Thursday, June 19, 2008

National hero or secret police agent?

Poland is about to be engulfed in a political storm that will make everyone forget the Constitutional Reform Lisbon Treaty and its importance.

Two historians, Slawomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, who work for the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), are about to publish a book about Lech Walesa, former leader of Gdansk shipyard, former hero of the Solidarity movement and former, somewhat unsuccessful President of Poland. This will revive the oft-repeated accusations that in the early seventies, Walesa was working for the Communist Secret Police and that, while President, he abstracted a number of documents from his police file that would have proved the links.

Poland's political world, including former Solidarity activists, are divided on the issue and the story is likely to run and run.


Telewizja Polska showed a 20 minute documentary on the subject, which interviewed the historians and a few other people. Lech Walesa has said he will sue the TV station.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ridiculous what they're doing to the great man.
Raf
http://uzar.wordpress.com/

Helen said...

Unless, of course, it happens to be true in which case the people of Poland ought to know.

kasia said...

I object to such vile attempts to ruin our national memories of those painful but glorious days we'beeen so proud of.I hope that collective wisdom of the nation won't allow to have our opinions manipulated by mediocre jealous men led by the Kaczynskis. Mr President Walesa-you are not alone-we stand by you

Helen said...

The Kaczynskis are all of that, Kasia, though I understand some of the old Solidarnosc guard are also saying things. Still, if it goes to court, the matter should be decided one way or another. For a time anyway. Either there is evidence or there isn't and if there isn't, accusations do not stand.