DISINFO: The West plans to push thousands of illegal migrants to Belarus using force
SUMMARY
Western countries do not have any plan against Belarus anymore after the failure of seven or eight stages of the so-called coloured revolution. That is why they returned to their long-proven tactics – blackmail, pressure and the recent threats to use force. For example, [the West] will collect alleged illegal migrants at the official border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus – hundreds or thousands of people. Under the threat of the use of weapons, these people will be pushed to the territory of Belarus.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus. These media have pushed repeated messages about various alleged “aggressive” policies implemented by EU countries against Belarus.
The claim that that the EU and Lithuania are planning to organise a massive influx of illegal - or irregular migrants to Belarus “using force” is untrue.
There is numerous evidence that the Belarusian authorities have taken a direct part in the organisation of the ongoing “migration crisis” in Lithuania. Lukashenka’s regime is using refugees from Middle Eastern countries as a “political and hybrid” weapon against Lithuania and the entire EU.
In 2021, Lithuania faced an influx of illegal migrants from Belarus (most are citizens of third countries: Syria, Iraq, African countries etc.). Earlier, Belarus ended cooperation with the EU to stem illegal migration. This was Minsk's answer to the European Union sanctions on the political regime of Belarus (read more about sanctions here).
On July 2, 2021, Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to the migrants' crisis. During the first seven months of 2021, 1400 illegal migrants tried to enter Lithuania from Belarus to Lithuania. This is 17 more than during all of 2020. Lithuania officially linked the influx of illegal migrants to the actions of the Belarusian authorities. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, noted that “Lukashenko seeks to weaponise migration to weaken our resolve for sanctions”.
It is known that some of the irregular migrants arrive in Belarus by commercial flights from Baghdad-Minsk. Information also suggests that migrants are regularly transported by bus to the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. Such a traffic can not take place in Belarus without the agreement of the Belarus authorities.
See other cases of disinformation linked to relations between Belarus and Lithuania: Vilnius and Warsaw planned to create a new Polish empire on the ashes of Belarus; Lithuania provided Tsikhanouskaya with a villa, a manor house and a team of stylists paid by taxpayers; Lithuania supports all US policies toward Belarus, however silly they are.