THE NEWS item was tucked away in an inside page in the international Herald Tribune of 26 August:
an unusual Poland's ambassador Mr Spasowski, thanked American its statements • 210 were helpful in dealing with the had crisis.
Just how the US had been 'helpful' was explained in the preceding paragraph: The US government has refrained from the Polish strikers since their action began earlier month.' Silence At first sight the attitude of the US government Polish events seems curious a curiousness which extends to all the major Western governFrom the headquarters of NATO in Brussels, to the Thatcher government here, to the West German Schmidt, the same stance was adopted: No comment.
A US statement on 19 August summed it up with the insistence that The "the strikes are a domestic matter and therefore none of our concern'.
Certainly the best right-wing press in Britain rushed to defend the Polish strikers. But the more thoughttu and SETIOUS establishment repeated the caution shown by their govert ments.
Even the fanatically anticommunist Daily Telegraph advised on 30 August: workers would be wise to go for rather than cry for the moon.' All this at a time of NATO step, to Romuald the sala ines encouragement to this Wall Street to the re-arming, the memory of DOVCULL. and communist ideological sive the like of which has not been seen since the US war on the Vietnamese people began to tlounder. bo Chancellor silence on Poland?
Debts Department.
Led. As the Polish strikes were spreading, a consortium of international banks signed a deal which gave the Polish govern.
popular, ment £137m worth of credit.
A similar £280m, Will banks doing the lending, will be still fresh were refused the Olympic an rowings offenbanks'.
why the strange crease then First, First, there is money involvyear which repayment.
deal worth pect that West German This money will be used to •Poland might prolonged have defaulted on existing borwould have meant considerable losses for a number of major international reasonable.
The Western banks consider it good business to in- nas borrowing to East/West for a number of roland nas a good record in paying off debts on time. Second, Poland is expec ting to have a trade surplus this would facilitate Third, if all else taing fails the Western bankers. exthe Soviet Union would bail out Poland's debt. inside the strike wave As one West German banker was quoted as saying: 'We just hope everyone will be After the economics. come the politics. The Polish regime played a useful role in relations, indicated by the fact that it is the East European country Carter has ever visited.
Most recently, the Gierek leadership offered Poland as a venue for a meeting between French president Giscard d'Esand Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev This buffer role - firmly • Soviet camp but more amicable to the West than has made Gierek valuable to the West.
also remains the the East/West agreement first hatched at Yalta after the Second War, which includes Poland in the sphere of in fluence in retura for Soviet non interference concerned.
With the developing situa tion in Central America - the revolution in the frantic attempt of imperialism to stop the same thing happening in El Salvador - • US im perialism has every wish to see that agreement maintained