01:53Venezuela: Lech Walesa denies allegation he collaborated with secret police
Former Polish President Lech Walesa has vehemently denied allegations that he was a paid informer for the Polish Soviet-era government in the 1970s. Speaking during a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday, he discussed the Communist era, but has denied the allegations on his blog, writing: "There can exist no documents coming from me." Walesa earlier addressed Venezuelan parliamentarians during a tour of the country.
The allegations, which have dogged the former president for years, resurfaced after a Polish historical institute claimed this week that newly-discovered documents confirming the claim, appeared to be genuine. Walesa, who has pledged to challenge the claims in court, was previously cleared of the informer accusations by a special Polish court in 2000.
A total of 279 pages of documentation were taken from the home of Czeslaw Kiszczak, a Communist-era interior minister earlier in the week. The head of the Polish Institute for National Remembrance (IPN), Lukasz Kaminski, said the documents "seem to be authentic" and would be made public in due course.
Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his leadership of the Solidarity trade union during the Communist era.
01:53Former Polish President Lech Walesa has vehemently denied allegations that he was a paid informer for the Polish Soviet-era government in the 1970s. Speaking during a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday, he discussed the Communist era, but has denied the allegations on his blog, writing: "There can exist no documents coming from me." Walesa earlier addressed Venezuelan parliamentarians during a tour of the country.
The allegations, which have dogged the former president for years, resurfaced after a Polish historical institute claimed this week that newly-discovered documents confirming the claim, appeared to be genuine. Walesa, who has pledged to challenge the claims in court, was previously cleared of the informer accusations by a special Polish court in 2000.
A total of 279 pages of documentation were taken from the home of Czeslaw Kiszczak, a Communist-era interior minister earlier in the week. The head of the Polish Institute for National Remembrance (IPN), Lukasz Kaminski, said the documents "seem to be authentic" and would be made public in due course.
Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his leadership of the Solidarity trade union during the Communist era.