Belarusian People's Front
Encyclopedia
The BPF Party (Belarusian
: Партыя БНФ, ПБНФ, Partyja BNF) is a political party
in Belarus
. It was founded as the social movement
Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" or BPF (Belarusian
: Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ, Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie", BNF) during the perestroika
times by members of the Belarusian intelligentsia
, including Vasil Bykaŭ. Its first and most charismatic leader was Zianon Pazniak
.
After a 2005 decree by president Alexander Lukashenko
on the restriction of the usage of the words Беларускі ("Belarusian" and "Народны" ("National", "Popular", "People's") in the names of political parties and movements, the party had to change its official name to "BPF Party".
and the Lithuanian pro-democracy movement Sąjūdis
. Membership was declared open to all Belarusian citizens as well as any democratic organization.
Its goals are democracy and independence through national rebirth and rebuilding after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
.
The main idea of the Front was the revival
of the national idea, including the rebirth of the Belarusian language
. Initially its orientation was pro-Western with a great deal of scepticism towards Russia
. At one moment they propagated the idea of the union from the Baltic Sea
to the Black Sea
that would involve Ukraine
, Poland
, Belarus
and Lithuania
, similar to Józef Piłsudski's "Międzymorze
".
Among the significant achievements of the Front was uncovering the burial site of Kurapaty
near Minsk
. The Front claims that the NKVD
performed there its secret killings.
Initially the Front had significant visibility because of its numerous active public actions that almost always ended in clashes with police and KGB
. It was the BPF's parliamentarians who made the Parliament to restore the historical Belarusian symbols: white-red-white flag and the Pahonia
coat of arms
. At some time people were arrested in the street for wearing a white-red-white scarf in Belarus.
In 1994 the BPF formed a so-called "shadow" cabinet consisting of 100 BPF intellectuals. Its first Prime Minister was Uładzimir Zabłocki. It originally contained 18 commissions that published ideas and proposed laws and plans for restructuring the government and economy. Its last economic reform proposal was published in 1999. In opposition to the Alexander Lukashenko
's government, the party supports Belarus' entry into NATO and European Union
. It is an observer member of the European People's Party
(EPP).
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In late 1990s the party's conservative wing under Zianon Pazniak
split from the main BPF to found an independent political party - the Conservative Christian Party BPF
(Kanservatyŭna-Chryścijanskaja Partyja BNF). The Party claims to be the only true BPF successor and does not recognize the "other" BPF. It also distances itself from the rest of Belarusian opposition and labels them as "regime accomplices" for the lack of action and dependence on Western grants.
At the 2004 legislative elections
the party was part of the People's Coalition 5 Plus
(Narodnaja Kaalicyja Piaciorka Plus), that did not secure any seats. These elections fell according to the OSCE
/ODIHR Election Observation Mission http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2004/12/3951_en.pdf significantly short of OSCE commitments. Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities’ willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment. According to this mission principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored.
In October 2005 Alaksandar Milinkievič
, a candidate proposed by the BPF and The "green" Zialonyja party was elected common democratic candidate for presidential elections to take place in 2006.
In 2007 the party became a member of the International Democrat Union
.
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Партыя БНФ, ПБНФ, Partyja BNF) is a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. It was founded as the social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" or BPF (Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ, Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie", BNF) during the perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
times by members of the Belarusian intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
, including Vasil Bykaŭ. Its first and most charismatic leader was Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF...
.
After a 2005 decree by president Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
on the restriction of the usage of the words Беларускі ("Belarusian" and "Народны" ("National", "Popular", "People's") in the names of political parties and movements, the party had to change its official name to "BPF Party".
Early history of the Belarusian Popular Front
The Belarusian Popular Front was established in 1988 as both a political party and a cultural movement, following the examples of Popular Front of Estonia, Popular Front of LatviaPopular Front of Latvia
The Popular Front of Latvia was a political organization in Latvia in late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the Sąjūdis movement in Lithuania....
and the Lithuanian pro-democracy movement Sąjūdis
Sajudis
Sąjūdis initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania, is the political organization which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on June 3, 1988 and was led by Vytautas Landsbergis...
