Reference to Soviet Army Stricken from Polish Military Oath

The Polish government said Tuesday it has approved a new military oath that removes a reference to allegiance to the Soviet army, wording that has caused scores of draftees to refuse military service.

A spokesman for the pacifist movement Freedom and Peace described the change as “remarkable” and a “symbolic victory” for the opposition.

“The draft oath was accepted last night (Monday) by the government, and the new text is before Parliament,” government spokesman Jerzy Urban said at a news conference.

Urban said he would not reveal the exact text until it is passed by Parliament. But he said the draft calls on oath-takers “to serve the homeland and the nation, to serve constitutional tenets, to guard independence, sovereignty, and the borders of Poland, to guard peace and fraternity in arms with allied armies, and to fulfill soldierly duties and other military commitments such as keeping secrets.”