Alexander Lukashenka, the last remaining dictator in Central-Eastern Europe has attempted to legitimise the outcome of his 1996 coup d'etat  by means of "elections"  to his so-called "Chamber of Representatives" on October 15, 2000. The BPF "Adradzennie", together with all other organisations united in the Co-ordinating Council of Democratic Forces, called for a nation-wide boycott of these farcical "elections." The Belarusian people supported us by their massive non-participation in the pseudo-elections, and thus the pro-Moscow regime of Alexander Lukashenka suffered a devastating rout. Despite intimidation, coercion and deliberately deceptive propaganda the true turnout at these alleged "elections" in Belarus was under 45%, and in the cities as low as 30%.

The ruling authorities  in Belarus tried to conceal this fact by massive and blatant falsification of the figures. But they could not hide the truth. The "Boycott-2000" campaign was completed as a common success for the democratic opposition.

Our profound thanks are due to all those who bravely bore the message of truth to the Belarusian people by means of leaflets, pickets,  and by organising mass rallies in the country's urban centres. Every citizen who resisted the pressure and threats by the authorities and did not take part in the play-acting of the "elections" demonstrated his or her civic responsibility.  We especially honour those members of the electoral commissions who, undeterred by official  pressure and the threat of reprisals  refused to falsify the results of the "elections." A great role was played by what remains of the independent press in Belarus;  it refused to play into the regime's hand, but kept its readers supplied with objective information about the "Boycott-2000" campaign. Clearly an effective democratic civic society is emerging in Belarus.

Soon we must start to  prepare for the events of 2001. This will be a turning point in Belarus's contemporary history, when, for the sake of salvaging our country's independence, the dictatorship must be brought to an end, either through the scheduled presidential elections or in some other way. We wish to invite everyone who supports the ideas of independence and democracy to join us in a coalition to make a combined effort to achieve this goal. We extend this invitation, too, to those who tried to stand in the recent "electoral" farce, and who, quite naturally, were defeated, since the whole event was planned and orchestrated by the regime.  It is clear, however, that those politicians who persist in their efforts to legitimise the "chamber" by continuing to participate in the never-ending series of by-elections to it, are not allied to us in this, and cannot therefore be considered as members of the Democratic coalition.

We should like to express our gratitude and respect to the international community, the governments of the states of Europe as well as the United States and Canada, and international organisations, which did not recognise the farce on October 15 as a free and fair poll. The international democratic community has thus provided us, the Belarusian democratic opposition, with a chance to prevent the Lukashenka regime's from legitimising itself, and of ourselves taking  the political initiative. We call on all those who value the ideals of democracy and who are concerned with stability in Central-Eastern Europe to continue to isolate Lukashenka from the international community, to recognise the "Supreme Council" as the only legitimate legislature in Belarus  and to render no international recognition to the union treaties with Russia, unlawfully concluded  by Lukashenka in the name of the Belarusian people.

October 21 2000  pres-hrupa BNF (press@cscsc.lingvo.minsk.by) Sat, 21 Oct 2000 19:31 +0200 GMT

Press-Release of the Belarusian Popular Front "Adradzennie"
and the Party of the BPF

A press-conference dedicated to conclusions on the visit of the leaders of the united opposition to West-European countries was held on November 21, in which Messrs. Vincuk Viacorka,  Alaksiej Karol, and Andrej Sannikau took part.

The Belarusian democratic leaders had visited the European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Europe, foreign ministries and parliaments of France, United Kingdom, and Germany.

The purpose of the visit was to brief western politicians on the prospects of democratic transformations during and after the presidential elections scheduled for 2001. This further raised such issues as the unity of the democratic forces, the boycott campaign during the recent vote, as well as the need for consolidated position of the European Union towards the developments in Belarus.

The Belarusian visitors told their western colleagues that the united opposition in Belarus had now built up extensive experience of consolidated work. This, they said, offered a real chance to preserve the unity of the opposition, so that a single opposition candidate could be nominated for presidential elections of 2001.  Both sides to the discussions agreed that the present so-called "Chamber of Representatives" cannot be recognised as a legitimate parliament.

Economic issues and problems of human rights in the context of the repressive policies of the Belarus government were also discussed. Foreign policy matters were also raised, including the attitude of Russia. 'Belarus is interested in Russia's preserving a stance of neutrality towards political transformations in our country', commented Vincuk Viacorka. 'We hope that Europe will employ all its powers of influence to prevent Russia from intruding into the internal affairs of Belarus'.

The leaders of the Belarusian opposition have found understanding with Europe's leading politicians. Everyone they spoke to agreed that a single candidate from the united opposition at the presidential elections would be the best way to achieve a democratic transformation in Belarus.

pres-hrupa BNF (press@cscsc.lingvo.minsk.by) Tue, 21 Nov 2000 18:33 +0200 GMT

STATEMENT BY THE SOJM OF  THE BELARUSIAN POPULAR FRONT "ADRADZENNIE"

Alaksandar Lukashenka has made the destruction of the independence of our country a fully real prospect by signing the pact on "the introduction of a common monetary unit of Belarus with Russia" in 2005.

By this, Lukashenka hopes to obtain credits from Moscow to assist his presidential campaign, as well as to gain the political support he needs from Moscow. Hence, Lukashenka is selling off our country in return for the job of Russian governor in Belarus.

The surrender of the economic independence of the country is a crime against the Belarusian state. In the view of this, the democratic forces must do everything to oust Lukashenka from power in the coming year. Belarus needs a democratic government, elected by the people, and committed to defending our state and the people.

Miensk, 9 December 2000.