John Tagliabue, “Solidarity
Plans to Join Regime in Asking Debt Aid”, The New York Times - March 3, 1989
The Main Point
In
Warsaw,
Poland, negotiators from the Polish Government and the
Solidarity union are working together to issue a joint appeal for the relief of
Poland’s foreign debt. This appeal will challenge Western
Governments to lift the remains of the sanctions placed upon
Poland for its imposition of martial law seven years ago. The
appeal might contain requests such as relief on the interest payments of the
debt, the renewal of Western guarantees for commercial bank loans, and more
favorable conditions for relief under a standby program of the
IMF.
Background
Government officials in
Poland say the Solidarity union’s support of the appeal is
part of the price it must pay to recover its legal status, lost when martial law
was declared in Dec. 13, 1981 which marked the end of the liberalizing trends that
had led to the birth of the union in 1980. Western governments placed sanctions
on Poland to punish the government under General Jaruzelski for the imposition of martial law. The sanctions
included the refusal to grant fresh credits to
Poland, refusal to admit
Poland to the International Monetary Fund, and refusal to
grant World Bank loans. Western governments lifted most sanctions when martial
law was formally scrapped and political prisoners released in 1984.
Last year (1988),
Poland owed 37.9 billion to Western nations and banks, with
total debt growing. Poland has the lowest per capita export earnings in
Europe and deteriorating industrial plants. In short,
Poland needs loans and investments. In November 1988, the
World Bank made its first loan to Poland.
Now, the government and the
Solidarity union have agreed to issue a joint appeal to Western governments.
Negotiators from both groups are on their fourth week of working on the accord.
The appeal will come to the Bush administration at the same time they are
conducting a review of East-West issues. The review will include discussions
about the potential of Warsaw Pact nations like
Poland to develop closer ties to the West and reduce their
dependence on the Soviet
Union without threatening
Soviet interests. It will force the US and Western allies to decide whether or not to fulfill
their pledges to ease Poland’s debt if the Polish government agreed to end the
repression of the Solidarity union.