfortunately, we do not have reliable data on how the flows of migrants in transit through Belarus to the EU are organized,” he told Kommersant. – The Belarusian Border Guard Committee explains this by the seasonal increase in the number of migrants and does not see differences with previous years. In part, we can agree with this statement, because migratory flows are increasing during the warm season, and not only in Belarus. At the same time, however, it is quite clear that unprecedented growth is not limited to this factor. “
Alexei Dzermant, a Belarusian political scientist who supports Minsk politics, explained that “those people come to us and they continue to do what they need, we do not follow everyone who comes.” “If they gather in some groups and go to the border with Lithuania, why do we have to build some camps for them, waste money? If before we had commitments to curb migratory flows, now we are not subject to them. Our task is to maintain security within the country. These people do not cause security problems, “A. Dzermantas is quoted.
Kommersant also notes that in 2015-2016, the head of another country, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, used a similar tactic, to pressure the European Union through the influx of refugees from the Middle East. However, according to Belarusian analyst Pavlo Macukevičius, it is not possible to compare the magnitude of these events. “The migratory flows through Belarus to Europe are incomparable to the Turks. In this way, A. Lukashenko cannot take revenge on the European Union, but he can punish Lithuania,” he explained.
“Lithuania has blown up history and seeks a conflict with Minsk”
Another Russian publication, Moskovsky Komsomolec, writes that “Lithuania is asking for help after the influx of immigrants from Belarus.” “The EU helped: it sent 6 officers and 10 border guards from Estonia,” the article says. The article quotes the former editor-in-chief of the publication Litovskij Kurjer. editor Anatoly Ivanov, who explains that “the government cannot solve the situation and is forced to go to the municipality for help.” The figure, presented as a political scientist, assures that “the people of the regions fear a repetition of the stories of Paris, Munich and Berlin”, which “definitely will happen”.
He also spoke of “6 officers and 10 Estonian police officers” who came to help Lithuania.
Anton Starikov, a journalist for another propaganda publication, Baltnews, told the Russian publication MK that “the matter is inflated and Lithuania is using it to hurt Minsk.” “The point is that part of Baltic society, including Lithuania, is characterized by a huge and deep phobia of immigrants. The level of the situation is politically reminiscent of the European migration crisis, with refugees flocking to the EU. Even then, a quota system was designed to determine who could accept migrants and how much. The behavior of the Baltic countries in this context was absolutely inappropriate, “he explained.
A. Starikov explained that the roots of the problem lie in “Eastern European ethnic nationalism”, which is typical of Lithuanians, Estonians and Latvians. “They fear a repetition of ethnic divisions, this is what they call Soviet practice. He is afraid of any foreign element, he is afraid of newcomers, and he is very shaky about his national languages, lifestyle, skin color and appearance. Therefore, the somewhat intensified migratory flows in Lithuania are valued with so much political hysteria, he explains here and “offers a way to solve it”. – By the way, the problem can be solved simply by contacting Belarus with a proposal to coordinate actions in that section. What could be resolved in an instant through constructive coordination has become a point of conflict. Lithuania needs a new base to impeach Minsk, and the Belarusian side is silent. “
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