The situation on the Belarusian border is still uncontrolled. This year, the flow of illegal migrants to Western Europe has increased fivefold through Lithuania alone. The Lithuanian authorities have even begun to consider erecting a fence on the border to strengthen the defense.
Civilian authorities have not yet supported such a proposal by the Interior Ministry, but a discussion is on. The investigation will begin. According to the Lithuanian secret services, this flow of migrants is an international operation organized by the Belarusian authorities.
Lithuanian border guards continue to detain illegal migrants at the border with Belarus, primarily from the Middle East. Six more Iraqi citizens who had crossed the border illegally were detained in the village of Trichunai and near the village of Gakenai. The State Border Guard Service of Lithuania is working to stop the trafficking of illegal migrants to the European Union day and night. But serious steps are ahead, said Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilataitė on LRT TV.
“People from third countries have been crossing our border illegally for several weeks now. We have information that Belarusian officials are involved in the organized transportation of people to our border. Intelligence agencies are figuring this out. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania also appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office to launch an investigation.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Belarus delivers Syrians and Iraqis from Istanbul and Baghdad to its territory using the national tour operator Tsentrkurort. And so-called “tourists” are taken to the border from Minsk. Is it a coincidence that such trafficking began after Alyaksandr Lukashenka promised to weaken control over drug trafficking and illegal migration at the western border?
Vytis Jurkonis, political scientist:
“There is already a Frontex team coming to monitor the border area. Belarus itself received a lot of money from the European Union for working in the border zone. But she didn’t do much.”
In 2019, Belarusian colleagues failed to catch 46 so-called illegals, in 2020 – 81. This year, in six months, 397 people have crossed the border to the Lithuanian side. If we go at this pace, at the end of the year, we will have 800.
The Lithuanian Interior Ministry has estimated the cost of effective border protection at 15 million euros to construct a fence between the two countries. Single or double, with barbed wire or alarm? Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė is more worried not by the construction but by its duration. Said:
“It’s been a long time. There are modern technologies. We are accelerating their introduction, trying to complete it next year. If any other measures on specific border sections could be implemented and such areas are identified – we implement them. But I can’t promise for sure that we will build a “stonewall.”
Only a month ago, Lithuania stated the need to strengthen the border against smuggling, especially cigarettes. The volume of their black supplies has increased many times. Then a scandal broke out in the airspace of Belarus and Lithuania (hijacking of a Ryanair aircraft). Now, there is what Lithuania calls a hybrid war.
This week a tent camp for illegal migrants from third countries who arrived from Belarus has been set up at the Refugee Registration Center in Pabrad.
“Everyone else is allowed in — from the Middle East, but not Belarusians. It clearly follows that the Belarusian government is behind it,” Vytis Jurkonis sums up.
Recently, another restriction on leaving the country was introduced. A local fee has been introduced for transport abroad in the Brest region: it is 29 Belarusian rubles today.
Yulia Tsyalpuk, Belsat
