Foes Don't Let Foes Keep Secrets

Solidarity sweetheart and former Polish president, Lech Walesa, whose iconic moustache toppled Poland's communist government in the late 80s, has thrown upon the file on his past, challenging his critics to find evidence of communist collaboration. Making public 500 pages of files kept on him by Poland's former secret police, Walesa hopes to put an end to the endless accusations levelled at him by former colleagues who have accused him of being a puppet of the secret services and shielding ex-communists from justice. Walesa has tirelessly ridiculed such claims, winning several court cases in the process. Now he has published his own file on his blog (www.mojageneracja.pl/1980), telling Reuters, "I got sick and tired of the constant accusations, doubts and insinuations being peddled by these people and decided to publish these materials for all to see."

Poland's is one of the only former communist countries who has not made their communist-era files public yet. In typical Walesa fashion, Lech seems to have tossed his files to the public without having the fortitude to review them first: "I realise those papers may also raise some doubts about me, so I will have to clarify them, but I decided to go for broke and publish them without reading them." One of his most unflinching critics, Anna Walentynowicz, when asked to comment by news channel TVN24 said: "I have nothing to say about that traitor and agent." She then hung up.