Polish Premier and Communist Party chief Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski said Sunday the government has declared a “state of war,” and established an army council of national salvation, Jaruzelski’s Warsaw Radio said. broadcast speech to the nation came about six hours after police occupied the Warsaw headquarters of the independent Solidarity union and began arresting Solidarity leaders in the capital. Communications to the the country from Warsaw were cut and troops appeared in Warsaw streets. Jaruzelski, who was named premier last February and became the Communist Party first secretary in October, spoke in a calm measured tone in an address to the nation that opened with the playing of the national anthem. A state of war is the official Polish equivalent to a state of emergency. Jaruzelski said the army Council of National Salvation would be empowered to run the nation. Jaruzelski said Solidarity union leaders would be “interned” as would several former party leaders blamed during the past year for leading Poland into its current crisis. “I’m speaking to all Poles,” Jaruzelski said. “Our country is on the edge of the abyss. “State structures are no longer functioning,” he said explaining that a crisis had been building and people had been preparing for a confrontation. “There is one thing that I want, peace,” Jaruzelski said. “We have to come out of the crisis by ourselves by our hands.
History would never forgive us if we failed.” “I address you police and security forces,” he said, “protect our country from our enemies and protect labor from lawlessness.’ Jaruzelski appealed to Polish workers to give up their right to strike, and urged “brother farmers” to produce more food to make up for shortages. He also appealed to women to help solve the crisis, saying “I appeal to Polish mothers, daughters and sisters, do your best so there is no more crying in Polish families. “Poland has not yet perished as long as we live,” Jaruzelski said concluding the 23-minute speech, which ended with the playing of the national anthem. Solidarity officials speaking with reporters earlier told of unusual troop and police movements and and rumors had circulated at the Solidarity meeting in Gdansk of a heavy, concentration of police around the area. The reports could not be confirmed. Solidarity offices in several towns reportedly telexed union headquarters in Gdansk earlier in the evening to report that heavy contingents of troops and police were moving toward Warsaw and Gdansk. Other union chapters, including those in Leszno, Olsztyn and Poznan reported sightings of columns of tanks moving across highways, but these reports also could not be confirmed before communications were cut.
There was other news this day, but the world was drawing its attention to Gdansk and hoping for the best as it was reported by CBS Radio Hourly News for December 13, 1981.
