President Kwasniewski hints that he will veto restitution legislation

President Aleksander Kwasniewski during a recently aired television talk show all but said he would veto the highly controversial restitution bill, which comes up for a final vote in the Sejm this Wednesday. The president indicated that the legislation is not needed, stating that individuals seeking to recover property wrongfully confiscated under the Communists or during World War II would be better served by addressing their grievances in Poland's courts. Lawmakers late last week were due to cast a final vote on the law, but the session was adjourned early when a dispute erupted over how voting should proceed with several proposed changes to the law that would limit eligibility to property owners and their families registered as Polish nationals as of Dec. 31, 1999. The Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) are expected to vote against extending eligibility to individuals who were not Polish citizens as of the end of 1999, while the Solidary Election Action (AWS) is thought to favor more liberal legislation entitling all individuals, regardless of nationality at present, to make restitutive claims. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.1, Rzeczpospolita, p.A1-5) M.T.