Communist officials responsible for introducing martial law in Poland in 1981 are about to face a trial.
Joanna Najfeld reports
A court in Warsaw was the venue of a special session regarding the possible trial that may soon be launched to determine the responsibility for introducing martial law in Poland back in 1981.
The indictment was prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Poland's communist past based on the archives left over from those times.
Prosecutors of the Institute accuse eight communist leaders responsible for martial law decisions, among them Wojciech Jaruzelski, the then communist prime minister of Poland, Stanisław Kania, first secretary of the communist party and Czesław Kiszczak, of the Interior Ministry. According to the indictment, they had no right to place the nation and the country under military rule.
'The process was preparing and introducing the martial law was unlawful even in the light of the communist law. They started the preparations to introduce martial law as early as in the fall of 1980, just several weeks after the Solidarity trade union was established. So, they have to face the charge of having been members of the so-called organised armed clique with a purpose to commit crimes,' says Łukasz Kaminski, of the Institute of National Remembrance.
The martial law was a huge military and police operation against the Solidarity freedom movement. The then communist authorities of Poland, under the command of prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski, imposed the martial law on the country to prevent democratic processes which were underway thanks to the efforts of the growing anti-communist opposition.
The whole nation suffered repression, reminds historian Pawel Machcewicz: 'This military operation crushed 'Solidarity'. 'Solidarity' was banned and more than ten thousand people were interned, arrested and imprisoned. Several people were killed when the army and the police crashed the strikes and the demonstrations against the martial law.'
Those accused of unlawfully imposing military rule on Poland are now demanding that the prosecutors interrogate world leaders of the 1980s, including Michail Gorbachov, Margaret Thatcher, Zbigniew Brzeziński, advisor to President Jimmy Carter or Anatolij Gripkov, of the Soviet Army High Command.
'They have contributed largely to the fact that Soviet Union finally withdrew from the intention to intervene. I don't think such a voice is of minor importance in the present case,' said one of the accused, former first secretary of the communist party, Stanisław Kania in court.
Introducing martial law was a necessity and a lesser evil, to protect Poland from Soviet intervention, argued Wojciech Jaruzelski, who personally gave the order to impose martial law.
'I just want to defend the good name of all the people, and especially the military, who in their best intention supported the involvement in the realization of the martial law. The martial law was a rescue for our country and the Polish society from a disaster in many ways. I uphold this evaluation with utmost conviction.'
What Jaruzelski claims is propaganda, prepared by communists to evade responsibility for the crime against the nation, replied the prosecution. Documents show that plans for the martial law were prepared and consulted with the Soviets earlier.
'It was in 1989, when the democratically elected authorities were to take over the power from communists, that the line of defense presented today by the accused was made up.'
Historical evidence belie Jaruzelski's version, confirms historian Pawel Machcewicz. According to Soviet documents revealed in 1990s, the Soviets were not willing to intervene in Poland in December 1981.
'The international situation was very tense at that time. The Soviets were engaged in the war in Afghanistan, they wanted to avoid another conflict in the heart of Europe. In my opinion it means that general Jaruzelski had more room for maneuver and that he was not under the direct danger of the Soviet intervention. He could seek agreement with 'Solidarity'. Of course we cannot be sure what would have happened if the martial law had not been introduced, whether the Soviets would have changed their attitude but certainly according to the Soviet documents, in December 198, there was no direct threat of the Soviet military intervention. This means that Jaruzelski's responsibility for the martial law is even greater that we used to think before we got to know the Soviet documents.'
The court session on the case will continue on 24 April.