Today the situation on the border between Lithuania and Belarus has eased, but a year or two ago the situation was much more dramatic, writes Delfi.lt. Lithuania decided not to accept any more refugees and large groups of people were sent back to the Belarusian side. Housing nearly 4,000 refugees who managed to cross the border before it was closed also caused difficulties.
“It is important for Lithuania to seriously evaluate what happened. It is even more important to be aware of the human rights violations that have occurred,” said Dainius Pūras, consultant at the Lithuanian Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI). The study prepared by HRMI clearly states that Lithuania deliberately treated migrants as badly as possible.
According to Pūras, when analyzing the crisis, the principle that the worse refugees are treated, the better. “That this is the only way to stop the influx.” The researcher added that to manage the situation she was inspired by the worst examples – Hungary and Serbia.
Such criticism does not please local politicians. Laurynas Kasčiūnas of the Committee for National Security and Defense of the Lithuanian Seimas said that Lithuania really has nothing to learn. “Then we made strong decisions for Lithuania, which later others could follow as an example. For example, Poland and Latvia,” he noted.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė also stressed that decisions were then made in the name of national security. “So that Lithuania does not become a transition construction site,” she said. At the time the minister described it as a hybrid attack.
According to the HRMI representative, the handling of the crisis at that time caused long-term problems. “There is nothing good when one group of people is prejudiced against another,” Pūras stressed. Allegedly, racism and negative attitude towards all foreigners are growing in Lithuania. According to Pūras, government messages contributed to this, as previously indicators of racism and xenophobia in the country were decreasing.
However, according to Lithuanian authorities, the whole of Europe is rethinking immigration. “The rejection of European traditions is why more and more parts of Western society are talking about the need to stop immigration,” Kasčiūnas said.
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2023-12-09 13:00:23
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