Poland Will Not Abandon Course, Leader Tells U.N.

Polish Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski, acknowledging past mistakes, told the United Nations today that the worst of his country’s “difficulties” are over.

But he affirmed that, no matter what pressure is brought to bear, “We shall never abandon our course,” adding: “That would be intolerable both to the good of my nation and to our dignity as Poles.”

Allusion to Solidarity

His mention of difficulties evidently alluded to the political struggle between his communist government and the Solidarity trade union led by Lech Walesa, but he did not elaborate.

In a veiled attack on U.S. policy toward his nation, the prime minister said that ostracizing Poland was “one of those great mistakes which are a running theme of history and cast an ugly shadow over its pages.”

“The right to judge is commonly usurped by those who in their own land would want law and order to prevail, while in Poland they (put their) stake on anarchy and chaos,” he said.

“Even less likely credentials for delivering moral lectures are reluctance for so many decades to condemn South Africa’s regime, support for other criminal regimes, waging an undeclared war against Nicaragua--in defiance of the protests of so many countries,” he said.

Saying that he did not intend to saddle anyone with blame for “our own mistakes” or to sweep problems under the carpet, he asserted: “The worst of our difficulties are over. Persevering step by step, we are moving forward. The plane of national accord is broadening. So is the public endorsement of the policies of the state.”

Jaruzelski was the first leader of a Soviet Bloc ally to address the 40th anniversary session of the U.N. General Assembly.