Poland marks communist martial law day

Poland Wednesday marked the 25th anniversary of the former communist regime`s martial law edict that tried to crush the opposition Solidarity movement.

Performances commemorating the imposition of martial law Dec. 13, 1981 were staged in Warsaw and across the country, Radio Polonia said.

Old military vehicles along with original police water cannon vans that were used 25 years ago to disperse demonstrators were parked in downtown Warsaw`s square.

At the start of martial law, which lasted more than a year, tanks and soldiers took to the streets, telephone lines were cut and arrests of opposition leaders and Solidarity supporters began overnight.

About 100 people were killed in clashes with troops and police, more than 3,000 were interned, and more than 10,000 were arrested.

However, martial law failed to subdue opposition. Solidarity`s membership rose to about 10 million and the movement was instrumental in overthrowing the Polish communist regime.

Gen. Wojciech Jaruselski, the communist party leader, claimed he declared martial law to avoid intervention by Soviet troops to crush the anti-communist movement, but many Poles condemned his move as a criminal act.

Source:news.monstersandcritics.com