Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed a law that allowed for communist-era officers who served in the military between 1944 and 1990 to be stripped of their rank.

Duda, who is an ally of the country's right-wing government, argued that the bill was not fair as it would not have allowed the demoted officers, many of whom are dead, to defend themselves.

"It was certainly a violation of democratic standards of the state," Duda said.

'Surprised and disappointed'

The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), which critics have said wants to erase the legacy of post-war, Soviet-dominated communist rule, was "surprised and disappointed," the party spokeswoman Beata Mazurek said.

The proposed law would have allowed for communist-era generals and other high-ranking officers to be stripped of their ranks and reduced to the rank of private.

Duda said the law wrongly applied to all former members of the infamous Military Council of National Salvation (WRON), which was responsible for imposing martial law in Poland in 1981, since not everyone played an active role in the council's decisions.

One of them was Gen. Miroslaw Hermaszewski, Poland's only astronaut. Hermaszewski, who is seen as a national hero, was drafted onto the council in 1981 without his knowledge or consent and discharged from it after two weeks.

Read more: Opinion: Poland attempting damage control on anti-Semitism issues

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Eye on re-election

Duda's rejection of the bill may be seen as a bid to improve his chances for re-election in 2020 at a time when the ruling PiS, his ally, is witnessing a drastic drop in popularity.

Support for PiS fell 12 percentage points over one month in a poll published on Thursday.

"One has to remember that a president who wants to win in the first or second round has to win many more votes than the ruling party in a general election," said Rafal Chwedoruk, a political scientist from Warsaw University.

"A recent poll has shown that the vast majority of Poles are against demoting generals. ... The majority of PiS voters from villages and small towns accepted the decision on imposing martial law," Chwedoruk said.

ap/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>Poland’s president has vetoed a bill that would have made it possible for authorities to strip communist-era officers of their ranks.

Andrzej Duda said Friday the bill was not just because it did not offer any possibility for those demoted to defend themselves.

The bill had allowed for communist-era generals and other high-ranking officers to be demoted to the rank of privates for their roles in the Moscow-imposed regime that lasted from 1944-1990 and in the repressive crackdown imposed by communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 that killed around 100 dissidents.

Supporters see the law as an act of justice, but opponents describe it as vengeful. Recent polls showed it was not popular.</s>Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed a law introduced by the governing conservatives that paved the way for communist-era officers to be demoted.

According to the legislation, which parliament passed this month, anyone who served in the military from 1943 to 1990 and acted against national interest -- both those currently alive and dead -- may be stripped of his or her rank.

Duda said he blocked the law because it does not offer any legal recourse to the individuals in question, nor if they have already died, to their descendents.

He added that the legislation applied to all former members of the communist party's infamous WRON council, which was responsible for imposing martial law in Poland in 1981, even though not everyone played an active role.

Certain members, like astronaut and General Miroslaw Hermaszewski, were mainly recruited to improve the council's image.

"From an ethical point of view, this is a serious lapse in the law," Duda told reporters, adding that he was sending the legislation back to parliament.

Calling his veto a "difficult decision," Duda added that he generally agreed with the idea behind the legislation but could not accept it as is.

Notable targets of the law include the late communist leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski and his interior minister General Czeslaw Kiszczak, who has also since died.

The pair were architects of the 1981 martial law edict, which sought to counter a wave of strikes and protests, led by the free trade union Solidarity, that threatened the regime.

Running to 1983, the period was marked by the arrests and prosecution of thousands, as well as the death of striking coal miners by paramilitary police.

The two generals eventually surrendered power under the so-called round table agreement with Solidarity in 1989 -- an act that helped trigger the downfall of communist regimes across eastern Europe that year.

They retired from public life. They were prosecuted but were never punished for the regime's crimes.</s>WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s president vetoed a bill Friday that would have made it possible for authorities to strip communist-era officers of their ranks.

Andrzej Duda argued that bill was not fair because it would not have allowed those deprived of their ranks, some now dead, to defend themselves.

“It was certainly a violation of democratic standards of the state,” Duda said.

He also noted that the people are closely watching whether the rule of law is being observed in Poland, a reference to European Union concerns about changes to Poland’s judicial system.

The ruling party, Law and Justice, which has made punishing former communists a keystone of its program, was “surprised and disappointed,” the party spokeswoman Beata Mazurek said.

Supporters viewed the legislation as an act of justice, but opponents described it as vengeful. A recent poll showed that it was not popular.

