Word: polish
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Free trade unions. An end to the Polish government's meddling in daily life. A greater voice in public affairs. Until two years ago last week, these lofty goals were only the dreams of a handful of militant workers and intellectuals. Then, quite unexpectedly, during two momentous weeks in August 1980, everything in Poland changed...
...movement quickly inflamed the Polish spirit. Thousands of ordinary citizens began to mass outside the shipyard's main gates, decorating them with flowers, ribbons, papal portraits and red-and-white banners. And before the year was out, Solidarity had finally become a reality, a free trade union, 10 million members strong and powerful enough to transform the political life of Poland...
...same period last year. To compound the problem, early indications that agricultural production would improve this year have been thrown off by a long dry spell. The potato and sugar-beet harvest may be 25% smaller than in 1981. This can only put further strains on weary Polish consumers, who already find it difficult to make ends meet. Though wages have risen 40% this year, prices have doubled...
Whether or not the Polish people dare respond to that call with widespread demonstrations, knowing that their jobs may be at stake, they have already made it clear that they are resigned neither to martial law nor to the permanent end of the democratic "renewal" that swept their nation for 16 months...
...Though American reporters have always faced official harassments, none had been expelled since 1977, when George Krimsky of the Associated Press was forced out after giving extensive coverage to Soviet dissidents. The "charges" against Nagorski, which he denied, included impersonating a Soviet deputy editor on one occasion and a Polish tourist on another, and violating travel restrictions. Colleagues in Moscow insist that his real crime was diligence. Says Nagorski: "The authorities especially dislike a reporter who zeroes in on the feelings of ordinary people." Washington officials view the expulsion as a warning to the Western press corps. "The Soviets decided...