'CONFRONTATION is inevitable and confrontation will take Lech Walesa at a special Solidarity leadership meeting in Radom last Friday. The remark has sent the Polish rulers into the same state of frenzy as Michael Foot's reaction to Peter Tatchell's article parliamentary democracy.
And as for Zbigniew Bujak, head of Warsaw Solidarity, who remarked that: A general strike should be prepared and the union should wait for a good reason to start it' — he clearly shouldn't be allowed to stand as a candidate in the Polish elections!
The special leadership meeting was called by the union movement to respond to the police attack on a sit-in by Warsaw fire fighter cadets, and to ine government's threat to introduce anti-strike legislation.
The union leadership has announced an imsaid mediate general strike if the Bill is passed in parliament, and the Warsaw branch has also called for a scries of protest rallies to be held on 17 December against the actions of the police Union leaders are also coming under attack from the government. Marian Jurczyk, came second in the election for Solidarity's national president, is being charged with slandering the state for the perfectly reasonable observation that the Polish parliamentary deputies were traitors, and that some people might have to be hanged to solve the nation's pro The reality behind this latest war of words is that the Polish rulers, and their institutions like the party and the phoney parliament, are completely discredited. The Polish workers are in CTLESTELY TOOKIng instead to organisations and their own solutions to the management movement, who hands.
country.
port Solidarily their own mounting economic and political crisis.
The enormous growth of the workers" selfthe demand Solidarily should be free to stand its own candidates in the elections, the devleopment of the workers own media and press, as well as the re cent calls for workers" defence squads against the riot police, all clearly show the workers desire to take their destiny into their own Socialists in this country should champion both the cause of the Polish workers and also the need for socialist policies and democratic accountability in the labour movement in this The time was when every right winger and demagogue Icapt on to the bandwagon to supagainst the 'Communist menace'. They are notable by their silence now. They are too busy attacking socialists in this Once again, in this crucial stage, parliament would be inadequate to defend working class interests. Only the mobilisation of the masses behind socialist measures would defeat the ruiing class counter-offensive.
Books on Marxism, Feminism, Black Liberation, Ireland Diaries, Calendars, Badges, Xmas Postcards Open until 4pm Xmas Eve 328 Upper St, London N1 (near Ange tube Socialist Challenge 10 December 1981 page 3
N JUST EIGHT months Islington Labour Party
----- pull-quotes -----
The place for your shopping