Siarhei Iosifavich Navumchyk ( be, Сярге́й Іосіфавіч Наву́мчык; russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Нау́мчик, born January 15, 1961) is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian journalist and politician. Navumchyk was born in

Pastavy Pastavy ( be, Паставы, lt, Pastovys, russian: Поставы, pl, Postawy) is a city in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus, an administrative center of Pastavy District. Location Pastavy is located on the river Myadelki. Postavy Air Bas ...

into a family of a Soviet state serviceman. In 1984 he graduated from the journalism faculty of the

Belarusian State University Belarusian State University (BSU) ( be, links=no, Белару́скі дзяржа́ўны ўніверсітэ́т, ; russian: links=no, Белору́сский госуда́рственный университе́т) is a university in Mins ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

. Navumchyk was member of the

parliament of Belarus The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Нацыянальны сход Рэспублікі Беларусь, Nacyjanalny schod Respubliki Bielaruś; russian: Национальное собрание Республики Бел ...

in 1990 - 1995 and one of the key members of the fraction of the

Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, be, Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late ...

. On April 12, 1995, Navumchyk, along with other members of the parliamentary opposition, held a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

and sitting protest against the controversial referendum initiated by president

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

. On March 26, 1996, Navumchyk fled from Belarus together with BPF party leader

Zianon Pazniak Zianon Stanislavavič Pazniak ( be, Зянон Станіслававіч Пазняк, born 24 April 1944) is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Conservative Christian Pa ...

. According to unverified information, the government of

has ordered an arrest of Pazniak and Navumchyk,Свабода, 12 мая 1996 г. who both were prominent opposition figures. Siarhei Navumchyk subsequently got political asylum in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and currently works for the Belarusian edition of

Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

. Since 1997, Siarhei Navumchyk is vice president of the Council of the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

in exile.

References

External links

Publications by Siarhei Navumchyk on the website of Radio Liberty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navumchyk, Siarhei 1961 births Living people People from Pastavy BPF Party politicians Conservative Christian Party – BPF politicians Members of the Supreme Council of Belarus Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Belarusian journalists Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Belarusian expatriates in the Czech Republic American expatriates in the Czech Republic