Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuanian foreign minister, speaks to Rudaw TV on January 17, 2022. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 90 percent of the migrants in Lithuania are from the Kurdistan Region, the Lithuanian foreign minister told Rudaw on Monday, while adding that the government has initiated a program to subsidize the migrants voluntary return home.
“Now we have a bit more than 2000 people from Iraq currently in Lithuania,” Gabrielius Landsbergis told Rudaw’s Shaho Amin in an interview, adding that the return of the migrants is completely voluntary.
“The government has initiated a special program where we are offering a subside of 1000 euros for people to return. Obviously we are paying for their ticket or the whole flight,” he said, adding that around 90 percent of Iraqi migrants in the country are from the Kurdistan Region.
Landsbergis arrived in Erbil on Monday, following his visit to Baghdad where he met with his counterpart Fuad Hussein and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
He was received by the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani upon his arrival to the Kurdish capital. Landsbergis later met with the Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Thousands of Iraqis and Kurds have traveled to Belarus in recent months with the help of smugglers, hoping to reach western Europe in a search for jobs and opportunities they feel they cannot access at home where unemployment is high and political tensions, corruption, and instability leave them with little hope for their future.
In response, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia have tightened their border security, and for those who manage to enter, chances of a better life are low according to the Lithuanian foreign minister.
“I would say that around 90 percent of people have their asylum status rejected,” Landsbergis said, adding that less than 10 percent match the criteria to get Lithuanian residency.
The exodus of Kurds is part of a migrant crisis that has compelled European nations to fortify their borders. Tensions are high between Belarus and Europe. Minsk has been accused of exploiting the migrants and using them as a pressure tactic against the European Union in response to sanctions imposed upon the Belarusian regime. Amnesty International in December said the migrants stuck on the border were subject to violence, human rights violations and extortion at the hands of Belarusian forces.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has acknowledged the existence of systemic problems and financial hardships, but says it is working to address these issues. However, despite government efforts and the horrors the migrants have faced in Belarus, they are still willing to risk it all to leave the Kurdistan Region.
Iraq began offering repatriation flights in November, returning thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish migrants from Minsk.
Iraqi foreign minister, Hussein, on Sunday said that Iraq had repatriated four thousand Iraqis from the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in 10 flights, noting, “Some Iraqis remain in Lithuania and we are awaiting their decision to voluntarily return them to Baghdad.”
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