Solidarity icon will give this year’s anniversary ceremonies a miss citing his resentment toward new book looking into the politician’s alleged life under communism, writes Polska.

Press reviewed by Alicja Baczynska

Former president Lech Wałęsa has stated he intends to withdraw from participating in the ceremonies celebrating this year’s anniversaries as well as other “meetings of this kind”. He revealed this decision in his blog, which he later confirmed in an interview for Polska daily. He stressed this step was no joke and if accusations aimed at him continued, he would return all his awards and renounce his honorary titles. Leaving the country would be his last resort. This drastic move comes after the publishing of yet another book on the former president’s alleged past as an informer for communist-era secret police.
“Proper authorities should get down to some serious work to resolve the problem of slander,” said the president in an interview for the paper. “It is intolerable that a man so highly merited for his contribution to democracy as I am is regarded with such contempt.”

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, head of the Federation of Expelees, Erika Steinbach and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad appear to be the most dreaded political figures in the eyes of Poles, shows a survey carried out by Rzeczpospolita. The fearsome three have been selected by 56, 38 and 26 percent of the respondents respectively.
A social psychologist quoted by the paper has said people fear those who are constantly mentioned in negative context. He added that the unfavourable sentiments towards Putin could be accounted for by Russia’s stance in the international political arena, but fear of Steinbach has been blown out of proportion, while selecting the Iranian top official is solely a backwash of media coverage. Russia, Iran, followed by Belarus were listed as countries perceived as a threat to Poland.

Both travelers and airport staff good riddance to the Etiuda terminal at Warsaw’s Okęcie airport, which had been in operation for over 20 years. The last passengers to check-in were flying to Bergamo, Italy, writes Życie Warszawy. The facility is a relict from Poland’s communist past, and so to bid the building farewell accordingly a happening was held, where the airport staff gave passengers special treatment – communist-style. This meant making rude comments, hurrying the travelers and catering featuring egg sandwich wrapped in paper and tea spiked with rum. Those waiting in line for clearance could also watch movie excerpts featuring the building.
Finally, the terminal was boarded up, while a neon sign placed over it, saying ‘closed’ was lit up to coincide with WWF’s initiative Earth Hour, where everyone else would turn the lights off. But that was no surprise to the onlookers, who claimed the place had a history of doing things the other way round.

Speaking of Earth Hour, the Warsaw supplement of Dziennik looks back at Saturday’s environmental initiative. The paper claims the capital proved to be most committed to the action. The city’s landmarks, shopping centers, schools, and skyscrapers succumbed to darkness at 8:30 pm, reaching a total of 96 public buildings. Also, over 4,000 people hit the lights in their homes in Warsaw alone, writes the paper. Figures look impressive, but the effect was somewhat spoiled by neon lights and floodlights illuminating building wraps and billboards across the city. And a tip for next year: if you want the best views of the city center going dim, you should go to the opposite bank of the Vistula, or stand at the Gdański bridge.