Polish internees offered choice of voluntary exile

Press, 5 March 1982, Page 6

Polish internees offered choice of voluntary exile

NZPA-Reuter Warsaw Polish authorities have announced that internees seized under martial law can go into voluntary political exile in the West, and that cultural and tourist trips abroad will be allowed to resume. Informed sources said yesterday’s announcement by the Internal Affairs Ministry was designed to siphon off the hard core of anti-Com-munist Party dissidents and union activists among those detained since the imposition of military rule on December 13.

The Interior Minister (General Czeslaw Kiszczak) told the official news agency, Pap, at the week-end that 4095 people remained in interment camps across Poland as of February 26. Another 2500 had been released.

Yesterday’s internal affairs announcement said that from March 15 internees who wanted to leave Poland permanently could apply to the passport authorities for

travel documents for them and their families.

The Ministry’s passport office said that Poles would be able to travel to the West in organised tourist groups for international festivals or sports events. The passport office also listed new regulations relaxing travel restrictions for Poles wanting to. go to other East European countries and for foreigners visiting Poland. Travel facilities for Polish tourists to other Communist East European States would be restored and trips would be organised by travel agencies, it said. Foreign tourists would be allowed into Poland with a visa, arranging travel through Polish travel agencies. Informed sources who have regular contacts inside Poland’s internment camps said they doubted that many internees would be prepared to take up the Government's offer of permanent exile.

The announcement of the new measures came the day after the military leader, (General Wojciech Jaruzelski) returned from a two-day trip to Moscow where he received a hero’s welcome and full Kremlin support for martial law. Diplomats in Moscow said that General Jaruzelski had given a pledge to Soviet leaders that he would not hesitate to stamp out any resurgence of the militant activity by Solidarity trade unionists which led to the imposition of military rule. In Geneva the International Labour Organisation yesterday rejected Poland’s explanations for suppressing Solidarity, and called on Warsaw to restore the movement as quickly as possible. A Polish Labour Ministry team told the 1.L.0.’s direc-tor-general two weeks ago that martial law was needed to avoid civil war and prevent the collapse of the economy.