Kasčiūnas is skeptical about the integration of migrants into Lithuania: are they tolerant of our way of life?
Vladimiras Laučius, a language journalist, spoke about this with Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Chairman of the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas.
Dead illegal migrants are being found on the European Union’s border with Belarus. Do you think this is not part of Lukashenko’s new tactics?
Namely. For Lukashenko, life costs nothing and he can use such situations, forcing us, Latvians, Poles, to cancel the reversal policy that is now working very effectively. He knows how the international community, the European community, human rights defenders are reacting to such tragic stories, and he is really trying to increase the pressure on us from within.
There was talk of a non-public report by the Lithuanian Red Cross on the screening of illegal migrants in Lithuanian camps. Is the main idea of that report like this – they oppress and terrorize each other there, but the Lithuanian state is to blame for that? Is it a different idea?
I would like to look at this, because in Lithuania we have started a lot of discussions about the need to try to integrate illegal migrants into Lithuania in due course. And I draw a lot from the political left, from liberal non-governmental organizations, that such an attitude is hindered by the intolerant Lithuanian society.
In this context, offer a little side-by-side look, turn the question upside down, and really ask if we explored the attitudes of these communities towards our society’s rules of the game, our values, and traditions, or whether they are tolerant of our lifestyles.
Some of the things that have been discovered in this report are, first and foremost, the oppression of the LGBT community, the formation of a certain ethnic hierarchy, the inscription on the toilets that it is only for Iraqis, forcing me to ask a very fundamental question. Can people seeking such value systems be integrated into the cultural and social life of Lithuania and the whole of Europe?
There are already over 4 thousand illegal migrants in Lithuania, many of whom have already received a negative response from the migration departments to their asylum application. What are we going to do with them all?
Practice shows that at least a third of illegal migrants are returned to their country of origin. The number of people who are here is not so large, then it is natural that we need to work with that Iraq to make a return possible.
It is in Iraq’s interest to have visa facilitation with the European Union, and linking these issues is really real and we can do it. I hope this is the key as you can find possible.
If there is some stalemate in this matter, it is clear that we can still restrict freedom, as we now want to restrict for 6 months, we can maximum up to a year and a half. <...> After that, without a doubt, those remaining people want to move freely. Since we are well aware that Lithuania does not have their target state, apparently they call the same intermediaries who go to the store in Lithuania in 2-3 days and will show up at the store in Berlin.
Watch the full conversation while watching the video at the beginning of the article.