. Membership was declared open to all Belarusian citizens as well as any democratic organization.
Its goals are democracy and independence through national rebirth and rebuilding after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
.
The main idea of the Front was the revival
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
of the national idea, including the rebirth of the Belarusian language
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
. Initially its orientation was pro-Western with a great deal of scepticism towards Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. At one moment they propagated the idea of the union from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
that would involve Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, similar to Józef Piłsudski's "Międzymorze
Miedzymorze
Międzymorze was a plan, pursued after World War I by Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, for a federation, under Poland's aegis, of Central and Eastern European countries...
".
Among the significant achievements of the Front was uncovering the burial site of Kurapaty
Kurapaty
Kurapaty is a wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, in which a vast number of people were executed between 1937 and 1941 by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD.The exact count of victims is uncertain, NKVD archives are classified in Belarus...
near Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. The Front claims that the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
performed there its secret killings.
Initially the Front had significant visibility because of its numerous active public actions that almost always ended in clashes with police and KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. It was the BPF's parliamentarians who made the Parliament to restore the historical Belarusian symbols: white-red-white flag and the Pahonia
Pahonia
The Pahonia , transliteration: Pahonya, , Lithuanian: Vytis, Pagaunė, is a historical symbol of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of which the eastern part later became known as Belarus...
coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. At some time people were arrested in the street for wearing a white-red-white scarf in Belarus.
In 1994 the BPF formed a so-called "shadow" cabinet consisting of 100 BPF intellectuals. Its first Prime Minister was Uładzimir Zabłocki. It originally contained 18 commissions that published ideas and proposed laws and plans for restructuring the government and economy. Its last economic reform proposal was published in 1999. In opposition to the Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
's government, the party supports Belarus' entry into NATO and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It is an observer member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP).
1999 split and modern history
Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF...
split from the main BPF to found an independent political party - the Conservative Christian Party BPF
Conservative Christian Party
The Conservative Christian Party of the Belarusian People's Front , is a political party in Belarus, that opposes the government of president Alexander Lukashenko...
(Kanservatyŭna-Chryścijanskaja Partyja BNF). The Party claims to be the only true BPF successor and does not recognize the "other" BPF. It also distances itself from the rest of Belarusian opposition and labels them as "regime accomplices" for the lack of action and dependence on Western grants.
At the 2004 legislative elections
Elections in Belarus
Belarus elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The National Assembly has two chambers...
the party was part of the People's Coalition 5 Plus
People's Coalition 5 Plus
The People's Coalition 5 Plus was a political alliance in Belarus, that opposed the regime of president Alexander Lukashenko.At the last legislative elections, 13–17 October 2004, the alliance won no seats....
(Narodnaja Kaalicyja Piaciorka Plus), that did not secure any seats. These elections fell according to the OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
/ODIHR Election Observation Mission http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2004/12/3951_en.pdf significantly short of OSCE commitments. Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities’ willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment. According to this mission principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored.
In October 2005 Alaksandar Milinkievič
Alaksandar Milinkievic
Aliaksandr Uładzimiravič Milinkevič is a Belarusian politician. He was nominated by the leading opposition parties in Belarus to run against incumbent Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election on 19 March 2006.-Biography:...
, a candidate proposed by the BPF and The "green" Zialonyja party was elected common democratic candidate for presidential elections to take place in 2006.
In 2007 the party became a member of the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...
.
Chairman
- 2009-Current: Alaksiej JanukievichAlaksiej JanukievichAlaksiej Janukievich is a Belarusian politician and leader of the Partyja BNF political party.- Biography :Janukievich graduated from the Belarusian State Economic University in 1997....
, elected at the XII Congress on 5 September 2009. - 2007-2009: Lyavon Barshchewski
- 1999-2007: Vincuk ViačorkaVincuk ViacorkaVincuk Viačorka is a Belarusian linguist, politician and the former leader of the Belarusian National Front , a Belarusian opposition party.Vincuk Viačorka was born on July 7, 1961 in Brest in the family of a Soviet bureaucrat....
- 1989-1999: Zianon PazniakZianon PazniakZianon Pazniak is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF...