OPPOSITION COMMUNIST LEADER ENJOYS STRONG INTERNAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000438 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR BO SUBJECT: OPPOSITION COMMUNIST LEADER ENJOYS STRONG INTERNAL SUPPORT BEFORE CONGRESS REF: A. MINSK 424 ¶B. MINSK 415 Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) With his recent uncontested re-election as head of the Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC),Sergey Kalyakin clearly enjoys strong support from within his party going into the May 26-27 opposition congress. According to BPC deputy Skrigana, Kalyakin and the 185 BPC delegates will defend vigorously a co-leadership approach to the coalition and push strongly for the adoption of the vetted coalition strategy, Small Constitution, and economic plan. Additionally, Skrigana denied rumors that foreign governments finance the BPC, insisting instead that all financial support for the party comes from its members who live in Belarus and abroad. End summary. Kalyakin Re-elected BPC Leader at Party Convention -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On May 20, Sergey Kalyakin was unsurprisingly re-elected first secretary of the pro-opposition Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC) at the party's 12th convention. Noting that Kalyakin ran uncontested, BPC Deputy Yelena Skrigana told Poloff on May 23 that Kalyakin continues to enjoy strong support from within the party. Leaders from other opposition parties have repeatedly told us that the BPC is the most disciplined party and that its members hope that Kalyakin will eventually assume a larger role in the coalition's leadership. ¶3. (C) During the BPC convention, the delegates updated the party's charter to make procedures less bureaucratic, outlined plans for the party's participation the 2008 Parliamentary elections, and discussed celebration plans for the 90th anniversary of the 1917 Communist Revolution. Approximately 250 delegates representing every region in the country and 50 journalists and foreign and Belarusian guests attended the convention. Belarusians, Not Foreign Governments, Finance the BPC -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Skrigana denied rumors that the BPC receives money from the Russian Government, stressing that it is illegal for foreign governments to finance the operations of Belarusian political parties. She explained that BPC members pay for the party's activities themselves. When pressed, she also told Poloff that the BPC receives finances from Belarusians living in Russia and Ukraine. In fact, one of the six BPC deputies, Anatoliy Lashkevich, lives in Moscow permanently and handles BPC's international relations. BPC's Position on Congress Goals and Leadership -------------- -- ¶5. (C) Skrigana identified three main BPC goals for the May 26-27 United Democratic Forces' Congress: affirm the 40 member Political Council; adopt the coalition's strategy and approve the versions of the ecoNIQfQQi6QSC hopes that leadership of the coalition will be shared between Kalyakin, "For Freedom" movement leader Aleksandr Milinkevich, Belarusian Popular Front leader Vintsuk Vyachorka, United Civic Party head Anatoliy Lebedko, and Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Gramada" acting head Anatoliy Levkovich. VIPs Should Attend Congress as Guests, Not Delegates -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Referring to the May 21 decision by the Political Council not to register the more than 200 VIPs as delegates at the congress, Skrigana said the BPC strongly supported this move since 185 out of approximate 900 delegates expected to attend the congress are BPC members. (Note: Following the Political Council's decision, each party may invite 10 VIPs as guests, not delegates to the congress. End note.) In an earlier meeting with Charge, Milinkevich alleged that the decision was aimed at minimizing the influence of civil-society NGOs in the coalition (ref A). Skrigana told Poloff that she believed that the question of registering MINSK 00000438 002 OF 002 VIPs as delegates was a ploy to further divide the parties, since including so many additional delegates would diminish the strength of the delegates who adhered to the previously determined mandatory registration process. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Kalyakin, despite his communist label, professes interest in a free market economy and better ties with the EU. Two days before the congress -- unlike his Belarusian Popular Front counterpart Vintsuk Vyachorka (ref B) -- Kalyakin clearly enjoys strong support from his party. His uncontested race for the BPC leadership affirms comments that we have heard from other opposition party activists about Kalyakin's solid position within the BPC. The BPC's stance on the necessity of a co-leadership indicates Kalyakin's desire to play a larger role in the coalition's leadership following the congress. Stewart