Defense Minister reveals documents showing army's role in 1980 strike

Defense Minister Bronislaw Komorowski has disclosed the contents of secret military documents dating back to the period of strikes in August 1980. In an interview with journalists he said, "My decision will help the army to ease its burden of responsibility for involvement in politics." According to Komorowski, the documents prove that the army rendered logistical, supply and propaganda assistance to the then authorities. He admitted that an operational group had been formed to prepare plans for taking action against society. In other revelations, the documents show that during the August strike, on the orders of army chief of staff Florian Siwicki, the army hired out to the police 16 heavy transporters, provided accommodation to a police troop, and prepared to carry further troops by air. The printing house belonging to the navy printed 80,000 propaganda leaflets and caricatures mimicking the style of the underground press, which were dropped on the Sopot-Gdansk-Gdynia conurbation. "This is the last conference at which I will disclose Defense Ministry documents," said Komorowski. "I hope that my successor will reveal documents from December 1981," he concluded. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 5) P.W.