Posted on 04/30/2007 1:57:41 PM PDT by lizol
Report: Poland's Gen. Jaruzelski threatens to discredit Solidarity if brought to court
The Associated Press Published: April 30, 2007
ROME: Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's last communist leader, said he would try to discredit the Solidarity freedom movement should he be brought to court on charges of imposing martial law in 1981, according to an interview published Monday.
Polish prosecutors filed charges in March against Jaruzelski for violating the constitution by imposing martial law Dec. 13, 1981, as the Soviet-backed regime tried to crush Solidarity. If brought to court and convicted, the 84-year-old Jaruzelski could face up to 11 years in prison.
"If I am forced to, I will show that Solidarity, despite its moderate leaders and its historical role ... was not a club of angels," Jaruzelski told Italian daily La Repubblica.
"The trial is not a personal matter. Today, I am here, maybe tomorrow I won't be. It is about the country's destiny, not mine," he was quoted as saying.
Jaruzelski also said the legal case was part of a push by the conservative government of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, to purge former communists from political life and positions of influence.
"There's an emotional desire for revenge," Jaruzelski was quoted as saying. "It's a pity: mouths full of nice, religious words, they quote (the late Pope) John Paul II, but they act exactly against his philosophy."
After martial law was imposed in 1981, thousands went to jail, including Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, and 100 people were killed. The clampdown lasted 18 months.
The crackdown remains a topic of public debate, with Jaruzelski defending the move as the "lesser evil," the only way to forestall an invasion by the Soviet Union.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Yeah, I’m sure the words of this guy will discredit solidarity.
I hope this cretin is the next stop on the grim reaper’s 2007 world tour.
Do you remember those funky sunglasses?
Jaruzelski? That boob is still around?
Anyone remember when Pope John Paul II arrived in Poland for his first visit after assuming the papacy? Jaruzelski’s legs were visibly trembling in fear as he greeted the Pope on the airport tarmac. I knew at that moment that the Iron Curtain had cracked.
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