try.
This week's Communist Party congress will disappoint those supporting the of "socialist renewal' in It is true that the party undergone The 1,964 massive purge. delegates have been elected by secret ballot for the first time and for 80 percent of them it is their irst national congress.
Almost two thirds of the outgoing party Central Committee members failCOLO therefore lose their leadership position. new regional party secretaries held tice at the time ot the lasi congress in February 1980. Abuse Further, one tenth of the party's three million members have resigned since August and 12,000 more have been power or curruption. Such a shake-up of the party apcannot help have a major impact in a society where the reliability of the ruling party is crucial.
But an equally important statistic is the fate of the members of the party Politburo in recent™ eleccongress delegates. Only out of members failed to be elected. Even the popular 'hardliners' Grabski and Olszowski were elected after the personal intervention of party header nana.
The strategy Kania/Jaruzelski ender ship team, which is reluctantly backed by the Soviet bureaucrats, is to concede retorms today, the better to co-opt Solidarity into the runne or une colntry. That way they hope to claw back the gains made by the Polish workers in the past year. It is the most pursued by the Polish rul bureaucrats 111countless other failed projects. Threat They have tried stonewalling manoeuvres SHOW where you stand with a SOLIDARNOSC T-shirt. Small, large and medium sizes. Just £2.99 (incl p&p) „trom SCD T-shirts, Box 50, London N1 2XP.
'The Week'. avoid granting Solidarity's demands. For months agreement they refused to icease une rcasuadon Solidarity as the umbrella independent threat of a general strike lorce is recognuon November, The authorities bitterly opposed the registration of Nul al Solidarity the small farmers. After months ot vicvaricallul and industrial action by Solidarity recognition WaN finally granted in April.
The leadership wally have Catholic hierarchy to derail the workers' ment. Last August the late Cardinal Wyszynski avpealed on television for an end to the strikes une lamous udansk agree ment had been signed. Martyrs was Catholic advisors' to the new independent 'leading role of the unc partv clause into soldarity's The same SLalules people WILd hurricans.
December's Gdansk flai Lech Walesa greets the crowd after signing last August's historic Gdansk agreement tyrs' memorial rally into a religious ceremony, argue today for conciliation with the authorities. Rebuff The tactic of selective repression has also been against Solidarity. DuRIne massive strike wave many milltants like Jacek Kuron and Jan Litynski were jailed. Last November two Solidarity members, Jan Narozniak and Piotr Sapelo were dr rested for publishing document which outlined the government's plans for repressing the independent union. general strike threat stopped the government in its tracks.
Perhaps the most serious rebuff for the calmen the Bydgoszcz affair this March. Party hardliners organised the beating up of local Solidarity activists in the northern town when party leader Kania and prime minister Jaruzelski were ol of the country. Again the threat of general strike forced the government to back down and accede to the demands of the last card or its.
The Stalinist rulers is of course a Soviet invasion. It is now commonly accepted that a Soviet Politburo meeting December only narrowly voted against such a move being proposed to LICI emergency Warsaw Pact summit of December.
In April this year Soviet leader Brezhnev insisted that Polish party leaders had to 'roll back the events of the past months' lilcobart repeated in last month's letter from the Soviet Central Committee their Polish counterparts which arust find within itself the arouee that: The forces to reverse the course of events.
The Soviet leaders have so far ruled out a military solution for main reasons. First, the humar intervention, which would meer nerce resistance could be enormous. Secondly the consequences for Soviet relations with the West could be catastrophic Finally this could lead to the Soviet Union being forced to take on the entire the POSI economic crisis. This could cause economic difficulties throughout Eastern Europe — ana 11 was price rises that brought about mer's strike wave Without a Soviet invasion the best tactic for the Polish party leadership is to make concessions to the reformers. Already the anti-apparatus movement which held a conference of 500 delegates in Torun last April has been completely undercut. Decline Having tamed the pariy 'reformers' Kania and Jaruzelski now aim to win over section of the leadership of Solidarity to a project of joint responibility for dealing with the country's economic situation Not only is $27 billion Owed countries, but this year is likely to see a staggering drop in national income by per cent, to add to last year's per cent drop, and a 2.3 per cent decline in 1979 In recent weeks Walesa The workers' gains since last August's Gdansk agreement trade unions under Solidarity.
tical right to use it.
2. Two million small farmers are organisin an independent increase in investment in agriculture.
3. The Communist Party's monopoly of the press has been broken and Solidarity now has own official press and a promise of greater access to economic information.
4. The five day working week has been won.
5. Greater academic freedom teaching of the Stalinist models of Marxism and history have been granted. An independent students union has been established and other 'moderates witnin the union leadership have begun a crackdown within Solidarity against those critical of such a joint project with the government.
Several editors of loca Solidarity newspapers have already been remov. beginning sof pedical che- This has led ferentiation within Solidarity itself as it prepares for its own first national congress in August.
the regional Solidarity conference in Lodz two "tendencies' emerged in the debate. The 'independents' comprised from different lactories wno presented a programme They beat the democrats in the leadership elections The Polish bureaucrats and the Soviet leaders fear the process of political difwithin Solidarity. They would love lo turn back ine cock to the old system of stifling bureaucratic and repression. Capitalism may have been overthrown in Poland but the system that has prevailed for the past 35 years has been a parody socialism The significance of the heroic struggle of the Polish workers is that for the first time in Eastern Europe a serious struggle has opened up for an alter: both to capitalism and Stalinism. Decades The development of an alternative workers DOW CI organised through Solidarity 1s the nearest thing to socialist democracy Eastern Europe for cecaoes The significance of this cxamole to me workers or the world should not be underestimated, particularly other Hasterr European countries. It is our duty to ensure that this example continues to exist as long as possible through maximising solidarity with the Polish workers.
Solidarity remains intact and uncorrupted for muCH Longer party leaders' tactic of 'wearing down' Solidarity just might backfire. The workers throughout Eastern Europe may realise that Solidarity is just month wonder and decide Dress for the same ner democratic rights that have been achieved The umbrella These unions not only have the legal right to strike but also the pracSolidarity, and there has been a dramatic union, Rural national and local There is less censorship in the and less Socialist Challenge 16 July 1981 Page 13
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System In
1. Some ten million workers are organis- ed in independent and self-governing