Lithuania Refuses to Detain Fugitives from Belarus? Seimas Calls for Law on Foreign Agents

Photo by Unsplash February 20, MINSK . Lithuanian Seimas deputy Valius Ažuolas said that Lithuania needs to pass a law on foreign agents and find out what money representatives of the Belarusian opposition live on in the country. He expressed this point of view in an interview with the Lithuanian publication Respublika.

"Lithuania needs to pass a law on foreign agents and find out what money Tikhanovskaya lives on," the Lithuanian deputy said. He also added: "Under the liberals and conservatives, this lady lived at the expense of taxpayers on an all-inclusive system (I wonder if ALCOHOL was included?). Why should she live at the expense of the people now? Usually, opposition leaders live in their own countries. Did they participate in the recent presidential elections? No. They just ran around with posters for American money."

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"Some group of people gets together and votes for some lady to be their leader for life... Of course, no one forbids her to live in Lithuania, but she needs to work, like everyone else... What's stopping her? 400 thousand euros a year (which Lithuania spends on her upkeep - BELTA note). Moreover, with this money, she creates confusion in the society of the country that has granted her asylum by creating strange passports," the MP noted.

Ažuolas also drew attention to the fact that US President Donald Trump recently temporarily suspended the work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), blocking all financial aid flows in order to check where the money is being spent. According to the Lithuanian MP, Vilnius should do the same, which is why Lithuania needs a law on foreign agents.

The MP wondered why there is no investigation into how many non-governmental organizations there are in Lithuania that are financed from abroad and "how they brainwash Lithuanians."

He noted that due to what is happening in the United States at the moment, many in the Lithuanian Seimas are at a loss, because "their solidly built house of cards is collapsing." "We need to look further: if America is going down this path, conducting an audit, restructuring domestic and foreign policies to ensure the competitiveness of its country, then we should not be observers either, we need quick decisions now," he added.

"I am upset that Lithuania, with a budget deficit, which will have to borrow five billion this year, promises Ukraine 200 million euros annually. Our politicians are inadequate," he said.

According to him, Lithuania needs to use the method of US President Donald Trump: do what is beneficial to the state.