Wojciech Jaruzelski

Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski appeared in court Tuesday to face charges of ordering Polish troops to fire on striking shipyard workers during 1970 demonstrations that left at least 44 protesters dead and hundreds wounded. Jaruzelski, 77, who has been living in comfortable retirement, walked into the courtroom here with steady steps but using a cane, wearing his trademark tinted glasses and looking straight ahead.

Poland's last communist leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, refused to answer questions at his trial over the fatal shooting of protesting shipyard workers in 1970. Jaruzelski is accused of ordering soldiers to fire at workers protesting price increases in December 1970. At least 44 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the Baltic coast cities of Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin and Elblag.

Testifying for the first time at his murder trial, Poland's former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski denied Thursday that he ordered troops to fire on striking shipyard workers during 1970 protests. "The charges against me are groundless," Jaruzelski, 78, told the court. "The indictment contains fundamental loopholes, pure mistakes, manipulations and even pure lies.

Testifying for the first time at his murder trial, Poland's former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski denied Thursday that he ordered troops to fire on striking shipyard workers during 1970 protests. "The charges against me are groundless," Jaruzelski, 78, told the court. "The indictment contains fundamental loopholes, pure mistakes, manipulations and even pure lies.

Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, facing murder charges in the crushing of 1970 labor strikes, suffered two legal setbacks Thursday when a judge rejected efforts to delay the trial and refused to allow defense attorneys to quit. The judge ordered the formal trial to begin today and barred Jaruzelski's lawyers from stepping down until new attorneys are in place.

Poland's leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, will visit Cuba later this month, the official Cuban news agency said.

Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski will pay an official visit to the Soviet Union from April 11 to 14, the official news agency Tass said Thursday.

Roman Catholic Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia met with Poland's leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, for private talks Wednesday. The cardinal's parents lived in a village in southern Poland before emigrating to the United States.

Foreign Minister Stefan Olszowski, a hard-liner who opposed the relatively moderate policies of Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski, resigned from the Communist Party Politburo and is expected to give up his Cabinet post today. Olszowski, 54, challenged Jaruzelski's leadership and demanded tougher measures against dissidents and the Roman Catholic Church.

Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt held talks Saturday with Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski and later urged European nations to act independently despite ties to the Soviet and North Atlantic blocs. The talks, three days after Jaruzelski's controversial meeting in Paris with French President Francois Mitterrand, were seen as an attempt to bolster the Polish regime's campaign for acceptance and economic support in the West.

A Polish court Friday postponed the murder trial of the country's last Communist leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, over the killing of 44 protesting shipyard workers in 1970. It was the latest of several delays in the prosecution's efforts to hold the elderly general and his Communist comrades responsible for the violent suppression of a popular revolt that ultimately led to the end of Communist rule in Poland.

Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, facing murder charges in the crushing of 1970 labor strikes, suffered two legal setbacks Thursday when a judge rejected efforts to delay the trial and refused to allow defense attorneys to quit. The judge ordered the formal trial to begin today and barred Jaruzelski's lawyers from stepping down until new attorneys are in place.

Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski appeared in court Tuesday to face charges of ordering Polish troops to fire on striking shipyard workers during 1970 demonstrations that left at least 44 protesters dead and hundreds wounded. Jaruzelski, 77, who has been living in comfortable retirement, walked into the courtroom here with steady steps but using a cane, wearing his trademark tinted glasses and looking straight ahead.

Former Communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski went on trial for the 1970 shooting deaths of 44 shipyard workers who were taking part in mass protests against food price increases. Jaruzelski, 73, was Polish defense minister in 1970 and is charged with issuing the orders to shoot at workers in Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Elblag. More than 1,000 people were wounded in the attacks, which fueled worker discontent that crystallized later in the Solidarity trade union movement.

Erich Honecker. The hard-line East German Communist leader who supervised construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 was toppled from power in October, 1989. He fled to Moscow in early 1990 but was returned to Germany the following year to face trial for killings at the Wall. Suffering from cancer, his trial was terminated on health grounds in early 1993 with no verdict. He flew immediately to Chile to spend his final months with his daughter. He died in Santiago in May at age 81. Egon Krenz, 57.

Defeated presidential candidate Stanislaw Tyminski said he has received permission to leave Poland. He said he plans to return temporarily to his family in Canada. Tyminski, who had been ordered to remain in the country pending investigation of slander charges stemming from the campaign, said he was required to post a $100,000 bond before he could leave. Meanwhile, the outgoing president, Gen.

Government and party leader Wojciech Jaruzelski and Cardinal Josef Glemp met today for the first time in 18 months to discuss tense church-state relations. The official Polish news agency PAP said they "discussed the principles of shaping state-church relations and significant issues of public life." Glemp refused to comment to reporters when he returned to his residence in Warsaw. Church sources said the meeting lasted about 4 1/2 hours.

Poland set Nov. 25 as the date for presidential elections that could replace ex-Communist Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski with Solidarity leader Lech Walesa. The announcement followed two weeks of frenzied parliamentary activity to pass legislation cutting short Jaruzelski's term. He announced Sept. 18 that he wants to step down to avoid becoming a focus for public protests.

Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski announced his intention to resign early and pave the way for free elections to make Poland a full democracy. Jaruzelski, a former Communist, announced his decision Tuesday after a six-hour meeting with Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and other top politicians to discuss progress toward Poland's first fully free elections since World War II.