During a Sunday ceremony, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Museum of Cursed Soldiers and Political Prisoners of the Polish People's Republic in Warsaw, honouring those who fought against the communist regime in the years 1980-1989.
In a letter read out during the ceremony, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda thanked for "the memory of the courage and sacrifice of all generations of compatriots who fought for a free homeland.”
Andrzej Duda wrote that the plaque unveiled "on the 39th anniversary of the imposition of martial law reminds us of our [Polish ed.] nation's unwavering pursuit of freedom throughout the 20th century."
Speaking at the event, Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński said that "we cannot allow to be persuaded that martyrdom is something wrong" as it is an element of Polish history and identity.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on his Facebook page that the 1981-1983 martial law period was a time when "a wave of human solidarity was crashed."
During special memorial events on Sunday, Jan Józef Kasprzyk, head of Poland’s Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński laid wreaths on the grave of Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Roman Catholic priest who died at the hands of communist secret police in the 1980s and is widely venerated as a martyr.
Sunday marks 39 years since martial law was imposed by the communist regime that was in power in Poland at the time.
(ał)
Source: IAR/PAP
