This is EXACTLY what we should have demanded with the "fall" of the Soviet Union and all the resulting countries, ESPECIALLY Russia. Much like the "Denazification" of Germany following WWII...

Polish Government Wants 'Decommunization' Law
The ruling Law and Justice is pressing for creating legislation on 'decommunization'. The purpose of the new law is to rid public and political life in Poland of the remnants of Communist influence still to be found, believes the government, in many areas of public life.

These former Communist 'apparatchiks' have not only swiftly and painlessly entered Poland's democratic ranks, but have also been reaping considerable financial profits from the country's economic transformations, passing in silence over their abrupt change in orientation. The Law and Justice parliamentarians claim that it's high time to cut them off from influencing public life.

The proposed law is to encompass those who had held important posts in Communist party ranks since July 1944 when the first parts of Polish territory had been liberated from Nazi war occupation by the Soviets, till June 1989 when the Round Table conference with the then Solidarity opposition put an end to absolute Communist rule in Poland. Its authors claim it is important to create a legal barrier for former Communist party activists even 17 years after the fall of Communism. However, Jan Litynski, a prominent Solidarity advisor and former post-1989 MP of the Freedom Union has some doubts.

'I think it is impossible to implement it without breaking the constitutional law, because it's impossible to forbid people their activities, which were not criminal activities, to forbid them to be candidates for parliament, for example.'

Political commentator Andrzej Krajewski has reservations as to the scope and effectively of this envisaged legislation.

'First of all, it will be effective in every narrow sense. Time goes by and people who may be affected by it are usually in their fifties or even pensioners. So, the danger that they will hold any important positions - not elected posts, but nominated ones - is small. The second thing is it may only affect government positions.'

Will the proposed Decommunization Law put an end to squaring accounts with Poland's Communist past as had been the case with former East Germany and Czechoslovakia? Jan Litynski.

'I doubt whether it's possible to draw such a line. Polish people lived in a Communist country, but it was a Polish country. It's all very complicated.'

Andrzej Krajewski says that by only looking into the past Poland cannot solve other important problems it is and shall be facing.

'It seems that under the current coalition, first of all the Law and Justice party, the ruling people in Poland are obsessed with the past claiming many things have been hidden. Very likely, there will be a constant flow of new documents and new revelations the media are hungry for. So, unfortunately, this could be going on forever. And the problem is the more we know about the past, the less we are interested in thinking about the future.'

Nevertheless, the Law and Justice legislators are eager to commence speedy work on the Decommunization Law, hoping to put a ready concept for parliamentary vote within a month. The problem could be that many House members with a Communist party past might not be interested in backing the proposition. And that includes persons from the ruling coalition itself, mainly from Self Defense.