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. '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. "A recent poll has shown that the vast majority of Poles are against demoting generals. 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.
Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoes a bill that would have demoted all communist-era military officers who served between 1944 and 1990 to private.