Protest in Warsaw; photo - PAP Radek Pietruszka

Around 200 people gathered overnight outside the Warsaw home of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, for the annual protest to mark the declaration of martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981.

This year the protestors shouted “disgrace” in reaction to President Komorowski’s invitation in late November for Jaruzelski to attend the special meeting of the National Security Council before the visit of Dmitry Medvedev, at which all previous prime ministers and presidents post-1989 attended.

“We can not accept that a traitor with blood on his hands is honoured and recognized as a person worthy of respect. We are protesting here because this is a slap in the face to all those who died for Poland’s freedom,” said right wing journalist Bronislaw Wildstein, who attended the protest.

“President Komorowski let a criminal into the Presidential Palace,” said editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, Tomasz Sakiewicz, also in attendance.

The demonstrators sang hymns and chanted "Down with communism" with banners aloft saying "Jaruzelski remember your crimes."

Those old enough in Poland remember waking up on a freezing morning of 13 December  1981 with a tape of General Jaruzelski running on the TV announcing the start of martial law, which outlawed the Solidarity trade union and suspended many of the limited freedoms open to Poles during communism.

Around 100 people lost their lives in protests against the imposition of martial law. One of the most prominent demonstrations against the crackdown resulted in nine miners losing their lives when ZOMO militia broke up an occupation strike in the Wujek coal mine.

Thousands of activists were imprisoned, including Solidarity leader Lech Walesa.

Martial law was formally lifted on 22 July 1983. (pg)