U.S., in Retaliatory Move, Expels 4 Polish Diplomats

Expressing outrage at a “bald fabrication” by Poland in expelling two American diplomats, the Reagan Administration retaliated Friday by ordering four Poles to leave the United States.

The State Department said Poland should have apologized for harassment of the two Americans but instead adopted a “false account” by that nation’s “internal security apparatus” of an incident at a Solidarity demonstration that led to the ouster.

The department issued a statement saying Poland’s action could “only be characterized as a crude attempt to damage further the bilateral relationship” between the two nations.

“We want to express our grave displeasure not only with the unjustified expulsion of our diplomats, but also with the Polish government’s bald fabrication of a story to justify their expulsion,” the department said.

The statement said the two U.S. diplomats, David Hopper and William Harwood, were “roughed up and illegally detained.”

Zadzislaw Ludwiczak, the ranking Polish diplomat in Washington, was summoned to the State Department and informed of the expulsion of the four.

Diplomats are customarily expelled on a one-for-one basis. Ousting four Poles signaled strong U.S. objection to the Warsaw government’s action.

The Polish diplomats declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the United States within seven days were Boguslaw Maciborski of the Polish Embassy in Washington and Romuald Derylo, Jozef Kaminski and Stanislaw Zawadzki of the Polish Consulate General in Chicago.

The State Department said it took the action “in response to the unacceptable treatment . . . of two American diplomats . . . and the outrageously false accusations that the Polish government has used as a pretext to expel our officers from Poland.

“This incident, like the gross mistreatment of our defense attache and his wife in February, indicates that the Polish government is either unable or unwilling to require its internal security apparatus to observe the norms of civilized behavior.”

The American diplomats were accused Friday of hindering the process of Polish stabilization and were given seven days to leave. U.S. officials have filed protests over what they described as ludicrous allegations that the diplomats were participating in an illegal pro-Solidarity May Day parade.

“We can only assume that the Polish government is trying to cover up abuse of diplomatic personnel,” said Edward Djerejian, a State Department spokesman.

Maciborski was first secretary in the embassy here. Derylo and Kaminski were consuls in Chicago and Zawadzki was a vice consul.

Djerejian said the American diplomats were engaged in “a normal diplomatic function” by observing May Day events.

Asked if they had been under instruction to show their silent support, the U.S. spokesman said, “I don’t think it was in a framework of lending their presence to any particular group or movement.”