The Seimas of Lithuania overrode the president's veto on the law on restrictions on Belarusian and Russian citizens.

What restrictions for Belarusians have been preserved in the law?

Can President Nauseda veto it again?

How broad is the support of society and political elites for the tougher approach followed by the head of state?

Lithuanian political scientist

answers these questions

on the Svaboda Premium channel .

The Lithuanian Seimas held a second vote on the law on restrictive measures against citizens of Belarus and the Russian Federation for military aggression against Ukraine.

99 out of 108 deputies voted to override the president's veto.

Yurkonis

• The law was much debated before its adoption.

  The initial draft was tougher, there were heated discussions.

  Even those deputies who knew little about the experience of Belarusians and Russian democrats living in Lithuania, as a result of the discussions, delved into the problem.

• The veto of the president, who insisted on equal restrictions for Belarusians and Russians, did not sound convincing.

  Lithuanians know that they are different nations.

  The president emphasized that both the Russian and Belarusian regimes are at war with Ukraine.

  The problem is how to separate regimes from citizens.

  The law makes this distinction to some extent.

• It must be admitted that there are Belarusians who participate in circumventing the sanctions regime.

  This issue is related to national security.

  Although the veto was rejected, Belarusian civil society, Belarusians living in Lithuania, need to think about how to prevent the arrival of persons close to Lukashenka's regime to Lithuania.

  This is primarily a question for the Belarusian civil society - how to draw this line between society and the regime.

• The thesis "visas for all Belarusians" is wrong.

  Certainly not to all Belarusians.

• There is a question - what to do with the children of Belarusian officials?

  Some Belarusian officials have children studying in the West.

  This is not a question for Lithuanians, but for Belarusians: is this normal?

• One part of this law — the visa one — consolidated the existing practice.

  And the second part concerned residence, citizenship and ownership of real estate.

  The law deprives Belarusians and Russians of the right to purchase real estate and suspends the process of acquiring citizenship for them.

  Changes were made to the second part of the law, which enable Belarusians to obtain citizenship and purchase real estate.

• Before this law, a Belarusian who did not have a residence permit in Lithuania could buy real estate in Lithuania.

  But here, too, the question for Belarusians is: do they want the members of the regime to launder their dirty money in this way?

• According to the new law, there are no more tourist visas.

  They have been gone for a long time.

  But if you are a journalist, if you travel on the line of protection of human rights, if you have been persecuted by the regime, if you are an IT specialist, then you can get a residence permit according to the simplified procedure.

  It remains.

• There is also the limitation that there are few employees left at the Lithuanian embassy in Minsk.

• Another limitation is that if you entered with a Schengen visa obtained from the embassy of Hungary, Poland, Germany, any other than the Lithuanian embassy, ​​you cannot apply for a residence permit in Lithuania.

• Technically, the president can veto today's decision of the Diet.

  You can do this three times.

  But this law is in a hurry to be adopted by May, otherwise the state of emergency will have to continue.

• The flow of repressed people from Belarus has never stopped here.

  Belarusians ask questions: does this concern those who may fall under the potential mobilization?

  The answer is no.

  And this is the consistent position of the Lithuanian authorities.

• A humanitarian residence permit means that a person cannot return to Belarus.

  And then there will be problems, how to meet with relatives who remain in Belarus.

  The focus of attention of Belarusians should not be on how to get Lithuanian citizenship, but on how to bring about changes in Belarus.

• President

  Nauseda's

  position on this issue is not unreasonable, he is certainly right.

  He is stressing national security.

• The arguments were a little off the mark.

  Even if the president's veto was passed and the harshest version of the law was adopted, the majority of Belarusians living in Lithuania, and the majority of those who want to save themselves by leaving Belarus for Lithuania, would not suffer in any way.

• But this conversation is not over.

  There are people who are outraged by the Belarusian regime, who see how the sanctions are handled, and there are Belarusians who abuse the visa policy.

• I argued with you and

  Denis Melyantsov

  about how pro-Kremlin the Belarusian regime is.

  I argued that the nuclear power plant is also a Kremlin project.

  You objected to me.

  Well, here we are.

• There was a heated debate about this law.

  But it's a pity that during them little was said about the deepening of repressions in Belarus, about the terrible sentences

  of Ales Bialiatskyi, Marina Zolatava

  , about the second suicide attempt

  of Igor Losik.

  And I believe that now that the debate about the law is over, many people will start talking about changes in Belarus and push for them.

The Law on restrictive measures against citizens of Belarus and Russia in connection with military aggression against Ukraine was adopted by the Seimas of Lithuania on April 4.

The document provides for the suspension of visa applications from citizens of Russia and Belarus, with the exception of cases where the application is submitted through the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

For Russians, a temporary suspension of applications for obtaining a temporary residence permit is introduced, Belarusians will not be affected by this part of the law.

On April 14, it became known that President Nauseda vetoed the law.

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• Yuri Drakakhrust

  Journalist of Radio Svaboda

  
  

  drakakhrusty@rferl.org

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