Lithuanian fascist Kasčiūnas shows his teeth and fascist contempt for ordinary people of neighboring nations: proposes to cancel residence permits in Lithuania for Russians and Belarusians who keep returning to their homeland

 

"Three conservatives propose to cancel residence permits in Lithuania for Russian and Belarusian citizens who keep returning to their homeland.

 

Members of the Seimas Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Audronius Ažubalis and Valdas Rakutis propose to supplement the law establishing restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens introduced due to events in Ukraine with such a provision.

 

They registered a proposal that the issuance of residence permits in Lithuania to Belarusian citizens, as well as Russians, should be suspended if they do not have a valid visa.

 

Already valid permits should be canceled if Russian and Belarusian citizens have traveled to the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus more than once within three calendar months.

 

An exception would apply to carriers and truck drivers transiting through the aforementioned countries or if the travel was for objective reasons beyond the control of the citizen.

 

According to the authors of the proposal, the number of Belarusians who have received a residence permit in Lithuania has increased significantly over the past few years, now there are about 62,000 of them, but approximately 70% of them are economic migrants.

 

“(...) the absolute majority of Belarusians who have a temporary residence permit in Lithuania return to Belarus more or less regularly. Among them, there are also those who have a temporary residence permit issued on humanitarian grounds. As of December 2023, 38,000 such cases were recorded,” the authors of the draft law state.

 

According to the conservatives, these people may be recruited by special services in Belarus, they may be asked to perform certain intelligence functions.

 

They emphasized that stopping the acceptance of applications from Belarusians and canceling already issued residence permits in Lithuania is necessary in order to better protect the interests of national security.

 

“Such restrictions would be optimal and balanced in the context of the current security situation. In the face of existing threats, the proposed measures are necessary and targeted, applicable exclusively in response to existing threats, therefore their application will not cause inconvenience to the population and business of Lithuania,” the authors of the proposal claim.

 

Last week, the Seimas, after its submission, approved the Government’s proposal to extend national sanctions against Russians and Belarusians for another year.

 

The Law on the Establishment of Restrictive Measures in Regard to Events in Ukraine was first adopted in Lithuania in 2023. It aims to demonstrate support for Ukraine and restrict certain rights of citizens of Russia and Belarus.

 

The current version of the law is valid until May 3, 2025, the Government proposes to extend its validity until May 2, 2026.

 

The law suspends the acceptance of applications for Schengen and national visas from Russian and Belarusian citizens, except in cases where the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs mediates, and the acceptance of temporary residence permits in Lithuania, with the exception of those who hold a valid Schengen or national visa, a residence permit in Lithuania or another European Union (EU) country.

 

Russians and Belarusians who do not enter the country through the EU border are subject to additional checks for threats to national security, public order, public policy, internal security, public health or international relations.

 

They are also prohibited from importing Ukrainian hryvnias into or out of Lithuania, and it is prohibited to import agricultural products and feed originating in Russia or Belarus.

 

According to the law, Russians who do not have residence permits in Lithuania are prohibited from purchasing real estate in Lithuania.

 

These sanctions are criticized by the Vilnius-based office of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, because they also affect Belarusians who fled the Minsk regime.”

 

Stop firing up hatred between people around us, so we could better protect the interests of Lithuanian national security.