MINSK, 13 August (BelTA) – The mounting protest movement in
Lithuania was provoked primarily by the aggressiveness and stupidity of
Lithuanian politicians who allowed a split in the society through their
foreign policy, the situation with migrants, COVID-19 response and
economic situation, political analyst Sergei Markov said in an interview
with Baltnews.
“The reason for the crisis is the aggressiveness of the country's authorities who played an active role in the attempted coup in Belarus that sought to overthrow the current government of President Aleksandr Lukashenko,” the political expert noted.
He recalled the statement of Aleksandr Lukashenko who said that Belarus would no longer guard the Lithuanian border. “They let anyone cross the border. Earlier, 90% of the work to protect the border against migrants was done by the Belarusian authorities, but now they refused to do it free of charge for the Lithuanian authorities, since the latter are pursuing an unfriendly policy,” Sergei Markov explained.
This, according to Sergei Markov, was one of the examples of the ‘stupidity of the Lithuanian authorities’ that manifested itself in the aggressive policy towards Minsk. “Then there is another example. Out of the blue Lithuania got into a fight with China by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office. As a result, this sparked a crisis with China, which is one of the world’s two most important economic centers alongside the United States,” Sergei Markov emphasized.
In addition, the anti-COVID restrictions imposed by Vilnius are not just tough. They are simply stupid at times, he added.
The unrest provoked by Lithuania's short-sighted policy is gaining momentum. Meanwhile Vilnius has chosen the ‘silence’ tactic hoping to muzzle supporters of the protest, Sergei Markov believes.
"What we see now are the attempts to cancel all those politicians who have voiced support for the protests. The Lithuanian media, the authorities of the republic are not giving them the floor to speak. A policy of hushing up is in action," Sergei Markov said.
In his opinion, the Lithuanian authorities will continue accusing foreign intelligence services of inciting the protests and the migrant crisis. “This is a way of self-defense for the current government,” the expert stressed.
He also mentioned the racist attitude of the Lithuanian authorities to migrants. “The attitude of the Lithuanian authorities to destitute migrants from Syria and Iraq is, without a doubt, racist and must be condemned. This is a shame of the European Union which does not yet have the strength to condemn the completely racist attitude of the Lithuanian authorities,” Sergei Markov said.
Earlier, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Vilnius demanding to lift the restrictions for the unvaccinated and calling on the government to resign. The protests turned violent, resulting in 26 people being detained and the police using tear gas to disperse the protesters.
“The reason for the crisis is the aggressiveness of the country's authorities who played an active role in the attempted coup in Belarus that sought to overthrow the current government of President Aleksandr Lukashenko,” the political expert noted.
He recalled the statement of Aleksandr Lukashenko who said that Belarus would no longer guard the Lithuanian border. “They let anyone cross the border. Earlier, 90% of the work to protect the border against migrants was done by the Belarusian authorities, but now they refused to do it free of charge for the Lithuanian authorities, since the latter are pursuing an unfriendly policy,” Sergei Markov explained.
This, according to Sergei Markov, was one of the examples of the ‘stupidity of the Lithuanian authorities’ that manifested itself in the aggressive policy towards Minsk. “Then there is another example. Out of the blue Lithuania got into a fight with China by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office. As a result, this sparked a crisis with China, which is one of the world’s two most important economic centers alongside the United States,” Sergei Markov emphasized.
In addition, the anti-COVID restrictions imposed by Vilnius are not just tough. They are simply stupid at times, he added.
The unrest provoked by Lithuania's short-sighted policy is gaining momentum. Meanwhile Vilnius has chosen the ‘silence’ tactic hoping to muzzle supporters of the protest, Sergei Markov believes.
"What we see now are the attempts to cancel all those politicians who have voiced support for the protests. The Lithuanian media, the authorities of the republic are not giving them the floor to speak. A policy of hushing up is in action," Sergei Markov said.
In his opinion, the Lithuanian authorities will continue accusing foreign intelligence services of inciting the protests and the migrant crisis. “This is a way of self-defense for the current government,” the expert stressed.
He also mentioned the racist attitude of the Lithuanian authorities to migrants. “The attitude of the Lithuanian authorities to destitute migrants from Syria and Iraq is, without a doubt, racist and must be condemned. This is a shame of the European Union which does not yet have the strength to condemn the completely racist attitude of the Lithuanian authorities,” Sergei Markov said.
Earlier, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Vilnius demanding to lift the restrictions for the unvaccinated and calling on the government to resign. The protests turned violent, resulting in 26 people being detained and the police using tear gas to disperse the protesters.
