Two-state dispute opens the way for Iraqis to Europe

Shafaq News / Iraqis' stories of immigration are infinitely long. It is a phenomenon that has been linked to modern Iraqi history since the 1930s, growing and fading with wars, invasions, coups, and political, ethnic, and religious repression. But it is happening now, with Iraqis at the forefront of Lithuania's worsening crisis due to the influx of migrants; an issue that must be lengthly discussed.

Attempts to cross into Lithuania in the hope of reaching the rest of Europe are no different from the waves of illegal immigration that tens of thousands of Iraqis have engaged in over the past decades, similar to what they did in 2015, taking advantage of the dispute between Turkey and Greece to flow towards Europe, nor are they different from legitimate migration, as the sole goal is to leave Iraq in the hope of reaching a new, better world.

The current wave of migration towards Lithuania is taking place while Iraq is supposed to be a safe home.

Lithuania suddenly turned to a transit window out of Iraq. That "window" appeared to have been opened since last year, but the phenomenon of immigration has worsened in recent weeks and months to the point where Lithuania has appealed to the European Union to support it.

What is going on?

Belarus's relations with Lithuania have been strained by the European Union's position on the elections in Belarus in the summer of 2020, which was considered not fair; the legitimacy of President Alexander Lukashenko's sixth term after winning 80% of the vote was questioned.

Lithuania, which shares a border of about 680 kilometers with Belarus, accuses Minsk of "deliberately" allowing migrants to cross its border. Reportedly, most migrants who have arrived in Lithuania have already sought asylum, including citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Syria. 

The additional problem appears to be that these migrants are disposing of their passports and identification papers to prevent Lithuanian authorities from re-deporting them to their countries.

Belarus, of course, refuses to re-receive the migrants who have set off from its territory, and appears to be acting out of retaliation after E.U. sanctions against its country. 

The Lithuanian-European charge against President Lukashenko is using migrants as a weapon. He has declared that he will not prevent them from crossing the border with the European Union. After all, Minsk no longer has the money or the power due to Western sanctions.

Iraqis appear to be the largest beneficiaries of the controversial gap between Belarus and Lithuania. Lithuanian officials stated a few days ago that they had detained 171 people, all from Iraq, who were trying to cross illegally from Belarus, the highest number held at the border in a single day in 2021. Previously, Lithuanians announced detaining 287 migrants in a single day, bringing the total number of migrants detained so far this year to some 3,832.

Due to this reality, Lithuania declared on 2 July 2021 imposing a state of emergency against the backdrop of an influx of migrants.

"Our main goal and duty are to return these people to their countries as soon as possible, and the only way to do so is to quickly house them in centers so that the process of reviewing their asylum applications can begin," Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said during a visit to a border crossing.

Euronews reported last week that Lithuanian authorities believed that most of those who tried to enter Lithuania were traveling to the Belarusian capital Minsk, on one of four weekly flights from Iraq carrying up to 500 passengers on Boeing 747s.

To contain the situation, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis visited Baghdad last month for talks with Iraqi officials.

The Lithuanian presidency sent a letter to the E.U. asking for help on the principle that "protecting the E.U.'s external borders is a shared responsibility of all member states".

There are indications that the situation will take a new turn as an IOM official stated that Lithuanian authorities are ready to offer money to "illegal" migrants from Asia and Africa arriving through Belarus for repatriation.

"The amounts have not been determined yet, but they will not be provided in the form of money," said Itvedas Benghialis, director of the Office of the Organization for Migration in Lithuania, adding that the money would be allocated as compensation for the expenses of the migrants' return to their country and arranging their affairs there, "It may be compensation for renting housing, vocational education, or financial support to start a business."

Benghialis noted that in many cases, EU-bound migrants sell their homes to pay people who organize their illegal migration. Hence they do not own homes to return to.

As a result, the presidencies of the Republic and the government of Lithuania addressed the European Union to warn of the difficult situation and to seek assistance in the form of equipment to protect and control its border with Belarus, stressing in the letter, "This is a hybrid attack and usage of state-sponsored illegal immigration as a weapon."

The letter stipulated that Belarus's position responded to the E.U.'s support for Belarus's democratic opposition and European sanctions against the "dictatorial" leadership in Minsk.

European Commissioner for Migration and Interior Affairs Ilva Johansson said, addressing the E.U. bloc's interior ministers, "The unacceptable exploitation of people for political purposes must stop, and our top priority must be to help Lithuania secure its border with Belarus. I invite you all to contribute to this effort as a priority."

The influx of migrants has caused social unrest in Lithuania, whose security forces were forced to face angry demonstrations last week to protest against the establishment of migrant camps to shelter them. In front of the Government headquarters in Vilnius, a protest also took place to denounce plans to house migrants in the Devinskis border region.