OPPOSITION BPF ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 001006 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO SUBJECT: OPPOSITION BPF ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP REF: MINSK 415 Classified By: Charge Jonathan Moore for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) Chair Vintsuk Vyachorka was unexpectedly replaced by former Acting BPF Chair Levon Barshchevskiy after Vyachorka twice fell short of the absolute majority needed for re-election at the December 8-9 BPF party conference. BPF members remain evenly divided over their party's close cooperation with opposition Communist leader Sergey Kalyakin and the need to cooperate with the opposition "For Freedom" movement of former presidential candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich. End summary. Divided Party Chooses Dark Horse Candidate -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 8-9, following two failed attempts to elect a chair, the tenth party congress of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) elected consensus candidate Levon Barshchevskiy to lead the party. Vintsuk Vyachorka, who had been BPF chair for eight years and led in the first two inconclusive ballots, was elected First Deputy Chair with an international affairs porfolio. The two candidates who had originally opposed Vyachorka for BPF leadership, Ales Mikhalevich and Viktor Ivashkevich, were elected Deputy Chairs also, as were Aleksey Yanukevich and Yuriy Gubarevich. BPF Divided over Milinkevich and Kalyakin -------------- ¶3. (U) The pre-election speeches were spirited and reflected growing fissures within BPF regarding Vyachorka's leadership and the party's role within the United Democratic Forces (UDF) coalition (reftel). Mikhalevich, Gubarevich and their supporters were highly critical of Vyachorka for aligning too closely with UDF partner and opposition Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC) Chair Sergey Kalyakin. They also called for closer relations with Aleksandr Milinkevich's "For Freedom" movement, Belarusian Christian Democracy and other center-right forces. Vyachorka conceded that cooperation with Milinkevich was important but he and his supporters called for a strong, independent BPF within the UDF coalition. Following his election, Barshchevskiy said that under his leadership BPF would honor its UDF commitments but that internal party development would be job one. He called on BPF members who also participate in Milinkevich's "For Freedom" to make BPF's success their first priority. Biographical Note -------------- ¶4. (U) Levon Barshchevskiy is a professional translator who speaks seven languages and is currently the vice-principal of the Yakub Kolas Humanities Lyceum, a preparatory school that has continued to operate unofficially since its 2003 closure by authorities. After serving as a member of the 12th Supreme Soviet, Barshchevskiy served as Acting BPF Chair from 1995 to 1999, when the BPF split with what is now the BPF-Conservative Christian Party. Born in Polotsk on March 4, 1958, Barschevskiy earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Minsk State Linguistic University. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) In the first two leadership votes, Vyachorka and Mikhalevich were divided by as few as four votes out of 242 cast, strong evidence that the relationships with "For Freedom" and the UDF's Belarusian Party of Communists divide the party almost in half. Barshchevskiy, a consensus candidate elected without opposition, has significant work to do if he is both to honor BPF's UDF commitments and mend the rifts that have formed in BPF membership. ¶6. (C) Vyachorka's departure from the BPF leadership is somewhat sad to watch. He gave up much by nominating, in November 2005, Aleksandr Milinkevich as the opposition's joint 2006 presidential candidate. BPF members either endorsed Milinkevich -- who has paid only lip service to the BPF since -- or resented Vyachorka's being sidelined. At the same time, Vyachorka's nationalist approach to opposition politics has also been criticized for not reaching out to a broader audience more enticed by European values and standards rather than historical Belarusian symbology. We have yet to see how this change will affect UDF leadership MINSK 00001006 002 OF 002 structures and decision making -- Vyachorka is still nominally the deputy chairman of the UDF for international relations. MOORE