The bill had allowed for communist-era generals and other high-ranking officers to be demoted to the rank of privates for their roles in the Moscow-imposed regime that lasted from 1944-1990 and in a repressive crackdown imposed by communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 that killed around 100 dissidents.

It would also have affected Poland’s only cosmonaut, Gen. Miroslaw Hermaszewski, 76 — something many people found objectionable.</s>WARSAW, March 30 (Reuters) - Poland's president Andrzej Duda, an ally of the right-wing government, on Friday vetoed a law that would demote Communist military officers who were responsible for introducing martial law in 1981.

"I refuse to sign this bill and I am sending it back to parliament to discuss it again," Duda said in a televised address, describing it as unfair.

The bill would have reduced to the rank of private those generals and military officers who served on the military council which ran Poland during communist times from December 1981 until July 1983, many of who are now deceased.

They would have had no right of appeal.

Duda's move may be seen as a bid to improve his chances for re-election in 2020. Support for the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), his ally, fell 12 percentage points over one month in a poll published on Thursday.

"One has to remember that a president who wants to win in the first or second round has to win much more votes than the ruling party in a general election," Rafal Chwedoruk, a political scientist from Warsaw University, said.

"A recent poll has shown that the vast majority of Poles are against demoting generals. ... The number of PiS voters from villages and small towns accepted the decision on imposing martial law," Chwedoruk said.

The PiS has made much of its efforts to erase the legacy of four decades of post-war Soviet-dominated communist rule and restore what it considers to be Poland's true identity - even though some leading PiS figures are former communists.

The law would demote to the rank of private members of the Military Council of National Salvation (WRON), led by the late generals Wojciech Jaruzelski and Czeslaw Kiszczak.

But it would also demote 77-year-old Miroslaw Hermaszewski, Poland's only astronaut, one of the few WRON members still alive, who was drafted onto the council in 1981 without his knowledge or consent, and discharged from it after two weeks.

Hermaszewski spent almost eight days on board the Soviet Salyut space station in 1978, and is still seen as a national hero, also by PiS voters.</s>Poland’s president Andrzej Duda has vetoed a law that would have demoted officials involved in the imposition of martial law in Poland 37 years ago, in his latest clash with the ruling Law and Justice party.

The bill, passed by parliament this month, is part of broader efforts by Law and Justice to erase the legacy of communism in Poland. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party’s veteran leader, believes communist figures have not been adequately held to account for their actions during decades of authoritarian rule.

The legislation would have demoted officials on the communist-era military council that ran Poland from late 1981 until July 1983, including now-deceased generals such as Wojciech Jaruzelski, who headed the council, and Czeslaw Kiszczak, who was interior minister at the time.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Duda said that while he believed in the bill’s symbolic importance as a way of “closing the chapter” on the country’s communist past, he considered it unfair as it did not allow those affected – some of whom are still alive – to appeal.

“We cannot restore justice in Poland while at the same time introducing unfair solutions,” he said. “I would not want a law to be enacted which ... would divide our society instead of being accepted with understanding.”

A Law and Justice spokeswoman said the party was “surprised and disappointed” by Mr Duda’s decision. Antoni Macierewicz, a hardline former defence minister who has frequently clashed with Mr Duda, told Radio WNET that the move was “the latest step in the very wrong direction we have been [going] in recent months”.

As president, Mr Duda is constitutionally a non-partisan figure, but he was backed by Law and Justice in his bid for election in 2015, and did not veto any of the government’s legislation during the first two years of his term.

However he began to play a more independent role last year, most notably by vetoing two laws that formed a key part of Law and Justice’s controversial attempt to reform the judiciary, a move that provoked fury among the party’s leaders.

Observers said his latest move could be part of an effort to bolster his standing among non-Law and Justice voters before the next presidential election, due in 2020.

“If Duda wants to win another term, he needs to get 50 per cent of the vote. The support of one party is not enough,” said Michal Szuldrzynski, a political commentator from the Rzeczpospolita newspaper. “He also has to appeal to other voters.”

However, Mr Szuldrzynski said Mr Duda’s veto could also help Poland avoid further trouble with the EU in its protracted dispute over the rule of law, arguing that given the lack of an appeals procedure, the demotion bill would have been viewed as incompatible with EU legislation.

“This is the second time that Duda has helped Law and Justice out of a difficult position. The first time was last summer: before he vetoed the judicial reform, there were huge protests, but by the time the amended version went through, the protests were much smaller,” he said. “This is similar: this law would have been seen as a breach by European courts, and he has given Law and Justice a chance to change it.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2018
Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoes a bill that would have demoted all communist-era military officers who served between 1944 and 1990 to private.