I gave everything I could. I fought all my life to end communism, former leader of the NSZZ “Solidarity” and President of Poland Lech Walesa told PAP. According to him, the nation does not appreciate the victory of August 80. He also announced that he will not participate in this year’s celebrations.
Lech Wałęsa, asked by the PAP about the atmosphere of the talks in August 1980, said that the most important thing was that they had taken place.
Until then, everything had been resolved by force by the communist authorities. There was talk here, and when you talk there is always a chance to solve the problem.
– emphasized the former President of Poland.
He noted that he “gave everything he could.”
I fought all my life to end communism, to break away from the Soviet Union. The problem was that it was not possible. After reaching the first point, I immediately thought about how to reach the second
– said Lech Walesa.
All this was not discussed, but it had to be done. So we thought about how much the communists wanted to deceive us, how much they wanted to withdraw from signing the agreements and how to prevent this, but also how to achieve more.
– added Walesa.
“The nation currently does not appreciate this and ignores it.”
As he stated, “the signing of the August Accords was a great and incredible victory.”
However, the nation currently does not appreciate this and ignores it. I feel offended by this and will not participate in this year’s anniversary celebrations.
– he pointed.
Wałęsa stressed that the answer to the question of whether August 1980 was an impetus for the fall of the “Iron Curtain” is not easy.
The problem is that there was already some organized opposition: the Free Trade Unions of the Coast, the Young Poland Movement, KPN and others, but it was all tiny. The commune did not allow us to organize and at the same time ridiculed the opposition.
– observed Lech Walesa.
He also emphasized the importance of Pope John Paul II’s first pilgrimage to Poland in 1979.
A year after he was elected to the See of Peter, the Pope came to Poland and organized us to pray. This, combined with counting and demonstrating that there are many of us, enabled the anti-communist opposition to lead the Poles into battle and victory.
– he said.
Signing of the August Agreements
44 years ago, on 31 August 1980, at the age of 17, in the health and safety room of the Gdańsk Shipyard, an agreement was signed between the Government Commission and the Inter-Company Strike Committee, representing more than 700 factories from all over Poland.
The government delegation agreed, among other things, on the creation of new independent and autonomous trade unions, the right to strike, the construction of a monument to the victims of December 1970, the broadcasting of Sunday masses on Polish Radio and the limitation of censorship; a provision was also adopted according to which the new trade unions would recognize the leading role of the Polish United Workers’ Party in the state; The signing ceremony of the agreement was broadcast by TVP.
The agreement signed by MKS Chairman Lech Wałęsa and Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Jagielski led to the creation of the NSZZ “Solidarność” – the first legal trade union organization in communist countries, independent of the authorities.
tkwl/PAP
