Lech Walesa was Soviet-era informant, say Polish investigators — FT.c... Page 1 of 5
Poland
Lech Walesa was Soviet-era informant, say Polish investigators
Documents show regime paid former president for information, say Polish
investigators
Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement, salutes the crowd at the Gdansk shipyard in 1983
FEBRUARY 18, 2016 5:41 PM
by: Henry Foy in Warsaw
Lech Walesa (http://next.ft.com/stream/people/Lech Walesa), the former Polish
president and hero of the European anti-communist movement, was a paid
informant for the Soviet-era security services, Polish investigators said on Thursday,
citing recently unearthed documents.
Mr Walesa, who founded and led the Solidarity trade union that ultimately brought
down communist rule in Poland and helped bring an end to Soviet control of eastern
Europe, agreed to become a paid informant for the communist secret services
between 1970-76, Poland’s National Remembrance Institute said.
The claim, which Mr Walesa denies, comes a few months after the return to power of
Poland’s conservative nationalist Law and Justice party
(http://next.ft.com/content/e5f73e48-9cf4-11e5-b45d-4812f209f861), whose
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ideology holds that communist-era authorities still hold positions of power in the
EU’s sixth-largest economy and need to be rooted out.
Law and Justice leaders believe too many communist-era officials and leaders were
able to carry influence, wealth and authority into the post-1989 era, and that not
enough has been done to prosecute or expose them for their actions during the
communist period.
The state-run institute said a cache of documents uncovered this week showed Mr
Walesa — using the code name “Bolek” — provided information to the regime’s
secret police.
“There is a handwritten commitment to co-operate with the security service, signed:
Lech Walesa, ‘Bolek’,” said Agnieszka Sopińska-Jaremczak, spokesperson for the
institute, which was set up in 1998 to investigate crimes committed by Nazi and
communist authorities in Poland between 1939-1989.
The institute said it had analysed more than 350 documents thought to relate to Mr
Walesa’s association with the regime, including a number detailing pieces of
information provided by him to the secret services.
Mr Walesa, 72, an international celebrity and cold war hero who was awarded the
1983 Nobel Peace Prize for leading the campaign to restore democracy to Poland,
has always denied claims that he collaborated with the regime he went on to
campaign against.
In 2000 he was cleared of any collaboration by a special court. Before the
announcement this week, Mr Walesa wrote on his personal blog: “There cannot be
any files related to me … I will prove that in court.”
Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of Poland’s opposition party, said the investigation was
“not looking for historical truth but political scenarios,” although he added that he
had not seen the documents cited as evidence.
Analysis
Donald Tusk, president of the European
Council and a one-time Solidarity
activist, expressed surprise that the issue
had provoked controversy because Mr
Walesa “had never hidden that in the
1970s he had numerous problems and
interactions with the former regime”.
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(http://next.ft.com/content/0ceb7e98d638-11e5-829b-8564e7528e54)
“In my perspective the most important
thing is not to break Polish interest on
the international scene [as] the legend
Accusations are latest
of Solidarity has been always treated
twist in partisan battle
here as a trade mark,” added the former
(http://next.ft.com/content/0ceb7e98Polish prime minister.
d638-11e5-829b8564e7528e54)
For many in Poland, news that
investigators had found documents
showing Lech Walesa was a
communist spy is proof at last of
something they have long
suspected
Read more
(http://next.ft.com/content/0ceb7e98d638-11e5-829b-8564e7528e54)
Mr Walesa became the first freely
elected President of Poland for 63 years
in 1990 but his popularity has waned
over the past decade amid accusations
of collaboration and deep divisions in
Polish society over the decisions made in
the post-communist period by Solidarity
activists.
The documents were uncovered at the
house of Czeslaw Kiszczak, the last
communist-era interior minister of
Poland, after his widow reportedly
attempted to sell them. The institute said the documents had been deemed
authentic by an expert.
Speaking on Thursday, Kiszczak’s widow said her late husband had left a note with
the documents stating he had hidden them to protect Mr Walesa, whom he
considered a “national Polish hero”.
“If he had not [hidden the files], I suppose Walesa would not have got the Nobel
Peace Prize. He wouldn’t be who he is now,” she told the TVN24 television channel.
However, historians and experts have cast suspicion on previously cited documents
alleging individuals’ collaboration with communist-era authorities, arguing that many
forgeries exist and that the secret services were known to create fake evidence to
smear, discredit or blackmail democracy activists.
Additional reporting by Zosia Wasik
From Gdansk shipyard to applause from presidents
1943
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Born in Popowo, northern Poland
1963
Employed at the Gdansk shipyard as an electrician after stints as a mechanic
and two years in the army
1970
Leads group of shipyard workers during the December riots between
communist authorities and pro-democracy activists
1970-76
According to documents obtained by Polish authorities in 2016, is alleged to
have worked as an informant for communist secret services
1981
Founds Solidarity trade union. Arrested in December along with other leaders
after Poland’s communist authorities declare martial law. His efforts see him
awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize
1989
Takes part in round table talks between trade unions, democracy activists and
the communist authorities to broker an agreement that ultimately led to semifree elections
1990
Elected President of Poland, the country’s first freely-elected head of state for
63 years
2000
Cleared by a Warsaw court of being a communist agent
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