Lithuania’s Interior Minister-designate Vladislav Kondratovič says he will continue the controversial policy of pushing back migrants into Belarus.
“Yes,” he said on Friday during his meeting with members of the opposition conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) political group in the parliament when asked if he would continue the policy started by conservative Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė.
“State security is important when we have forces acting against our country that are constantly trying to provoke in different ways and do not care about human rights. I think we have to find the optimal moment to resist hybrid attacks and, of course, we have to take care of the people who have entered Lithuania,” Kondratovič said.
Lithuania took tough measures in 2021, after Belarus started directing migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, towards its border with the EU. At that time, almost 4,200 migrants entered Lithuania from Belarus before Vilnius instructed border guards to push them back.
Moreover, Lithuania restricted possibilities for migrants to apply for asylum at the border, with rights groups criticising the policy as violating international law.
Amnesty International has slammed Lithuania’s pushback policy, saying it “gives the green light to push people back into torture”.
Since 2021, Lithuanian border guards have pushed migrants back over 22,900 times. Some have tried to cross the border more than once.
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