Poles celebrate 25 years of freedom
23:11
As Poland celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first partially free elections after communism, the country’s president said that the country needs more reforms to continue its progress.
“It is us who can give momentum to the country, allowing for intensive development … give new quality to Polish freedom and open up a chance for the success of the second generation of Polish freedom in the next 25 years,” Bronisław Komorowski said in an address to the National Assembly, a gathering of both chambers of the Polish parliament.
Referring to the 1989 elections, the president said that he was grateful for the evolutionary, not revolutionary, road that Poland chose to freedom. Though only partially free, the elections were a smash victory for Solidarity. “It was a political knockout. Polish freedom won through a political knockout,” Komorowski said.
Earlier that day, US President Barack Obama gave a speech to the public on Warsaw’s Plac Zamkowy. “The victory of 1989 was not inevitable. It was the culmination of centuries of Polish struggle, at times in this very square,” he said.
“Poland reminds us that sometimes the smallest steps, however imperfect, can ultimately tear down walls, can ultimately transform the world,” Obama said.
The US president also stressed the 15th anniversary of Poland’s presence in NATO and assured Poles that the alliance was there to protect them. “Article 5 is clear - an attack on one is an attack on all. And as allies, we have a solemn duty - a binding treaty obligation - to defend your territorial integrity. And we will,” he said.
