Walesa on anniversary of Solidarity: Freedom worth any price

Poland's Solidarity hero Lech Walesa has told his countrymen that any price, including the pain accompanying economic reforms, was worth paying for the freedom they have enjoyed since the overthrow of communism. Addressing a special session of parliament marking the 25th anniversary of the birth of Solidarity on Monday, Walesa praised the role of communist East Europe's first independent trade union in changing Poland and ending the post-1945 division of Europe.

Representatives of 30 governments, human rights activists and historians are gathering in Poland this week to commemorate the 1980 strike led by Walesa, then an electrician, in the Gdansk shipyard, the cradle of Solidarity.

The two-week strike by shipyard workers ended on August 31, after the communist authorities allowed the creation of an independent union, the first breach in the monopoly of power held by the communist rulers of an East European state.

"The role of Solidarity in the downfall of communism was enormous because it showed the world that workers do not like communism," said Richard Pipes, a U.S. historian and adviser to late U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Nearly a decade later Solidarity took power, sparking the collapse of communism across the Soviet bloc. Walesa was Polish president from 1990 to 1995, a period of turbulence and change.

The legacy of Solidarity and Walesa has been under attack in recent years, mainly by populist parties tapping into discontent after 15 years of painful economic reforms.