Warsaw Postpones Talks With Opposition Until After Oct. 24

The Polish government announced Tuesday that talks with the opposition have been delayed until after Oct. 24, and it urged its partners in the dialogue to disavow “extreme elements” before the talks begin.

The outlawed Solidarity labor federation replied it is ready to begin talks immediately and blamed the government for the delay.

Government spokesman Jerzy Urban denied that the government is losing its will to enter the talks or putting new conditions on the discussions, which are to cover such questions as re-legalizing the banned Solidarity union and economic and political pluralism.

Urban said the talks, which were supposed to have started Monday, were delayed because Roman Catholic Church representatives will be in Rome until Oct. 24 and because of remaining disagreements over who will participate.

“It’s difficult to talk with those who are shouting that they want to hang Communists,” Urban said in reference to anti-government chants at a recent protest in Gdansk.

While refusing to give a likely date for the talks, Urban said officials would like them to begin between Oct. 24 and the Nov. 2 visit to Poland by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Solidarity denied any extremism. “Solidarity, by the fact that it seeks re-legalization, obviously is ready to act as a legal union that accepts the constitution,” spokesman Janusz Onyszkiewicz said.

The talks originally were agreed to by Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and Interior Minister Czeslaw Kiszczak on Aug. 31. In response, Walesa brought a halt to a series of strikes across Poland.