“It is clear that Lithuanian intelligence must identify those persons who can work for the KGB. But I highly doubt that there are many such people,” she added.
S. Cichanouskaja assured that her team helps Lithuanian intelligence to identify possible spies.
“For our part, we are doing everything we can to help the Lithuanian secret services find such people,” she asserted.
The leader of the Belarusian opposition assured that there are no persons spying for the Minsk regime in her office, as those who want to enter it have to go through a strict screening procedure.
However, when initially asked regarding the report of the Lithuanian intelligence institutions, S. Cichanouskaja started talking regarding the propaganda of the regimes in Minsk and the Kremlin and the desire to oppose Lithuanians and Belarusians.
“They deliberately launched this information attack once morest the people of Lithuania, they want to show Belarusians as those who are looking for a better life in Lithuania, but believe me, most of us have experienced repression. People are looking for a safe haven in your wonderful country,” said the Belarusian opposition leader.
She urged Lithuanians to be critical of what they hear in public regarding Belarusians who have come to Lithuania.
Speaking regarding Belarusians who came to live in Lithuania, but keep returning to Belarus, S. Cichanouskaja emphasized that because of repressions, people who came to Lithuania cannot return to their homeland, and those who came to Lithuania to work should be allowed to travel to Belarus.
“Those who fled from the repressions, they cannot return, but there are many who came here to work, but they have families, children left in Belarus. Of course, they must be able to travel. I doubt that most of those who have a humanitarian permit (to live in Lithuania – BNS) travel,” said the Belarusian opposition leader.
In February, LNK news announced that the Belarusian activist, who was not granted asylum in Lithuania, and the head of the “Mano namai” organization Olga Karač, who was connected to Russian intelligence, became a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition.
However, S. Cichanouskaja assures that O. Karač is not a member of the Coordination Council, but belongs to a “broader group of people”. When asked if she does not object to the fact that a person associated with the Kremlin’s intelligence is contributing to the Belarusian opposition, S. Cichanouskaja assured that she leaves it to the Lithuanian authorities to evaluate O. Karač’s actions.
“I want to believe that this person wants changes in Belarus, democratic changes and the independence of our state. I cannot be responsible for the tools she chose,” she said.
Last August, the Migration Department decided not to grant asylum to O. Karač, because, according to the State Security Department (VSD), her life in Lithuania poses a threat to national security due to her connections with Russian intelligence.
However, by the same decision of the Migration Department, the head of the organization “Mūsų namai” was granted a temporary residence permit in Lithuania on a humanitarian basis.
In Lithuania, the Belarusian diaspora consists of more than 60 thousand people. people, it increases by regarding 15.5 thousand per year. persons.
The threat assessment report of the Departments of State Security and the Second Operational Services published on Thursday indicates that the Belarusian intelligence services use citizens of their country living in Lithuania who have previously worked in state institutions, and the opportunities for such activities of the services include the use of these services to recruit agents in Belarusian state institutions, strategic objects and system in the armed forces.
According to Lithuanian intelligence, a trend has also recently been observed when Belarusian intelligence officers make contacts with representatives of the diaspora in Lithuania and recruit them remotely.
“In addition to counter-intelligence threats, the increase of the Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania also poses other risks. Among the representatives of this diaspora are persons promoting radical political ideologies,” the document warns.
An example of this is the manifestation of Litvinism, a radical branch of Belarusian chauvinism. These persons deny the Baltic origin of the princes who ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and question the affiliation of Vilnius region to Lithuania.
Intelligence emphasizes that the Belarusian regime uses Litvinism in order to promote antagonism between Belarusians who have taken refuge in Lithuania and Lithuanian residents, and the wider spread of such attitudes among members of the Belarusian diaspora would harm their integration into Lithuanian society and promote the growth of ethnic tensions.
Intelligence also identifies that among the representatives of the Belarusian diaspora there are also supporters of right-wing extremism ideologies, for example, the creation of the Belarusian branch of the international network of right-wing extremist groups “Active Club” initiated in 2023 in Lithuania. This movement combines ideas and propaganda with martial arts and other sports activities.
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2024-04-20 05:29:02