Former security chief downplays border guard vacancy after resignation

Former State Security Department chief Gediminas Grina has played down the significance of the State Border Guard Service being left without a leader after Rustamas Liubajevas resigned, LRT reported.

The resignation followed tensions between Liubajevas and newly appointed Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas. Opposition politicians say plans to remove Liubajevas had been visible earlier and suspect the Social Democrats wanted to appoint a more favourable candidate to the post. The ruling parties deny this.

Security experts say attention should focus not on the political dispute but on a recent border incident in which migrants attempting to cross the border illegally through a tunnel attacked border guards. They said such incidents are particularly dangerous amid the tense geopolitical situation.

The incident also highlighted shortcomings in protecting Lithuania’s external European Union and NATO border, as well as wider problems within the border guard service, including a lack of powers and equipment for officers to defend the border.

Border guards have recorded more than 10 cases this year in which migrants dug underground tunnels in an attempt to enter Lithuania. However, one such incident led to the resignation of the service’s head.

The dispute between Liubajevas and Katelynas intensified after the minister said the former commander had failed to properly inform him about an incident at the Lithuania-Belarus border at the end of July.

“After the incident at the border, serious questions arose not only about whether the information had been provided in a timely, accurate and comprehensive manner, but also about the circumstances of the incident itself. The responsibility of the head covers both of these aspects,” Katelynas said.

In Lazdijai District, four border guards ambushed migrants attempting to enter Lithuania through a tunnel. A group of about 20 people attacked them, and one officer was allegedly dragged towards Belarus. It was reported that the officer had been injured, but both the public and the interior minister learned about this from the media.

“In my view, this was an ordinary border incident,” Liubajevas said at the time.

He resigned soon afterwards, saying he felt full responsibility for both the service’s successes and failures and had decided to step down because of doubts expressed publicly about the institution.

Opposition politicians criticised the minister, saying Lithuania was giving up an experienced border guard commander at a tense time, when the country was facing both migrants attempting to cross the border illegally, allegedly exploited by the Belarusian regime, and an uncertain geopolitical situation.

“There could be doubts that this was a political order or a desire to have a convenient, favourable head. I should stress that services are independent and politicians should not have pocket leaders,” said Agnė Bilotaitė, a Conservative politician and former interior minister.

Vytautas Magnus University political science lecturer Mindaugas Norkevičius said he saw no evidence of a settling of scores. He said the broader issue was how information about migration-related border problems should be transmitted and how the public should be informed, rather than immediately linking the matter to Katelynas as the newly appointed minister.

Katelynas said he had not pressured Liubajevas to resign and had not decided who could replace him. Grina, the former head of the State Security Department, also said he did not consider it especially significant that the important institution was temporarily without a leader.