POLISH PEASANT LEADER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26176, 12 June 1946, Page 6

POLISH PEASANT LEADER

RECENT SPEECH CENSORED SECRET POLICE ATTACKED LONDON, June 10. The Warsaw correspondent of the Associated Press transmits a summary of a speech delivered by M. Mikolajczyk before the Polish Peasant Party’s General Council on May 26. It has not yet been published even in the Peasant Party newspapers, owing, it is believed, to censorship. Attacking what he described as the terrorist activities of Poland’s secret police, M. Mikolajczyk challenged his enemies to have the courage to throw him and his party out of the Provisional Government of National Unity. “We entered the Government to carry out among other objectives, elections as early as possible,” he said. “We jointly are responsible, having undertaken an obligation before the nation and before foreign countries.” The General Council, after hearing M. Mikolajczyk, renewed its demands that the Government should fix the date for the elections before the referendum is held on June 30. The Government, however, has declared * that the elections will be held some time in the autumn.

M. Mikolajczyk also said: “Whoever examines Polish reality will see that there are moments when the rifle and not the law decides. It is we who have rifles pointed at our breasts from two sides. It is we, the unarmed, who have only a while balloting card as a means of combat.”