Lithuanian Interior Minister: We Have a Plan a, B, and C against Provocations of the Lukashenka Regime on the Border
- 5.06.2021, 12:13
Vilnius plans to attract an army if the flow of illegal migration grows significantly.
Lithuanian presidential advisor Asta Skaisgirite and Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite claim that Belarus is waging a hybrid war with Lithuania and is putting pressure on it. "Recently, the Belarusian regime has significantly increased the hybrid pressure on our country, one of the signs of such pressure is the increase in the number of illegal migrants," Skaisgirite said, writes the website delfi.lt.
Bilotaite said that part of the hybrid war is the increase in illegal migration. “It is obvious that a hybrid war is being waged against Lithuania, and illegal migration is one of the means,” the minister said.
“Over the past day, we have detained 52 illegal migrants; over the past 5 months, the number of illegal migrants has doubled when compared with the data for the last year,” she continued.
“We have all the necessary means to protect the border, all departments are involved in this, we are managing the situation. If the situation is difficult, if it gets worse, we have a plan A, B, and C. We are ready for possible challenges,” the minister said.
According to Bilotayte, the cover plan will be activated, and the army will be attracted if the flow of illegal migration grows significantly.
She mentioned that the country is trying to reduce the attractiveness of migration. Now most of the migrants who seek asylum in Lithuania later leave for the West. It is planned to prohibit those who apply for refugee status from leaving the territory of Lithuania for a certain time. "Until the identity of the applicant is established and other procedures are performed, the movement will not be allowed," Bilotaite said.
According to her, after the detention of the last batch of migrants, the center in Pabrada was filled; therefore, places for the settlement of other migrants were selected.
“The alternatives are the dormitory of the School of Border Guards, and, if this is not enough, the army will set up a tent camp for 300 places with all the infrastructure: kitchen, water, etc., so that people can live there,” the minister said.
In addition, the process of installing tracking systems at the border has been accelerated. Now they cover 38% of the border with Belarus. It is planned to complete the installation of these systems along the entire border in 2022.
According to the SOGG, about 250 migrants, mostly Iraqi citizens, tried to get to Lithuania from Belarus this year. This is 3 times more than for the entire 2020.