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Jaruzelski funeral divides Poles

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 28.05.2014 08:30
  • Jaruzelski funeral divides Poles. John Beauchamp reports.
Warsaw City Hall has announced that General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who died at the weekend, will have a military burial at noon on Friday May 30.

General
General Wojciech Jaruzelski declaring martial law, 1981: Photo: PAP archive

Bartosz Milarczyk, spokesman for Warsaw city hall told Polish Radio that there were no barriers for the General to be buried at the military cemetary, saying “the chief requirements stipulate that the person must have held the highest state functions and also be decorated with the highest state orders.”

“Since General Jaruzelski was the president of the Republic of Poland and was also awarded state orders, these requirements were a mere formality.”

But as John Beauchamp reports, ahead of the City Hall’s decision, there were calls to give General Jaruzelski a state funeral.

General Jaruzelski was, and still is, an infamous figure in Polish history. His imposition of martial law in 1981 has divided Poles: while some say he was a traitor of the Polish people, others believe that he saved Poland from Soviet invasion following unrest in Poland at the time.

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