EASTERN EUROPE: Chilly Time for D

Poland's Communist neighbors are worried about independence

From the moment it was signed, the Gdansk agreement ending Poland's nationwide strike sent ripples of unease through Eastern Europe. Would the new independent unions demand too much, thereby inviting Moscow's wrath as well as its army? Would the Polish disease spread and cause unrest in other Communist countries? How would the Soviets keep their satellites in line?

As the ripples intensified, East bloc nations have nervously responded to events in Poland with a series of tough acts and words, directed against both "antisocialist elements" in their countries and against the West. Items:

¶Ending a period of relative concord between the two Germanys, East Germany abruptly required visitors from the West to change $13.90 a day into East German marks instead of the previous minimum of $7.20; within a week visits dropped by nearly 60%. As part of an escalating war of words, East German radio one night carried three hours of speeches attacking Bonn. East German Party Boss Erich Honecker sounded a theme rarely heard in the era of detente: "Once again it is clear that the removal of capitalistic society is historically necessary." Earlier he had warned: "Poland is and will remain a socialist country," adding ominously: "We and our friends will make sure of that."

¶Vasil Bil'ak, a hard-lining ideologue of Czechoslovakia's Communist Party, asserted that a counterrevolution had already begun in Poland, and that the strike leaders "want to transform the alleged independent unions into a legal base of opposition activity and the main channel for continuing outside interference in Poland's affairs."

¶ Rumanian President Nicolae Ceaus,es-cu, who has stressed industrial development at the expense of the consumer, criticized Poland's new independent unions, asking rhetorically what they were independent of: "Of revolutionary attitudes? Of the struggle against oppression and social injustice?" The slogan "independence," he said, has always been used to break the unity of the working class and to serve the interests of imperialism.

Most Western analysts concluded that the tough talk was designed largely for domestic consumption—in effect, a warning from these repressive East bloc governments to their own citizens against trying to follow the Poles' example. "But if the Poles push Moscow too far and provoke a military move, that raises the crisis level to East-West status, and requires a response from Washington," said a Foreign Ministry specialist in Bonn. "There's no telling where that might lead."

Events in Poland took a dangerous turn late last week when a Warsaw district court doublecrossed Solidarnosc (Solidarity), the umbrella organization claiming to represent some 50 independent unions and 7 million workers. At issue was Solidarity's request for legal recognition, which had been blocked for a month because the union charter did not explicitly recognize the supremacy of the Communist Party. After several hours of argument, the court agreed to register the labor group, leaving the charter dispute unresolved—and seemingly forgotten.