Vilnius complained about Minsk to the UN

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said that the country has filed a lawsuit against Belarus in the International Court of Justice in order to “hold the Belarusian regime accountable for organizing a large-scale influx of migrants to Lithuania.” This initiative was actively supported by opposition politicians oriented towards Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Meanwhile, Zenon Poznyak, a veteran of the anti-Lukashenkov movement, insists on negotiations with the authorities. And he considers increasing pressure on her counterproductive.

The Lithuanian government has filed a lawsuit against Belarus in the International Court of Justice in order, as stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country, “to hold the Belarusian regime accountable for organizing a large-scale influx of migrants to Lithuania.”

Vilnius accuses Minsk of violating its obligations under the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air of November 15, 2000. The appeal states: “Starting in 2021, Lithuania is facing an unprecedented increase in the flow of illegal migrants from Belarus. The evidence gathered by the Lithuanian authorities confirms the direct involvement of the Belarusian regime in organizing the flow of migrants.”

Lithuania claims that the Belarusian authorities have deliberately increased the number of flights from the countries where the majority of migrants come from. Visas have been issued and accommodation has been provided on the territory of Belarus. And again, allegedly after that, migrants are helped to get to the border, crossing which ensures their entry into the coveted territory of the European Union.

“Lithuania considers these actions as a deliberate attempt by the Belarusian regime to use migration as a means of political pressure on Lithuania and the European Union in response to their support for Belarusian democracy and sanctions for human rights violations,” the statement says.

But in addition to describing the actions outraging the Lithuanian side, she demands “full compensation for the damage caused, including the cost of building the fence, and guarantees that actions contrary to international law will not be repeated.”

It is worth noting that on September 30 last year, Lithuania submitted an appeal to the office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague calling for the prosecution of Alexander Lukashenko. The document stated: “There are sufficient grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed against the civilian population of Belarus on the orders of high-ranking Belarusian political, law enforcement and military officials since May 1, 2020.”

Both last year’s and the new appeals were actively supported by representatives of the opposition associated with the United Transitional Cabinet of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. In particular, Pavel Latushko, the deputy head of this structure, said in connection with the complaint to the UN: “Today, for the first time, an application has been filed against Belarus to the International Court of Justice in connection with a violation of obligations under a multilateral international treaty. We fully support Lithuania’s move.”

At the same time, Latushko stressed that “unlike the process in the International Criminal Court, in this case we are talking about the responsibility of Belarus as a state.” The oppositionist believes that “virtually every citizen of Belarus, to one degree or another, feels the consequences of violating international obligations that Lukashenko commits on behalf of our country.”

Meanwhile, it is precisely the situation when the entire people is responsible for certain actions of the authorities that does not suit another part of the Belarusian opposition, which is represented by Zenon Poznyak, a veteran of the protest movement. The leader of the newly created Free Belarus movement, a long-time opponent of Lukashenko, is already 81 years old.

At a rally that took place in Warsaw the other day, the politician, cheerful despite his age, once again voiced his position, which boils down to the fact that the isolation of Belarus from Europe and increased sanctions pressure do not lead to a weakening of the current government.

“Belarus was pushed into Russia by these sanctions. You will not destroy the regime with sanctions – there has never been such a thing in history. Especially if the Russian border is open. The economy went there, trade went there, people went there, and the Russians came here,” the opposition leader said.

He also stressed that he and his supporters are trying to convey their position to the leaders of the European Union. “They wrote letters to von der Leyen – everything went there, they all know. There was no response. Unsubscribes. Because the policy led by the Germans is aimed at isolating Belarus. They’ve already pushed us out – they’re making an iron curtain,” Poznyak complained. And he stressed that the unwillingness to see the signals that Lukashenka is giving is only exacerbating the situation.

“More than 200 prisoners have been released. They show friends: “Let’s have a dialogue.” Otherwise, the hostages cannot be released. It is necessary to enter into negotiations, into trade, in order to free people from death. These are basic things,” Poznyak emphasizes. In addition, he admitted that he pins his hopes not on Europe, but on Donald Trump’s America.

“It is possible to exchange all political prisoners for the lifting of sanctions. The Belarusian people do not need them,” the leader of Free Belarus stressed.

Pavel Latushko immediately responded to this speech. He stressed that he did not understand the politicians advocating the lifting of sanctions, and stated the exact opposite: “We need to put pressure and issue an ultimatum to Lukashenko. There must be logic, consistency and power here.”