World IN BRIEF : POLAND : Ex-Leader on Trial in Workers’ Deaths
From Times Wire Reports
Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski went on trial for the 1970 shooting deaths of 44 shipyard workers who were taking part in mass protests against food price increases. Jaruzelski, 73, was Polish defense minister in 1970 and is charged with issuing the orders to shoot at workers in Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Elblag. More than 1,000 people were wounded in the attacks, which fueled worker discontent that crystallized later in the Solidarity trade union movement.
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