Gen. JaruzelskiA former prime minister of Poland has said it would be “a scandal” if General Jaruzelski was not included in the party of VIPs who will be traveling to Rome to take part in the beatification ceremony of John Paul II on May 1.
No final decision has yet been made by President Komorowski’s chancellery about whether the former communist leader should fly to Rome for what is part of the canonization process of the Polish Pope.
The question has sparked heated reactions both in the political sphere and the press.
In response to initial reports that the general was not be included in the party of former PMs and presidents to the beatification ceremony, former prime minister Leszek Miller, who was once a member of the communist party in Poland, declared the potential exclusion of Jaruzelski “a scandal”.
Likewise, noted journalist and former dissident Tomasz Wolek has said that Jaruzelski ‘should be invited.’
The election of the Polish Pope in 1978 sent shockwaves through the communist elite in Moscow and Warsaw.
Critics point to the disrespect the Polish Pope was shown by the communist authorities during JP II’s trips to Poland. When the pontiff travelled to Warsaw in 1983, no one rose to greet him at the Belvedere, the presidential residence.
The Pope was an impassioned supporter of the Solidarity Movement, which Jaruzelski endeavoured to crush through the introduction of martial law in December 1981.
However, in 1989, Jaruzelski was a central figure in the Round Table talks that dismantled communism.
Jaruzelski attended the Pope’s funeral in Rome in 2005, where he spoke favourably of the late pontifff.
President Komorowski faced criticism in November for inviting Jaruzelski to a meeting of the National Security Council. However, the president explained that it was a matter of protocol, saying “I can’t change history.” (nh/pg)