As promised

Solidarity activists are defending Deputy Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz

As I mentioned below, Deputy Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz has been in some pretty hot water recently over statements he made accusing Poland's former Foreign Ministers of spying for the Soviets.

In response to heavy criticism of Macierewicz's un-supported accusations in the media, some of his former Solidarity colleagues sent an open letter of support to Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. It read thusly:

The authors of the letter express their trust in Minister Macierewicz, a Solidarity activist and one of the most eminent leaders of the Polish independence movement. We also have trust in the information that he said he possesses about the influence former [Soviet] agents have on the country’s current affairs and national interests.

The attack on Antoni Macierewicz is an attempt to halt actions aimed at eliminating those spies from public life and plays to the benefit of the all enemies of independence.

Eek! They're everywhere!

The information Minister Macierewicz has indicated he has, will not undermine Poland’s credibility in the international community. Countries which undertake efforts to clear their political apparatus of untrustworthy people deserve respect.

Absolutely. Say, what was that evidence again?

It is worth noting that Poland’s most influential media outlets have not bothered to analyze the minister’s statements, but instead called the information he presented untrue.

Ah, yes. I knew it. Once again, it's all the media's fault. Tell me, what were they to analyze? The accusation was simple: Most of the former Foreign Ministers were "agents of the Soviet secret services." (większość dawnych ministrów spraw zagranicznych była "agentami sowieckich służb specjalnych". ) The statement is either true or it is false. But since no evidence has been presented, how are we to analyze any further than that?

Oh yes, and isn't it the burden of the accuser to prove guilt?

The general public in Poland has the right to know the dramatic truth, so we believe that what Minister Macierewicz did was an act of patriotism intended to stress the good character of the country.

The dramatic truth: Macierewicz has no proof, and simply let loose with reckless accusations that would score him points on a politically friendly television network (Father Tadeusz Rydzyk's TV Trwam).

The same people who, back in 1992, opposed the cabinet of Jan Olszewski for its efforts to reduce the influence of post-Soviet agents, are now attacking Minister Macierewicz who is merely trying to fulfill the same goals.

The media attack against Antoni Macierewicz is in reality an attempt to halt the vetting and liquidation of the Military Information Services and to replace them by new special [secret] services.

[signed,]
Andrzej Gwiazda, Anna Walentynowicz, Joanna Duda-Gwiazda and Krzysztof Wyszkowski,

These are deeply, deeply frightened people.