Pavel Latushko, a member of the Coordination Council, was the first head of NAM at its creation in 2020.[3] Like many other Belarusian opposition politicians and democratic activists Latushko was forced to escape to Poland to avoid persecution by Alexander Lukashenko's regime due to series of repressions after presidential election in August 2020.[6] NAM is a complementary group to the support team of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the presumed winner of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, and to the Coordination Council. Olga Kovalkova of the Coordination Council is responsible for communication with the council.[1]
regional development – Yury Hubarevich [ru; be; pl], born in 1978 (age 45–46)[1]
and Elena Zhivoglod, born in 1991 (age 32–33) as Coordinator.[1]
2022
In 2022, the structure of NAM was revised, with Pavel Latushko remaining head of NAM.[8] Leaders for specific fields of administrative actions include:
Artsiom Praskalovich, legal counsel for domesty policy and public administration[8]
Goals
Latushko described the goals of NAM as "creating a team of specialists responsible for the development and implementation of these plans".[3] NAM's plans for a peaceful transfer of power include two options, based on its view that the de facto Lukashenko government is illegitimate and violated the Constitution of Belarus. NAM stated that it would prefer the Constitutional Option, but proceed to the Legal Sovereignty Option if Lukashenko refused the Constitutional Option.[9]
Constitutional Option
The Constitutional Option of power transition through public dialogue starts with a prerequisite of the "end of violence against civilians, [the] release of all political prisoners," and the opening of legal investigations into crimes by government agencies. The option would consist of public dialogue between Tsikhanouskaya, the Coordination Council, NAM, other political leaders, and representatives of Lukashenko, with mediation by international mediators. The aims of the talks would include:
Lukashenko would lose his powers, which would be transferred to Tsikhanouskaya, who would become the Prime Minister of Belarus;
all officials involved in crimes of violence or election fraud would resign;
a new Central Election Commission would be created and a procedure for electing new president would be determined.[9]
Legal Sovereignty Option
The Legal Sovereignty Option would be motivated by, in the words of NAM, "the fact that the only source of state power and bearer of sovereignty in Belarus is the people." Tsikhanouskaya would become president, select a transitional prime minister and cabinet, form a new Central Election Commission, and hold an election for a new president within 40–70 days.[9]
Relation to United Transitional Cabinet
In 2022, the United Transitional Cabinet was created as a cabinet structure complementary to NAM, with Latushko as deputy head of the Cabinet, and holding responsibility within the Cabinet for the transition of power.[5]
Actions
Judiciary system
Following the beating to death of Raman Bandarenka in November 2020, NAM published data obtained from internal reports of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to which 25,800 people had been detained between 9 August and 9 November 2020. The data excluded the 1000–1500 detentions of the 8 November march. Most (24,000) of the detentions are for "illegal gatherings and mass disturbances", risking two to fifteen years' imprisonment. The report also listed 4000 complaints of torture or other legal violations by security forces, none of which had been processed.[2][10]
NAM aims to manage the documentation for legal actions for those "responsible for terror". Tsikhanouskaya called for the arrest of de facto president Aleksander Lukashenko, attributing to him "responsibility for terror and torture". She stated that anyone involved in detaining Lukashenko would receive an amnesty.[2]
