CCTV cameras later this year
On Friday, the Prime Minister inspected the fence construction progress on the border with Belarus. Šimonytė said that she is constantly monitoring the construction processes, which allows her to „realistically assess the situation“.
„My impression is that since we regularly monitor the situation and follow it in real time, there are no big surprises. I have faith and confidence in what I have expected from the very beginning – that this project will be, as the English say, „on time and on budget“ – and within the financial plan that has been put together. I am pleased with that“, the Prime Minister said.
Asked how much longer Lithuania promises to stick to the push back policy, Šimonytė said that the country is still in a state of emergency, and that we should wait until it ends.
„We can say that there are some days when there are no attempts to cross the border at all, there are some days when some people try to cross the border, and sometimes it is the same people maybe in different places, and certainly the situation has changed a lot compared to November.
But it is no secret that there is also a more general picture along the borders of Ukraine and in Belarus, where there are a number of troops moving in and already mobilised. So I think it is definitely premature to lift the state of emergency on the border,“ the Prime Minister stressed.
According to Šimonytė, the construction and protection of the physical barrier is one of the most important projects to be implemented this year.
„According to what I have been informed, this year the cameras should be installed along the entire length of the border and we should have them, the total budget is about 40 million euros,“ the Prime Minister said.
The concertina fence is also spoiled by animals
Although migrants themselves have tried to damage the concertina in the past, Rustam Liubaev, the head of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), pointed out that border guards have recently recorded violations of the concertina when wild animals try to jump over it.
„They are trying to jump over, climb over. There are not very many deaths, we have had a few cases during the whole period when we had to ask hunters or simply deal with the issue of disposal of the animals,“ explained R Liubaev.
According to the Head of the SBGS, the Lithuanian border guards regularly consult with the Latvian border guards, and Latvian border guards come to Lithuania to learn from the experience of the SBGS officials.
„We have shared our experience in installing surveillance systems at the border, as well as in installing physical barriers, we have given some advice on the prevention of illegal entry, and we have shared our legislation on the procedure for turning away illegal migrants,“ said R Liubajev.
During the previous day, border guards had refused to allow 17 migrants who tried to cross the border illegally into Lithuania, but he said these figures should not be a cause for concern.
„I wouldn't consider it to be a very significant increase. In absolute terms, however, 17 is not that many, especially as they are often the same migrants who try to cross the border several times.
We are not dramatising the situation, we are controlling the situation at the moment, but, as before, the border is being monitored and border surveillance is being reinforced“, explained Mr Liubaev.
According to the head of the SBGS, it is still difficult to predict what the situation will be like in the spring, as there are still illegal migrants on the territory of Belarus.
„Everything will depend on the political situation in our region, on the direction of the processes that are currently taking place on the Russian-Ukrainian border. There are many different factors, but we have to be ready,“ Liubaev said, adding that over the past year Lithuanian border officers have gained a lot of experience and are much stronger than before.
