National security and social unrest as presented in “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Tygodnik Solidarność” after elections of 4 June 1989

The agreements of the Round Table opened the path to freedom and allowed to have a partially free parliamentary election which took place at 4 and 18 June 1989. The candidates of the Civic Committee of the “Solidarity” received all but one seats which they could fight for in this Parliamentary election. Both the authorities and the activists of the “Solidarity” were surprised by such an impressive victory. However, it aroused fears of national security due to the presence of the Soviet army at the territory of our country, of public security due to the economic situation and of honouring the agreements of the Round Table by the authorities. These fears were reflected in the discussions held in “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Tygodnik Solidarność” (the official press of the “Solidarity” movement). This article applies an analysis of the press and a comparative analysis in order to answer the question about the diagnosis of a threat to national security and proposed counteractions. It allowed to draw the conclusion that the discussions held in official “Solidarity” newspapers had a significant influence on the decision making in the transformation period in Poland.

Keywords: national security, social unrest, parliamentary elections of June 1989, 4 June 1989, system transformation

Porozumienie Okrągłego Stołu otworzyło „okno ku wolności” i umożliwiło przeprowadzenie w Polsce kontraktowych wyborów, które odbyły się 4 i 18 czerwca 1989 roku. Kandydaci Komitetu Obywatelskiego „Solidarność” zdobyli niemal wszystkie (za wyjątkiem 1) mandaty, o które mogli starać się w wyborach do Sejmu i Senatu. Tak ogromne zwycięstwo było zaskoczeniem zarówno dla władz, jak i działaczy „Solidarności”. Rodziło jednak obawy o bezpieczeństwo państwa związane z obecnością wojsk Związku Radzieckiego na terytorium naszego kraju, bezpieczeństwo społeczne związane z sytuacją gospodarczą oraz dotrzymanie przez władze okrągłostołowego kontraktu. Miały one odzwierciedlenie w debatach toczonych na łamach oficjalnej prasy solidarnościowej, tj. „Gazeta Wyborcza” i „Tygodnik Solidarność”. W tym artykule zastosowano metodę analizy prasy oraz analizę porównawczą w celu odpowiedzi na pytanie o diagnozy zagrożeń bezpieczeństwa państwa oraz propozycje ich przeciwdziałania. Umożliwiło to wyciągnięcie wniosku, że debaty toczone na łamach oficjalnej prasy „Solidarnościowej” miały istotny wpływ na podejmowane decyzje w okresie transformacji systemowej w Polsce.

The agreements of the Round Table opened the path to freedom and allowed to have a partially free parliamentary election which took place at 4 and 18 June 1989. The candidates of the Civic Committee of the “Solidarity” received all but one seats which they could fight for in this Parliamentary election. Both the authorities and the activists of the “Solidarity” were surprised by such an impressive victory. However, it aroused fears of national security due to the presence of the Soviet army at the territory of our country, of public security due to the economic situation and of honouring the agreements of the Round Table by the authorities. These fears were reflected in the discussions held in “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Tygodnik Solidarność” (the official press of the “Solidarity” movement). This article applies an analysis of the press and a comparative analysis in order to answer the question about the diagnosis of a threat to national security and proposed counteractions. It allowed to draw the conclusion that the discussions held in official “Solidarity” newspapers had a significant influence on the decision making in the transformation period in Poland.