A state of emergency was declared in Lithuania as Migrants from Belarus swarm to the border. The state of emergency will last a month and allows for border patrol officers to use “proportional physical violence” and “mental coercion” to stop migrants from fleeing to lithuania. The state of emergency comes after sanctions were put on Belarus due to President Lukashenko human rights abuses. Belarus has been accused of creating the border crisis by telling immigrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan to get to the EU from the Lithuanian border. The people of Lithuania that live within 5 miles of the border will be able to move freely but other than that citizens from Lithuania are closely restricted from moving around that area, even if they are trying to help migrants. The migrant camps around the border will be affected also with the possibilities of phones being taken away and no social gatherings. The motion that was sent to parliament was presented to “remove the serious threat posed to society by the influx of foreigners”.
I believe that Lithuania could have waited to declare a state of emergency. The declaration came as a prevention of what could come. The situation at Lithuania’s border is much different than Polands with fewer migrants. And while closing the borders to Belarus will be beneficial in keeping the citizens safe, it also prohibits and affects many of the citizens that live in the area. Though I do understand the process and thought that must have gone into this decision and the good does outweigh the bad. The influx of migrants also does not come as a shock. As the month-long crisis that has been happening in Belarus, due to President Lukashenko and his response to the western sanctions that have been established, has been a powder keg just waiting to blow.
This relates to class because Lithuania is operating with its national interest in mind. Rather than helping the migrants from Belarus the Lithuanian parliament decided to keep citizens safe from violence at the border. If Lithuania did not work with its national interest in mind, they would not have closed the borders keeping migrants out, and put restrictions on the migrant camps around the border. The security dilemma can also be applied to this situation due to Lithuania ensuring their safety could threaten the safety of Belarus, primarily its citizens. Also realists will argue that the power of a state is only countered only by the power of other states. This pertains to the crisis because it all started when the US and Britain put sanctions on Belarus due to actions made by the President.