Word: walesa
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...Cabinet has stepped down since Communist rule began in 1945. A new government, possibly including lay Catholics and moderate opposition figures, is expected to be installed this week. One of its first jobs: conducting negotiations next month with the Solidarity trade union, outlawed since 1981, and its leader Lech Walesa. In his first interview since agreeing to the talks, Walesa met with TIME Eastern Europe bureau chief Kenneth W. Banta and reporter Gertraud Lessing in a Gdansk church. Excerpts...
Shipyard workers generally greeted the news triumphantly. But some youthful militant strikers, dubbed the "young savages," were sharply critical that Walesa failed to get a firm commitment that Solidarity will be legalized again. "I have obtained over 100% of what was possible with what strength I have," said Walesa amid disapproving whistles during a speech at the Lenin shipyard. He later told the workers that he chose the "path of agreement" because a repeat of their earlier struggle with the regime could lead to civil...
Similar fears seem to have spurred Jaruzelski's regime. If Polish officials in fact persuaded Walesa to call off the strikes, they were surprisingly sympathetic to the economic grievances behind them. At a Central Committee meeting, Jaruzelski acknowledged that because of shortages the "daily life of Poles has become not only hard but also demeaning...
...Jaruzelski's regime is clearly concerned about the new generation of strikers, who seem to care less about Walesa's fame than about getting better living conditions as quickly as possible. Admitted Wladyslaw Baka, the Central Committee secretary responsible for economic affairs: "No agreements, no reconciliation, no discussions will help us unless we can achieve visible results in improving our economy." Given the pathetic state of Poland's economy, that will be a difficult task even without the drain of further labor unrest...
...midair mishap kills three Italian pilots and at least 47 spectators at a U. S. air base in West Germany, touching off a controversy about low- level flying within NATO. -- After being invited to meet with authorities, Poland' s Lech Walesa calls for striking workers to return to their jobs. -- A prosperous and newly democratized South Korea gets set to play host to the Olympics...