World Notes Poland

The Polish flag last week became a heartbreaking symbol of the profound differences dividing the country. In the port city of Gdansk a few hundred people joined the official May Day parade and unfurled a long banner proclaiming SOLIDARITY IS FIGHTING. Suddenly flag-carrying onlookers, in reality plainclothes police, waded into the intruders, using the flagstaffs as clubs. They were quickly followed by ZOMO riot police and water cannons. Later in the day, other illegal demonstrations turned into full-blown street fights between young protesters and ZOMO; scores were injured.

In Warsaw 7,000 Solidarity supporters gathered outside the church of St. Stanislaw Kostka, where Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the priest murdered last year by security police, once preached and now lies buried. This time there was no violence. They marched for almost two hours until riot police blocked their progress. On Friday the Polish government expelled two American diplomats, William Harwood, a first secretary of the U.S. embassy in Warsaw, and David Hopper, the consul in Cracow. The diplomats, accused of participating in a protest outside Cracow, insisted they were merely observers. In retaliation, Washington expelled four Polish diplomats.