Going Just Part of the Way

Jaruzelski prepares to lift martial law, though only on paper

After a flurry of hints and a flutter of hopes, the end seemed imminent at last. Ever since Pope John Paul II left his homeland three weeks ago, officials have been suggesting that martial law would soon be lifted. Once the Politburo had endorsed the move last week, the Polish parliament held a special one-day session. Its purpose: to consider a battery of constitutional amendments and laws that would accompany the repeal. General Wojciech Jaruzelski could formally announce the end of martial law, after 19 agonizing months, as soon as July 22, when Poles celebrate their national day.

The move, however, is less dramatic than it may at first seem. According to the provisions discussed by parliament, military rule will end in name but not in spirit. In some respects, the government's ability to deal with dissidents will be strengthened. New restrictions will make it almost impossible to strike legally. The ban on the independent Solidarity union will remain, leaving former Leader Lech Walesa a "private citizen" and many other Solidarity activists in prison or in hiding.

In addition, one of the four constitutional amendments proposed last week will give the Premier the right to declare a state of emergency whenever he detects a threat "due to internal factors." A bill that parliament is expected to approve this week broadens censorship. Another one gives the Interior Ministry, which controls the police, explicit authority to tap telephones, draw up voting lists and even, on occasion, replace regular policemen with a special detachment of armed troops. Says an unemployed art instructor who has participated in most of the street demonstrations in Warsaw since December 1981: "The new set of laws legalizes the brutality that we have been subject to, while removing the rallying point, martial law, against which people have been protesting."

The government's decision may have been facilitated by the papal visit. Although thousands of Poles used the pilgrimage to demonstrate their support for Solidarity, the Jaruzelski government was pleased that John Paul's journey passed without a major incident and that the Pope refrained from giving the outlawed labor union his explicit blessing. The government's new policy was calculated to tempt Western nations to relax the economic sanctions that they had imposed after the enactment of martial law. Jaruzelski also hopes to encourage the U.S. and West European governments to be more cooperative in helping Poland reschedule its $26 billion foreign debt.

The Reagan Administration is reacting cautiously to the expected change. Only last month the President declared that "if the Polish government takes meaningful, liberalizing measures, we are prepared to take equally significant and concrete steps of our own." But the U.S. has stressed that it will not make major concessions unless a significant number of prisoners is released. That may not happen: officials in Washington believe more than 4,000 political prisoners are still in detention; Warsaw acknowledges only 200. Last week the Administration suggested that it might allow Poland to recover some of the fishing rights in U.S. waters that were rescinded after the declaration of martial law. "If the Poles go part way," said a State Department official, "we will go part way." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.