“There are millions of us and we want changes”

A project “Solidarity Express” started in Krakow on August 26.

Poland continues to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first free elections.

On August 26, the project called “Solidarity Express” started in Krakow. The event attracted NGO activists, young politicians, students, journalists from Europe, US, South America, Iran and China. Journalists of the website www.charter97.org were invited to represent Belarus at the celebration.

“Within the frame of the “Solidarity Express” we’d like to show people all over the world the ways the Polish people had gone to be free. Victory of the people of Poland over the communism started liberation of Europe. We believe that the memory about those events and our experience can be useful for many people. First of all, for Belarus, where the human rights situation is difficult. We hope the Belarusians will also find their way to freedom,” Karolina Potocka, officer of the European Center of Solidarity, organizer of the event, told in an interview to www.charter97.org.

The 20th anniversary of the first free elections that led to fall of the communist regime in Poland coincides with the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the WWII, so the “Solidarity Express” travelled through Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk, the places connected with these historical events.

Participants of the “Solidarity Express” visited Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the Warsaw Rising Museum, the museum of Solidarity Trade Union–The Way to Freedom, the famous Gdansk Shipyard , had meetings with legendary leader of the Solidarity trade union Lech Walesa, speaker of the Senate of Poland Bogdan Borusiewicz, Polish MEP Roza Tun, director of the Communism Museum, artist and writer, who published underground literature in the 1980ies, author of the poster “Cardiogram of Solidarity” Czeslaw Bolecki and other activists of the Resistance.

Speaking to the participants of the “Solidarity Express”, Lech Walesa said about the conditions that had gave birth to the workers’ movement in Poland, about communist repressions against Solidarity movement activists, but emphasized that only courage, confidence, selflessness of the people struggling for freedom and independence of Poland led to free elections in Poland and victory of Solidarity in 1989.

“The authorities tried to convince there were few of us, we were not united, but we knew – there were millions of us and we wanted changes. This belief helped us during the years of struggle. And we won. My generation fought for a possibility of changes, for a possibility of development. Now it’s time for the youth to act. I’d like to transfer you the right to perform my mission,” the former president of Poland said.

Lech Walesa met with journalists of www.charter97.org. An exclusive interview with the leader of the Polish Solidarity movement will appear on the website later.