Belarusian People's Front
From Freepedia
Belarusian People's Front "Revival" or BPF (Belarusian: Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ, Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie") is a political party created in Belarus during the perestroika times. Its first and most charismatic leader was Zianon Pazniak. The party was organized in October of 1988 by members of Belarusian intelligentsia, further including Vasil Bykaŭ, and Michaś Dubianiecki. After a repressive decree by president Alexander Lukashenka prohibiting the usage of the words "Belarus", "Belarusian" and "People" in the names of political parties and movements, the party had to change its name to Partyja BNF (The Party of the BNF).
The Belarusian Popular Front was established in 1988 as both a political party and a cultural movement. Membership is open to all Belarusian citizens as well as any democratic organization. Its goals are democracy and independence through national rebirth and rebuilding after being nearly destroyed culturally and economically during the times 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, in particular, pro-Polish and anti-Russian. 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 Pilsudski's "Miedzymorze".
Among the significant achievements of the Front was uncovering the truth about the burial site of Kurapaty near Minsk, where the NKVD performed 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. The BPF adopted the historical Belarusian symbolics: white-red-white flag and the Pahonia coat of arms . The same symbols were used by the BCR (Belarusian Central Rada) on occupied by Germans lands in World War II. This fact allowed communists to label the BPF as "fascists". People used to get arrested in the street for wearing a white-red-white scarf.
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 regime, the party supports Belarus' entry into NATO and European Union.
In late 1990-ies the party's radical wing under Zianon Pazniak split from the main BPF to found an independent political party - the Concervative Christian Party of the BPF (Kanservatyŭna-Chryścijanskaja Partyja BNF).
At the last legislative elections, 13-17 october 2004, which were internationally not considered to be free and fair, the party was part of the People's Coalition 5 Plus (Narodnaja Kaalicyja Piaciorka Plus), that didn't secure any seat.
In October 2005 Alaksandar Milinkievič, a candidate proposed by the BPF and The "green" Zialonyja party was elected common democratic candidate for presidental elections to take place in 2006.
Current leader of the party is Vincuk Viačorka.
