Tomaszewski's appointment at arts academy prompts double resignation

Controversy surrounds the appointment of former deputy Prime Minister and trade union leader Janusz Tomaszewski as adviser on promotional issues to the rector of the Lodz Academy of Arts. Following the appointment two deputy rectors resigned, with unofficial reports suggesting neither of them could imagine working with Tomaszewski, an auto mechanic by training. According to rector Stanislaw Labecki, "Mr. Tomaszewski will look for sponsors and business partners, organize auctions and obtain computer equipment for us." Tomaszewski served as deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister in the Jerzy Buzek Cabinet until 1999, when he was dismissed as a result of his alleged links with the Communist-era secret police. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Nov. 17-18, p. 5) T.J.