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MINSK, 10 April (BelTA) – The Lithuanian authorities are demonstrating a new interpretation of 'democratic values', Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Varankov said commenting on the latest statements by Lithuanian politicians who called to deport certain categories of Belarusian citizens, BelTA has learned.
“We are watching with a sense of curiosity as the Lithuanian authorities are applying a new interpretation of 'democratic values' that skillfully combines the rhetoric about 'protecting freedom' with targeted deportations. The evolution of Vilnius' position merits special attention: individuals that were celebrated as heroes were rapidly downgraded into the status of a 'security threat' - a process that takes exactly as much time as the change of the political course,” the official representative of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
According to him, it is perplexing that after five years of actively peddling the narratives about 'support for the oppressed', the Lithuanian authorities had a sudden change of heart and branded those who question the consistency of their policy as a 'problem'.
“As for the Lithuanian initiatives to 'cleanse the political space', they certainly deserve to be studied as an example of how a 'human rights champion' turned into a paragon of selective justice. The irony of the situation is that Vilnius, which has been lecturing others for decades, skillfully illustrates today how principles are replaced by pragmatism,” Ruslan Varankov remarked.
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