Solidarity continues to defy Polish regime
1985Jim Richter 1985-06Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 15 →
Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 15
Kryzys gospodarczy Dossier UKRAIŃSKA KWESTIA NARODOW. Pranda o Ukrariskre, Powslancrer Ar Tens of thousands marched throughout Poland on May 1 and May 3 with their forbidden Solidarity insignias and banners in open defiance of the Jaruzelski regime.
In a statement issued in late April, the principal underground Solidarity interfactory committees and regional leadership bodies called on all Polish workers "to renew with the historic tradition of May Day—an international Polish 'Inprekor' :L'AR nr 17 S0: DAMAS(I4 ZIMA 1985 PRACA GÓRNIKA Zabójstwo Eloi Machoro day of struggle and protest-by marching in independent demonstrations."
The statement also called for protest actions on May 3, anniversary of the signing of Poland's first democratic constitution.
Despite the stepped-up repression in recent months, the response to Solidarity's call was overwhelming. And the response of the regime was brutal. Numerous protestors were injured as the Zomo's water cannons charged the Inprekor is published every two months as a journal reflecting the point of view of the Fourth International. It addresses itself to the debates that are going on in the Polish workers' movement and mass strug. gles in other countries.
Inprekor can be obtained by writing to PEC, 2 Richard Lenoir, 93100 Montreull, France. The subscription rate for one year (six issues) is £8, 12 US dollars or 75 French francs. Make cheques payable to PEC • Polish Inprekor. To support Inprekor is to support the emergence of a revolution. ary Marxist current inside Poland. crowd. Forty Solidarity supporters were arrested, including Jacek Kuron and Seweryn Jaworski. All have been sentenced to three months in prison.
At the march of 10,000 in Warsaw on May 3 the crowd chanted in unison: "Solidarity lives, 'Free Kuron and Jaworski, and "Free all the political prisoners!"
Appeal for open trial Over 200 Solidarity activists and leaders are currently behind bars in Poland. Most are charged with "carrying out illegal activities against the state."
The most important political trial in recent years-the trial of Bogdan Lis, Wladislaw Frasyniuk, and Adam Michnik—is scheduled to begin within the next few weeks. If sentenced, the three could spend up to five years in prison.
In a letter smuggled out of jail on April 18, the three Solidarity leaders stated, "We have been imprisoned and we will soon be tried for having carried out our union activities. Our trial is nothing more than a provocation reminiscent of the Stalinist era."
They also called on world public opinion to demand that the trial be opened to international observers. "Their presence will be the only way to get the truth out about our loyalty to Solidarity," the letter stated.