Poles to commemorate martial law anniversary
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
09.12.2016 14:03
Conferences, concerts and debates will be held throughout Poland as the country remembers the 35th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by its former communist regime.
Photo: pexels.com
The Institute of National Remembrance, a body set up in the 1990s to probe past crimes against the nation, has urged all Poles to light candles in their windows on the evening of 13 December.
On that date in 1981, the communists cracked down on the Solidarity pro-democracy movement, the start of a dark chapter in modern Polish history.
According to a parliamentary report compiled at the start of the 1990s, over 90 people were killed during martial law, which lasted formally until 22 July 1983. On the night of 13 December 1981, more than 6,500 opposition activists were arrested and interned.
Meanwhile, three days later, on 16 December 1981, nine miners were killed in a battle with the ZOMO riot police at the Wujek coal mine in Katowice, southern Poland.
During martial law Poland’s communist regime suspended all political and workers’ organizations and introduced a curfew.
(tf/pk)