| Summary: | Extracts from Polish underground publications compiled and translated into English by the RFE Polish Publication Unit for broadcasting purposes. Introductions to most articles are provided by RFE staff, and items are compiled in issues based mainly on theme and date.
Emerging from the Mist / by Sejan[from: Biuletyn Międzywydawniczy, no. 5/6 (1984)]Over the last year a large number of political programs and manifestos have appeared in the underground press in Poland. This translation is part of a longer article by Sejan (presumably a pen name) published in the Warsaw "Biuletyn Międzywydawniczy" [Publishers' Bulletin] in May this year that describes 11 such programs. In the author's opinion, three types of opposition have emerged in Poland since the imposition of martial law on 13 December 1981. First, there is the Solidarity opposition that is the direct continuation of the now banned labor union; secondly, there is political opposition that distances itself from and in some cases is critical of Solidarity; and thirdly, there is legal opposition by some Catholic and social groups. This article deals only with the political opposition. The author recognizes that the picture he gives is probably incomplete and superficial. Despite some omissions, this is, nonetheless, one of the first such studies to have appeared in the underground press. Since then, the underground political monthly "Niepodleglość" [Independence] has devoted the complete June issue (no. 30) to presenting and discussing the large number of oppositional political programs, and the June issue (no. 12) of the Wrocław "Przegląd Myśli Niezależnej" [Review of Independent Thought] was also devoted to discussing what sort of program the opposition should have. The author argues that the fact that so many programs have appeared is a clear indication that the opposition is "emerging from the mist." Although the programs presented here represent very small groups, are in many cases written with an eye to the distant future, and may appear unrealistic, they are nonetheless an expression of the views of groups of people who are organized enough to be able to publish, produce, and distribute a regular underground publication. The fact that there are so many of them shows that even in what appears to many to be a hopeless situation, political discussion and a search for solutions are very much alive.
Escapism through Advance / by Dawid Warszawski[from: KOS, no. 54 (7 May 1984)]This article is a critical analysis of the increasing number of political groups and programs that have appeared in the underground. The author, writing under the pen name Dawid Warszawski, is a frequent contributor to the underground press. Warszawski does not deny the usefulness of political discussion, but he sees the danger of political groups' splitting up the underground opposition and points out that underground Solidarity is already a strong force. The article is published in the Warsaw weekly "KOS," which is the paper of the Committee for Social Resistance, a group that advocates the building of underground social structures, as opposed to political ones, independent of the authorities.
The Way of Social Resistance / by Julian Tyński[from: KOS, no. 54 (7 May 1984)]This article is a description of the ways and means, as well as the reasons behind, civil or social resistance. Its author is a proponent of such resistance, writing in the weekly publication of the Committee for Social Resistance. The publication takes its title "KOS," which also means "blackbird," from the Polish acronym for this group.
What Are Their Aims? What Is Their Struggle?[from: Tygodnik Mazowsze, no. 80/81 (22 March 1984)]Despite the fact that it is nearly six months old, this study of the development, or rather the lack of any, of the Polish United Workers' Party presents a well-documented picture of the troubles of the "leading force" in present-day Poland. All titles not specified as official in brackets are underground publications. "Tygodnik Mazowsze" is the major underground Solidarity periodical in the Warsaw area.
Independent of "Everything" / by Adam Górski[from: KOS, no. 56 (4 June 1984)]In this brief article the author explains his motives for being involved in underground oppositional activity.
|
|---|
