[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 328 Engrossed in House (EH)]
H. Res. 328
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
July 18, 2005.
Whereas, although Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, resulted in liberty and
democracy in many nations, Poland and other countries of Central and
Eastern Europe fell behind the repressive Iron Curtain of the Soviet
Union;
Whereas for more than four decades Poland and the nations of the Soviet Bloc
struggled under authoritarian rule;
Whereas in June 1979, Pope John Paul II, the former Cardinal Karol Wojtyla,
returned to his homeland for the first time and exhorted his countrymen
to ``be not afraid'' of the Communist regime;
Whereas in July and August of 1980, Polish workers in the shipyards of Gdansk
and Szczecin went on strike to demand greater political freedom;
Whereas workers' committees, led by electrician Lech Walesa, coordinated these
strikes and ensured that the strikes were peaceful and orderly;
Whereas in August 1980, the Communist government of Poland yielded to the 21
demands of the striking workers, including the release of all political
prisoners, the broadcasting of religious services on television and
radio, and the right to establish independent trade unions;
Whereas the Communist government of Poland introduced martial law in December
1981 in an attempt to block the growing influence of the Solidarity
movement;
Whereas the Solidarity Trade Union and its 10,000,000 members became a great
social movement committed to promoting fundamental human rights,
democracy, and Polish independence from the Soviet Union;
Whereas in February 1989, the Communist government of Poland agreed to conduct
talks with the Solidarity Trade Union that led to elections to the
National Assembly in June of that year, in which nearly all open seats
were won by candidates supported by the Solidarity Trade Union, and led
soon after to the election of Poland's first non-Communist Prime
Minister in the post-war era, Mr. Tadeusz Mazowiecki;
Whereas the Solidarity movement ended communism in Poland without bloodshed,
inspiring other nations under Soviet control to do the same and playing
an important role in the fall of communism in Central and Eastern
Europe;
Whereas on November 15, 1989, Lech Walesa gave an historic speech before a joint
meeting of the United States Congress with the opening remarks ``We the
People. . .'', which stirred a standing ovation from the Members of
Congress;
Whereas on December 9, 1990, Lech Walesa was elected President of Poland;
Whereas the support of the United States and the Polish-American community was
essential to the survival and success of the Solidarity movement; and
Whereas a bond of friendship exists between the United States and Poland, which
is among the strongest allies of the United States, a contributing
partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a reliable
partner in the Global War on Terrorism, and a key contributor in Iraq
and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the workers' strikes in
Poland that led to establishment of the Solidarity Trade Union;
(2) honors the struggle and sacrifice of the citizens of Poland who
risked their lives to restore democracy to their country and to return
Poland to the democratic community of nations; and
(3) offers Poland as a model for other nations struggling to emerge
from authoritarian rule and establish a flourishing representative
government.
Attest:
Clerk.