Dokument #1315850
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
1) As the attached articles illustrate, the
status of the Nomenklatura, the list of positions staffed with the
approval of the Communists under the previous regime, and thus the
power of the former ruling Communist Party is unclear at the
present time. Two articles in particular perhaps illustrate the
current trend, however. One article in The New York Times of
1 October 1989 points out that the work of government censors has
been substantially reduced and a former journalist for Solidarity
publications has been appointed as the official spokesperson for
the government. Also, it has been announced that the police force
most closely identified with Communist oppression, the ZOMO, will
be disbanded by the Interior Ministry, according to a report which
appeared in The Globe and Mail on 30 September 1989.
2) The Department of External Affairs has
informed us of changes to the Polish passport and visa regulations
which took effect in January 1989. The department states that there
are no longer any restrictions nor controls on the duration of stay
outside the country. In addition, there is, apparently, no longer a
penalty for illegal departure or for a long stay abroad. A
spokesperson for the Ottawa Branch of the Canadian Polish Congress
adds, however, that the issuance of passports can be an arbitrary
process in Poland. Consequently, a person who stayed longer than
the amount of time requested on their application for the exit
card, or exit visa (if obtained previous to the institution to the
new passport laws), may encounter difficulties in obtaining future
travel documents from local authorities.
During a meeting between IRBDC Research
Officers and Renata Wielgosz, an External Affairs official just
returned from Poland, it was mentioned that political activists may
be subject to harassment by local officials but these officials act
without the knowledge nor the approval of the central
authorities.
For your information a copy of the External
Affairs telex regarding recent changes to the Polish passport
regulations is attached.