Screaming purposefully? Only 2 foreigners were deported from all over Lithuania due to threats to state security
However, the Migration Department, which can obtain information from the Department of Homeland Security if an alien poses a threat to state security, has sent only 2 individuals and more information about other individuals at risk without threat.
“In 2021, the Migration Department made 2 decisions to deport abroad due to the threat it poses to state security,” says Loreta Tumalavičienė, a government specialist of the Migration Department’s Administration Division.
When asked whether information has been received from Lithuanian institutions about other foreigners who may be threatened by security, but whose decisions on education have not yet been made, the representatives of the Migration Department answered in the negative: “We do not have it at the moment”.
Data from sources, the authorities are more monitoring for some individuals, but not all monitored individuals need to be sent out, as the results of the monitoring may also allay initial doubts. The person being monitored means that the authorities have taken an interest in them and will check them more closely.
For example, if a person is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, it does not necessarily mean that he is a terrorist, one must look at his connections, actions, languages, and the like. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey is fighting for Kurdistan’s independence, but the organization has recently been expelled to Kurdistan in Iraq. Turkey, the European Union and the United States do see the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as a terrorist organization.
Lawyer: This is a response because there has been too much criticism
Laurynas Biekša, associate professor and lawyer at the Institute of International and EU Law of Mykolas Romeris University, equates the statement about terrorist-related migrants with the actions of Polish politicians and institutions when migrants were deliberately associated with pedophilia and zoophilia.
According to the lawyer, such communication campaigns may have been launched in response to growing criticism of Lithuanian state institutions: actions, omissions or actions are criticized by the Seimas Ombudsman’s Office, the Ombudsman for Children, Frontex, and European Commissioner Ylva Johansson invites Lithuania to discuss the situation. Ambassador of Poland and Latvia.
“In my opinion, there is a considerable possibility that this is the standard response of states in situations where the rights of asylum seekers are violated and attempts are made to portray those people in a negative way. That aspect of terrorism is widely used. In Poland, he tried to portray both pedophiles and zoophiles. Thirteen or fourteen terrorists came to us one day. I have no information as to the basis on which that statement was made, but by all logic I would see that there is a possibility that a communication campaign is under way. Because more and more international organizations are now confirming human rights abuses. This is such a counter-communication here: look what bad people they are, ”says L. Biekša.
In Lithuania, the system works as follows: the migrant initially submits an application for asylum, a preliminary interview on the waste and a file is drawn up. The migrant must provide all available documents related to the reasons for the asylum application, as well as, if available, identity documents, travel ticket, fingerprints taken, first initial assessment of the vulnerability.
A more detailed examination is already underway. The Migration Department receives information from the State Security Department on the possible travel threats of a person to the state security, and from the State Border Guard Services and the police – on a possible threat to public order. If information about a security threat is received, the person’s request is processed very quickly and the then person is forcibly expelled from Lithuania.
Lauritus: trust is needed in institutions, not politicians
Mečys Laurinkus, the former director of the State Security Department, admits that with the wave of migrants, people who are associated with terrorism can always be taken back. But the interlocutor suggested relying more on state institutions than on the words of politicians.
“We have to believe what the state institutions say, and what politics says are interpretations. Therefore, we should still rely on state institutions, ”says M. Laurinkus.
According to the interviewee, it is very good that state institutions thoroughly check incoming migrants, exchange information with partners, because the threat is real, it needs to be managed.
The Department of Homeland Security has reduced the number reported to the number of individuals suspected of possible links to terrorist groups or organizations.
“As provided by law, the possible contacts of foreign citizens who have entered Lithuania with various terrorist and extremist organizations are being examined. This is common practice and is carried out in the interests of national security, with information provided to decision-makers. Once contacts with terrorists or extremists have been established, the removal of such persons is followed up. However, we cannot comment further in detail and in a specific case, ”the representatives of the State Security Department answer.