Lepper fails to meet prosecutor, warns Prime Minister of social unrest

Samoobrona leader Andrzej Lepper failed to appear before the Warsaw prosecutor yesterday to answer accusations of slander. The charges relate to comments Lepper made about five members of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and Civic Platform (PO). Spokesperson for the prosecutor's office Katarzyna Konwerska-Grzeskowiak said Lepper's absence was justified, after learning that he had gone to the city of Kielce for the opening of a Samoobrona office. Also yesterday, Lepper attended a meeting between Samoobrona representatives and Prime Minister Leszek Miller, at which high on the agenda were the issues of European integration and unemployment. "We are not satisfied with the talks because we did not hear anything concrete," Lepper commented afterwards. He added that Samoobrona wanted to warn the Prime Minister that social dissatisfaction was increasing and that he should not be surprised when people took to the streets. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 5; Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) P.J.