The Lithuanian parliament decided on Tuesday (9 November) to declare a state of emergency at its border region with Belarus, a first since the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
The move, which comes into effect today (10 November), comes after hundreds of migrants tried entering Poland from Belarus, leading to clashes with Polish security forces.
Warsaw says the migrant influx is organised by Belarus, an accusation backed by the European Commission which condemned a “desperate attempt by the Lukashenko regime to use people as pawns to destabilise the Union.”
On Monday, Lithuania also placed its troops at the Belarusian border on high alert, while the border guards said they were preparing for all “potential scenarios”.
The state of emergency will come into force on midnight, 10 November and will be in place until 10 December along the border with Belarus and five kilometres inland, as well as at migrant accommodation facilities in Kybartai, Medininkai, Pabradė, Rukla and Vilnius.
The decision passed with 122 MPs voting in favour and one against.
The measures will include restricting the right of irregular migrants accommodated in Lithuania to communicate in writing or by telephone, except to contact the country’s authorities.
Declaring the state of emergency will also allow the use of the government’s reserve funds to respond to the situation.
Among other things, reinforced controls will remain in place on the Lithuanian side of the border. The movement of vehicles in the five-kilometre area without the permission of the border guards will be restricted. Entry will be banned for civilians, except for local residents as well as those who have property in the area.
The authorities will also be authorised to stop and search vehicles and people for illegal weapons, ammunition, explosives and other dangerous substances, and detain offenders.
Unprecedented in Lithuania’s history
“A state of emergency is an instrument that has never been used in our independent state’s practice,” said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, citing it as the reason why the legal regime will come into force for only a month.
The need to extend it will be considered at a later date, Šimonytė added.
President Gitanas Nausėda has also expressed support for declaring the state of emergency.
“It will restrict possibilities to carry out a coordinated attack and illegal migration against us, and it will just minimally affect our human rights and freedoms,” he told journalists after meeting with Prime Minister Šimonytė.
According to the Baltic News Service, the president reiterated that the ongoing influx of migrants from Belarus is a hybrid attack by the Minsk regime, adding that the situation at the border “is heating up”.