Ep. 577: Protecting Democracy
Guest: Lech Walesa, former president of Poland
On December 13th, 1981, the government of Poland declared martial law. It outlawed the Solidarity Federation of Unions and threw its leader Lech Walesa in jail. He was detained for a year before being released. Once out, he continued the fight against the oppressive rule of the Polish government. Walesa was forced underground to continue to protest against the harsh economic conditions in Poland.
In 1988, labour unrest led by Walesa forced the government to restore Solidarity’s legal status and to sanction free elections for a limited number of seats. Solidarity won an overwhelming majority of seats. Walesa went on to become the first democratically elected President of the country.
Walesa was a towering international figure who stared down the barrel of a gun and demanded an end to the communist rule in Poland. Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said, “Solidarity and Walesa were the spark that lit the fuse which ultimately brought down what Ronald Reagan called the ‘Evil Empire’ of Soviet Communism.”
We invited Lech Walesa, who is on a speaking tour in North America (including Vancouver), to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the current prospects for peace, leadership, democracy, and the challenges facing the world today.
