With a new law in Lithuania, Belarusian exiles in Vilnius have found themselves facing a new reality – are they no longer welcome?
“This is a country that welcomes people in a complicated situation for their moral and political stance,” Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė told. “It was like that, it is like that, it will be like that.”
Yet, the government’s changing position on Belarusian and Russian refugees raises doubts about the official line.
Last year, a bill appeared in the parliament banning Belarusian and Russian nationals from obtaining Lithuanian citizenship, owning property, applying for visas or extending their residence permits.
The initial proposal sought to equate sanctions on Belarusians and Russian nationals, causing an anxious uproar among the opposition exiles in Lithuania.
What followed was a 2,000-strong petition, calls to MPs, and meetings between officials and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the once-presidential hopeful now in exile in Lithuania.
The pressure worked – the law was toned down on Belarusians. Yet, the Lithuanian president then vetoed it, saying the same measures should apply to Belarusians as to Russians, since Lithuania’s official position holds Russia and Belarus equally responsible for the invasion of Ukraine.
This law decided to make Belarusians second-class [residents].
Many believe the changes meant they would eventually be sent out of the country.
During the process, Lithuanian lawmakers sought to calm fears, saying the debate was natural to a democracy – laws are shaped and formed by interested parties and the final reading is often different from what was initially proposed.
They also claimed that despite the limits, political refugees will be able to enter the country, as exceptions continue to apply for political refugees.
Standing at one pro-Ukraine demonstration in Vilnius in late April, several Belarusians argued among themselves about what the future held. Now the law was changed, said one man, but what would happen in the future, after the elections in 2024?
In the parliament, several MPs reiterated that Belarusians were “captives” of the regime. Another MP claimed it was more about the young Belarusians who live, work, and raise families here, not just the prominent opposition figures.
Dovilė Jakniūnaitė, a professor and researcher at Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science, wrote that, in the current climate, “defending Russians and even Belarusians is seen as near-treasonous or disloyal, or at the very least a sign of bad taste”.
“In political debates, lawmakers said the Belarusians will feel as if Lithuania “is turning its back on them”, she said.
More stringent measures have already begun to apply to Belarusians. This year, refusals to issue residence permits have grown more than tenfold, according to the Migration Department. Most of those who were rejected were Belarusian nationals.
