Congress and Milinkevich: With or Without You?

The Belarusian opposition is getting ready for a Congress of Democratic Forces. It will take place on the 26-27 of May, in Minsk. On May, 26, at 1 p. m., some 916 delegates will fill the floors of the Palace of Culture of the Minsk Car Plant.

The Congress was a subject of never-ending quarrels in the upper opposition circles, which plagued most of the last and this year. The Congress will take place, that’s out of question now, but the intrigue is still there – Aliaksandr will take part in the Congress as a delegate, but will not bind himself with any political obligations.

Павялічыць

During the Congress of Democratic Forces’2005 Aliaksandr Milinkevich was elected the leader of the united opposition. This time the opposition beau monde decided to share the pie. From now on, the opposition coalition will be headed no by one, but by 5 co-chairmen, who will supervise certain oppositional activities.

Milikevich refused even to try to run for the position of the co-chairman of the democratic coalition. He is pursuing his own goals as a political leader, also by his newly-fonded political movement „Za Svabodu“ (‚For Freedom’).

By organizing the Congress, the leaders of the opposition parties try to revise the hierarchy of the opposition and also seek legitimacy in the eyes of their foreign supporters. However, if Milinkevich refuses to be a part of the scheme, it may somehow spoil the impression abroad, and minimize the influence of the congressionally “united” opposition within Belarus.

Right before the Congress, two major political prisoners – Paval Sevyarynets and Mikola Statkevich were released, which will promise to further stir emotions. Both of them will take part in the Congress, and both of them oppose the plans of the opposition party leaders.

Павялічыць

Paval Sevyarynets, who has become a major moral authority in the independent society during his sentence, openly promises that he will support Milinkevich. Here you see a front cover of the recent ssue of Nasha Niva, with one of the first photos of Paval Sevyarynets after his release. “Five-headed dragons are unviable”, he said in his online-conference to Nasha Niva, referring to the idea of the opposition coalition being ruled by the co-chairmen.

Павялічыць

Mikola Statkevich is also convinced that the opposition must have a single strong leader. He has his own political ambitions, and does not rush to pleadge allegiance to Milinkevich. However, they seem to share the views about the future of the oppositional hierarchy.

Meanwhile, the people are so tired of the internal oppositional scuffles, that they don’t take them seriously any more. In its resent opinion poll, Nasha Niva asked its readers, who should be in the forefront of the united opposition. The most popular answer (46,7%) was... “Sasha and Sirozha”. Sasha and Sirozha are two artists and comedians, who are famous for their hilarious reflections of the Belarusian reality. 40,4% want to see a single chairman at top of the coalition. The idea of several chairmen has only 9.8% of support.

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