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WARSAW, Poland – Poland's former President Lech Walesa said Wednesday that membersof Solidarity, the trade union he once led, deserve to be beatenfor a disruptive protest they staged last week in Warsaw. The comments by the outspoken Walesa underline the deep split thathas occurred between him and the labor movement he led in the1980s, a division prompted by ideological and personal differences.In the 1980s Solidarity was the key dissident group that eventuallyhelped topple communist rule, but has since evolved into atraditional labor union that supports a strong welfare state. Last week Solidarity led a picket for days in front of parliamentto protest a law raising the retirement age. After lawmakers passedthe bill Friday, enraged Solidarity activists prevented somelawmakers from leaving the building for some time and a scuffleensued. Walesa said elected lawmakers must be respected and said that PrimeMinister Donald Tusk, a former Solidarity activist and now apro-market leader, who fought for the rise in the retirement age,should have dealt firmly with the protesters. "If I were in prime minister Tusk's position, I would order anattack on the demonstrators to pay them back," Walesa, a NobelPeace prize winner said in an interview with Radio Zet. "Authoritymust be respected and chosen wisely. You should go to the polls,organize yourself. But once lawmakers are chosen, they must berespected." Monika Olejnik, the journalist interviewing Walesa noted the ironyof a Nobel peace winner advocating a beating and asked him, "ANobel peace prize laureate, a former leader of the Solidarity,would beat the leader of Solidarity?" "As a prime minister, I would have the right to do it," Walesasaid. He also said he feels that the current Solidarity leader,Piotr Duda, should be singled out for a beating and that he wouldhave liked to do it himself. "I would do it myself. I would beat him for not being able towisely arrange the political relations in a free Poland," Walesasaid. Walesa stands as one of the great freedom icons of the 20thcentury, but a five-year stint as president in the 1990s was seenas unsuccessful, in part for what critics see as, ironically, anauthoritarian personal style. He gave up his Solidarity membership in 2006, saying at the timethat he had become estranged from its leaders, who support Law andJustice, a conservative and nationalist party that is fightingTusk's pro-market reforms. I am an expert from industrialpanel-pc.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Open Frame LCD Monitor Manufacturer , Multi Port KVM Switch Manufacturer, Industrial LCD Displays,and more.
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