Poland: 1) Possible consequences for Polish sailors who abandon ship, if they are returned to Poland; 2) Possible consequences for Polish returnees; 3) Information on Fighting Solidarity
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | POL1673 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Poland: 1) Possible consequences for Polish sailors who abandon ship, if they are returned to Poland; 2) Possible consequences for Polish returnees; 3) Information on Fighting Solidarity, 1 August 1989, POL1673, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aca288.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
l) Please find attached a response from External Affairs regarding an earlier request for information on the possible penalties faced by Polish seamen who desert Polish vessels while abroad. Note that this response is dated 21 October 1985. The Department of External Affairs desk officer could not update this answer.
2) The Department of External Affairs has informed us of recent changes to the Polish passport and visa regulations. The department states that there are no longer any restrictions nor controls on the duration of stay outside the country. In addition, there is, apparently, no longer a penalty for illegal departure or for a long stay abroad. A spokesperson for the Ottawa Polish community adds, however, that the issuance of passports can be an arbitrary process in Poland. Consequently, a person who stayed longer than the amount of time requested on their application for the exit card, or exit visa (if obtained previous to the institution to the new passport laws), may encounter difficulties in obtaining future travel documents from local authorities.
For your information a copy of the External Affairs telex regarding recent changes to the Polish passport regulations is attached.
3) The attached excerpt from a Radio Free Europe Background Report entitled "Poland's AntiCommunist Opposition After the Round Table" provides a summary of Fighting Solidarity (Solidarnosc Walczaca) activities and political platform. Staar's Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1988 adds that this organization has strong Marxist (not the Marxism-Leninism of the ruling Communist Party) overtones and calls for the "intensification" of the struggle against the Communist authorities. In addition, this source claims that the methods used by Fighting Solidarity (Solidarnosc Walczaca) are strikes, demonstrations, and boycotts. The Radio Free Europe report and the attached article from La Presse both mention that Fighting Solidarity (Solidarnosc Walczaca) boycotted the recent elections (Note that the name used in the newspaper article is Solidarité combattante).
ATTACHMENTS
Grand, Gilbert. "Entre l'apathie et l'espoir", La Presse. 14 May 1989.
Staar, Richard F. ed. Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1988. Stanford: Hoover Institution, 1988. 293.
Sabbat-Swidlicka, Anna. "Poland's Anticommunist Opposition After the Round Table", Radio Free Europe Research. 7 May 1989. 9-10.
Telex from the Department of External Affairs, Canadian Embassy in Warsaw, to the IRBDC regarding recent changes in the Polish passport regulations.
