As the Lithuanian government is looking to close two more checkpoints on its border with Belarus, the Belarusian expat community warns of a new “iron curtain”.
“We understand the concerns of the Lithuanian security services, but closing border crossings to passengers is treating symptoms, not addressing the causes of the problem,” says Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who is based in Vilnius. “The closure of border crossings will primarily hit Belarusians, who in the majority are against Lukashenko and support Ukraine. There is no need to build an iron curtain.”
For many Belarusians, Lithuania is their only way to escape repression at home, she added.
“Of course, among those arriving there may also be supporters of the regime. Let’s identify them. And many Belarusian initiatives are already doing this on their own, as in the case of Matsiyevich, and sharing data with the Lithuanian side,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
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The inspection system can be revised, she said, and Belarusian representatives in Lithuania are ready to help with this.
It is the regime of Alexander Lukashenko that needs to be isolated, not ordinary Belarusians, Tsikhanouskaya said.
“It is necessary to limit cargo transportation, and primarily the flow of sanctioned goods. But passenger traffic must be preserved,” she told BNS.
Natalia Kolegova, head of Dapamoga, a Belarusian NGO in Lithuania, is convinced that closing four out of six border checkpoints will affect Lithuanians more than Belarusians living here.
“This will have a greater impact on Lithuanian citizens who may not be of Lithuanian origin, but have Lithuanian passports, and not on Belarusians. Many of these people who cross the border and often go to Belarus are Lithuanian citizens, not Belarusians who at worst come to the Akropolis shopping mall and at best come to visit relatives who have fled here,” Kolegova told BNS on Wednesday.
Belarusians visiting relatives in Lithuania, she said, usually come by bus and their journeys are less frequent.
Belarusians will not be affected by the decision to close the checkpoints and will get on a bus to Belarus if necessary, Kolegova underlined.
On Tuesday, Lithuania’s National Security Commission proposed closing down two checkpoints on the Belarusian border and taking steps to reduce travel between the two neighbouring countries.
The closure of these checkpoints would leave only two remaining checkpoints – in Medininkai and Šalčininkai – on the Belarusian border. Lithuania closed two other checkpoints last August.
Poland has also closed all but one border checkpoint with Belarus.
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