Lithuanian Opposition Urged To Take Tough Measures Because Of Balloons From Belarus

It's not smuggling, it's purposeful provocation.

Air traffic was suspended at Vilnius airport on Saturday for the third time this week. Representatives of the parliamentary opposition are criticizing the government for inaction, LRT writes.

"Lithuania is becoming a failed country that both businessmen and tourists will want to avoid," said Saulius Skvernialis, chairman of the Democratic Union "In the Name of Lithuania".

"For the second night in a row, the operation of Vilnius airport has been disrupted," he wrote on social media. - It seems that the desire of our residents to use the capital's airport will become minimal. The incapacity of the authorities is already damaging the image of the state, as well as its security and reliability."

Skvernialis reproached those in power for the fact that they are still piously convinced that it's just about smuggling.

"In Belarus, any illegal activity is not carried out without "permission", "approval" or just an order from the KGB and military intelligence. The National Security Commission, which is headed by the prime minister, will meet ... on Wednesday! A state that doesn't work! It seems that this should be the slogan of this coalition," the former prime minister was indignant.

The former Seimas Speaker Viktoria Cmilite-Nielsen also expresses fears that soon Vilnius airport, and then other Lithuanian airports, will be able to hang up their locks and forget not only about tourism and investment, but also about basic security.

"It's time to stop fooling ourselves with soothing versions of 'coincidences'. If the instrumentalization of migrants in 2021 were naively written off and solutions delayed, we would have a very different security situation in our country. I hope that as early as tomorrow we will hear about the first solutions to ensure the safety of airports and travelers," the chairwoman of the Liberal Movement said in a social media post.

She was echoed by the vice-chairman of the Liberal Movement's parliamentary faction Simonas Kairis.

"Of course, 'let's take the weekend off,'" he said ironically. - Does anyone in the government realize what real damage will be done if the operation of Vilnius airport is disrupted for several days in a row? The news is spreading fast, and Wednesday is still a long way off."

Member of the European Parliament Dainius Žalimas summarized: "It looks like we are losing the airport."

"Meanwhile, various representatives of the Ministry of Communications and the National Crisis Management Center "PR" their work and its excellent results. The fact that there is no president and no government is no longer news to anyone," he wrote.

The chairman of the opposition party Fatherland Union - Christian Democrats of Lithuania Laurynas Kasciunas also expressed fears that the government still has no action plan amid the worsening "ballooning crisis."

"At the beginning of next week, three opposition factions (Fatherland Union, Liberals and In the Name of Lithuania) will gather experts - gunmen, Lithuanian volunteer soldiers with experience in dealing with the same and similar threats in Ukraine - and present the government with concrete proposals for dealing with the weather balloons of Alexander Lukashenko's regime that are paralyzing the work of Vilnius airport," he wrote on social media.

Member of the European Parliament, conservative Rasa Jukniaviciene also has no doubt that the latest developments are a hybrid attack.

"These balloons are deliberately launched to interfere with airports. Has it not yet been established where these balloons take off from in Belarus? Can't modern means of intelligence establish this? How long will they explain to us that this is just smuggling? Where is the Defense Council? Do the government and the president consult with NATO? Where are they anyway? By the way, all this is very reminiscent of an attack with the help of migrants," the MEP said.

Earlier this week, a large number of weather balloons delivering smuggled cigarettes from Belarus have already flown into Lithuania twice this week. This happened on Tuesday night and on Friday night.

In both cases, both operating border checkpoints - Miadininka and Šalčinka - were temporarily closed, and aircraft flights at Vilnius airport were temporarily suspended. Late on Friday night, flights were also canceled at Kaunas airport.

Total of about 70 flights with more than 10 thousand passengers were postponed this week.

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