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Speaking in the Belarusian parliament this week, Lukashenko made it clear, among other things, that Belarusians will no longer stop smuggling migrants and drugs across the state border into neighboring countries.
“We have stopped drugs and migrants, now you will eat them and catch them yourself,” said the autocratic leader of the neighboring country.
If this really happened, Lithuania would be ready, 15 minutes assured Rokas Pukinskas, representative of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS).
According to him, a plan has been drawn up to manage the large flow of migrants, which is threatened by Lukashenko, and the responsibilities are outlined in the Government Resolution.
The document stipulates that in the event of a massive influx of foreigners, the work must be carried out by various ministries.
The Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for managing the situation, must organize the detention and temporary accommodation of foreigners who have crossed the border illegally and guarantee public order.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min / Rokas Pukinskas
If necessary, the Ministry of National Defense could use troops and the Ministry of Health would take care of the health of the migrants.
“We have plans for such a situation, but they are not public. The measures mentioned are detention of people, temporary accommodation, protection.
We will certainly be able to perform our duties and we are prepared for it. Until today, on our own, but if the situation changes radically, decisions will be made at a higher level and the Public Security Council and, if necessary, the Lithuanian Armed Forces would come to the rescue, ”he said.
According to R. Pukinskas, such measures are not new when it is necessary to strengthen the physical protection of the state border.
According to him, this was in 2017, when the noisy exercise “Zapad” took place in Belarus.
Most of the migrants come from Iraq
No predictions are made of how many migrants could arrive if they were not detained by Belarus.
“It is difficult to predict a neighbor that is difficult to predict”, 15 minutes R. Pukinskas said.
According to him, similar situations had been simulated in the past: exercises were carried out to learn how to respond to a large influx of migrants on a stretch of the border.
The municipalities would be subordinated, tent camps could be built.
According to the SBGS representative, in such a case, the service would not be possible without other agencies: the municipalities would be subordinated, tent camps could be built.
He stressed that the screening of migrants for COVID-19 and the isolation of patients should also be taken into account.
According to the interlocutor, 179 migrants who cross the foreign border have been detained since the beginning of the year and another 15 have been detained internally.
The largest number of Iraqi foreigners who crossed the state border illegally were detained: 76, as well as 32 Belarusians, 30 Syrians and 22 Iranians.
There are places in Pabradė
According to R.Pukinskas, the Alien Registration Center in Pabradė can accommodate 250 people at a time.
There are currently 105 seats occupied.
According to the representative of SBGS, a part of the residents of the center can leave the territory of the center; This right is acquired by people who have applied for asylum.
Before quarantine, they could not return one day, at that time now – 2 hours.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15 min photo / Illegal migrants housed in the Alien Registration Center
“Those two hours are enough to cross Lithuania (…) So, as the head of the service, the Minister of the Interior, mentioned above, now legal measures are being sought to make the conditions less attractive,” said the representative of explained the service. .
The situation changes every day
Neringa Gaučienė, Acting Manager of the Refugee Reception Center (PPC) in Rukla 15 minutes He said that in higher institutions a possible increase in the number of migrants is being discussed and the center is constantly being asked about vacancies.
Photo by Teodoras Biliūnas / 15 min photo / Rukla Refugee Reception Center
“The Ministries of the Interior, Social Security and Labor know our capabilities,” he said.
According to her, the center currently has 71 inhabitants, at that time the center has capacity for about 180 people.
We could really accommodate a hundred more people.
“We could really accommodate a hundred more people. However, it is worth noting that the situation with us is changing almost every day, some come, others go to the municipalities, there are more empty rooms,” emphasized the interlocutor.
According to N. Gaučienė, there are cases in which more places are occupied than people arrive, because, for example, when a family of three people stay in a five-bed room, no more people are loaded into it.
He was unable to answer the question of which countries immigrants usually pass through Belarus.
“It is more competence of the Department of Migration. Usually we receive information that people come from the border or from the Foreigner Registration Center, but we do not have information about where and how they arrived in Lithuania. Unless people tell themselves, ”explained the acting PPC manager at Rukla.
Allocate money to border surveillance systems
According to the Minister of the Interior, Agnė Bilotaitė, a greater number of migrants is being prepared, but so far there is no need for additional funds.
“We have information that citizens of third countries in the Middle East fly directly from Baghdad or Istanbul to Minsk, paying up to 15 thousand for the trip. Dollars and transported from the Minsk carriers to the Belarusian state border with Lithuania “, responds the Minister. 15 minutes delivered by your communication advisor Lina Laurinaitytė.
According to A.Bilotaitė, the first objective will be to provide the most advanced border surveillance equipment to the border section with Belarus.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Agnė Bilotaitė
“Based on the funding and provision rates anticipated so far, this would take 11 years. We understand this is completely unacceptable given the current geopolitical situation, so I instructed SBGS leaders to plan actions and procedures to ensure implementation. fast and fluid border surveillance systems. We already have the political support to increase funding, “he said.
A.Bilotaitė explained that now that reinforced border protection is being implemented, the issue of activating the state border coverage plan is being considered, which would allow the mobilization of more state institutions for border protection.
There are also contacts with municipalities and non-governmental organizations regarding the possible accommodation and isolation of migrants.
Minsk’s threats to flood Lithuania with immigrants are not a surprise.
“We are actively cooperating and seeking joint solutions with the European Border Guard Agency FRONTEX. In this way, we intend to regulate the flow of refugees and guarantee the security of the external borders of the European Union,” said the minister.
According to A.Bilotaitė, Minsk’s threats to flood Lithuania with migrants are not a surprise, and their increasing flow has been observed for some time.
Last year, twice as many illegal immigrants were stopped at the border with Belarus than in 2019.
This year, in the first five months, twice as much as in 2020.
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