Poland's former president and Solidarity union leader Lech Walesa will publicly defend himself against allegations that he was in league with the Soviet era communist police, the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) said Monday.
Marcin Weglinski, a spokesman for the IPN, told AFP that the debate which was requested by Walesa himself will be held on March 16 in the northern city of Gdansk.
At the request of Walesa, the institute invited the Nobel Peace laureate's main critics: historians Slawomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, as well as far-right filmmaker Grzegorz Braun, who has sought out former Polish secret police (SB) agents.
Weglinski said the invitees have yet to confirm their presence.
The IPN, which is in charge of investigating Nazi and communist-era crimes, has also previously accused Walesa of SB involvement.
Walesa told the institute that he has been steadily smeared in the media for his alleged collaboration with the secret police and wanted to clear his name.
In 1992, former interior minister Antoni Macierewicz published a list of 60 suspected SB agents, including big names in Polish politics. Walesa was listed as working under the codename "Bolek", but the politician has always said that any accusations of collaboration are "absurd".
In 2000, a special vetting court cleared Walesa of allegations of collaboration, but accusations and rumours continue to plague Poland's first post-communism president.
In 2010, Walesa lost a defamation case against a journalist who accused him of being a spy for the SB.
He also filed a case against former president Lech Kaczynski, who claimed Walesa collaborated with the SB. Walesa withdrew the case after Kaczynski died in a plane crash in 2010.
Poland’s former president and Solidarity union leader Lech Walesa will publicly defend himself against allegations that he was in league with the Soviet era communist police, the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) said Monday.
Marcin Weglinski, a spokesman for the IPN, told AFP that the debate which was requested by Walesa himself will be held on March 16 in the northern city of Gdansk.
At the request of Walesa, the institute invited the Nobel Peace laureate’s main critics: historians Slawomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, as well as far-right filmmaker Grzegorz Braun, who has sought out former Polish secret police (SB) agents.
Weglinski said the invitees have yet to confirm their presence.
The IPN, which is in charge of investigating Nazi and communist-era crimes, has also previously accused Walesa of SB involvement.
Walesa told the institute that he has been steadily smeared in the media for his alleged collaboration with the secret police and wanted to clear his name.
In 1992, former interior minister Antoni Macierewicz published a list of 60 suspected SB agents, including big names in Polish politics. Walesa was listed as working under the codename “Bolek”, but the politician has always said that any accusations of collaboration are “absurd”.
In 2000, a special vetting court cleared Walesa of allegations of collaboration, but accusations and rumours continue to plague Poland’s first post-communism president.
In 2010, Walesa lost a defamation case against a journalist who accused him of being a spy for the SB.
He also filed a case against former president Lech Kaczynski, who claimed Walesa collaborated with the SB. Walesa withdrew the case after Kaczynski died in a plane crash in 2010.
