The nation mourns the death of Jacek Kuroń

After a long fight for life, Jacek Kuroń died yesterday, aged 70, in a Warsaw hospital. Born in 1934, he was a politician whose input in creating an independent Poland was immense. During the communist period, the authorities considered him "public enemy number 1" as he was a prominent member of the opposition since the 1960's. In 1968 he was one of the leaders of the Warsaw student protest, in 1976 he was a founder of the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR) that challenged the communists. In the 1980s his fate was close wound to the Solidarity movement and after 1989, he became a member of the parliament and served as a minister twice. Kuroń was also known for his commitment to solving social problems. The Sejm held a one minute silence in his memory. His great contribution to Poland has been commented on by every leading politician from left to right, and it is these comments that fill the pages of the two main dailies (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1-A5; Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1-7) D.W.