Specially for BNN Linas Jegelevičius
Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has captured this week front headlines by promising «unprecedentedly quick citizenship procedures for honest and good neighbours» in the Baltic countries and in Poland.
However, Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) warns that the enticement can come with grave consequences later – being targeted and recruited by the Belarusian and the Russian regimes’ intelligence services.
Lukashenko told newspaper Zerkalo that Belarus was «already granting quick citizenship to Ukrainian’s who were coming to the country.»
When asked if it could be also offered to the country’s western neighbours, Lithuanians, Latvians and Poles, Lukashenko answered positively: «Belarus will be happy to receive specialists who want to live and work in our country.»
Belarus has introduced a visa-free regime for travellers from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland since April 15.
«It doesn’t happen any faster. Because in our country the president can grant citizenship. Put the papers on my desk – there will be no delay. The same procedure will apply to Lithuanians, Latvians and Poles,» the head of Belarus said.
«We will gladly welcome specialists who want to live and work with us to Belarus. The deputies had in mind (initially it was an initiative of a group of Belarusian deputies, i.e. parliamentarians) ensuring that there would be no delay, that everything would happen quickly,» the Belarusan strongman said, adding: «There is probably nothing like it anywhere else in the world. We are ready for it.»
«We will do our best to welcome the most decent and best neighbours into the Belarusian family. And not only neighbours. Anyone who wants to work with us, live like a Belarusian, please do so – the door is open,» emphasised Lukashenko.
Foreign analysts fear that despite the fact that the leader of Belarus, who is not recognised by the West, is avoiding greater involvement in hostilities against Ukraine, the role of Belarus may soon become more active.
Kęstutis Budrys, the national security adviser of Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda, says that the promise of the authoritarian Belarusian president «to do everything to grant Belarusian citizenship to honest and good neighbours» is just another propaganda message.
«This is a lie, abhorring propaganda, and probably the content of what it exactly states is the least important. This propaganda message is intended primarily to show the residents and citizens of Belarus that Belarus seems to be an open, friendly state that wants to live with everyone, does no harm to anyone, and does not harm anyone, while those around are those who seek something malicious against Belarus. And this is a complete lie. This is a state that contributes to military aggression, participates in military aggression against Ukraine, and also organises various attacks on people against us, pushing them across the border. This is a hostile state and everything that comes out of there should be regarded as such – it is an ordinary fraud or a propaganda message,» Kęstutis Budrys said to LRT radio on Thursday, August 4.
Budrys does not rule out that there may be reasons to change citizenship after Lukashenka’s invitation, but he urges before making a decision, to evaluate the situation «ethically and morally.»
«And speaking about the past, there were people who decided to change their citizenship, go to other countries, and this in itself is not a big problem. If the motif will be to change the citizenship, because Lukashenko invited to do it right now, then so be it, that is their will, but we should have a moral, ethical, and all other assessment here, respectively, because this is an aggressor state that contributes to crimes against humanity. We should resist this,» he said.
Lithuanian authorities need to acknowledge the fact many Lithuanians flock to Belarus for cheaper goods, like buckwheat and salt, and, in most cases, the Belarusian border guards agree to let them in.
Lukashenko has even said that this way the border guards show «compassion and mercy» to the Lithuanians seeking cheaper groceries and other goods, a message that is constantly repeated by both Belarusian border guards and Belarusian media.
«Just look at neighbouring Lithuania and Latvia, the Poles. I’m not even talking about Ukraine. They were so happy, cheerful. Lived «abroad», had everything. And now? They stand at the border and ask to be allowed into Belarus, at least to buy buckwheat,» a Belarusian news website cites Alexander Lukashenko.
Meanwhile, Russian media go farther on the propogandist turf, claiming that Lithuanians «are massively» looking to buying cheap salt in Belarus.
The visa-free regime was introduced by Belarus specifically for Lithuania and Latvia and is valid for a month. Belarusian border guards claim that almost 4 000 people from the Baltic States, mostly from Lithuania, arrived in the first 4 days.
Giedrius Mišutis, the spokesperson of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, says that «it is difficult to provide an exact figure», but the flow of Belarus-bound Lithuanians has indeed increased about a third after Belarus’ visa-free regime went into effect.
But Mišutis emphasises that the reason for this is not only the visa-free regime – also the much looser restrictions of the COVID pandemic.
Luminor Bank’s chief economist Žygimantas Mauricas says that, in general, such a trend of Lithuanians going over the border for cheaper goods has been seen for many years.
«Especially smokers are a separate topic. It is an open secret that Belarus exports a greater part of this production, but it is not reflected in the export statistics, so we have a high-scale smuggling. It is certainly one of the weapons of an economic war, with which Lithuania does not cope. I mean the wholesale smuggling – tons of cigarettes being hauled into Lithuania by all means,» he said.
Although the analyst cannot say exactly how much less fuel costs in Belarus, the difference should be big, according to him.
«This is a certain threat to Lithuania’s economy,» he warned, claiming that Lithuania loses a lot of taxes due to the Belarusian contraband and furthermore – the application of sanctions against Belarus becomes less effective.