Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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Polish Workers Strike .ln protest to a sudden rise in meat prices. a wave of peaceful but illegal strikes in factories spread across Poland. The strike began in August 1980 as .l6t000 employees of the Lenin shipyard 1n the Baltic port of Gdansk suddenly walked off the job. They were joined by C11y bus drivers and workers at 17 near- by factories and enterprises. shutting down the countryls major Baltic seaport. The strike extended to about 400 more factories along the northern seacoast and affected key industrial cities in the south. The workers demanded a number of sweeping political reforms. Among them: free labor unions with the legal right to strike. the abolition of censor- ship. and freedom for all political prison- ers. A free trade union movement out- side Communist Party control was a vir- tual contradiction in terms for a Marxist worker state. There was also widespread fear of Soviet intervention if the strike could not be ended quickly. For three tense weeks. the world looked on as the Polish government at first denounced. then publicly negotiat- ed with. its own rebellious workers. The workers formed an lnterfactory Strike Committee as the bargaining agent for over 400 Baltic enterprises. The commit- tee displayed discipline, organization, and shrewd bargaining skills as it brought about agreements ending the major strikes. In addition to pay raises and increased social benefits. the Polish regime grant- ed a number of political concessions nev- er before seen in a Communist country: independent. workcr-run trade unions: 3 legal right to strike; and a relaxation of censorship. In return. the strikers agreed to recognize the supremacy of the Com- munist Party and to keep their trade un- ions out of the political realm. Before the strike had ended. some 500,000 workers had joined the revolt. The work stoppages had cost hundreds of millions of dollars. pushing Poland to the brink of disaster. AScott Smith Peace Talks The Egyptian-lsracli talks on Pales- tinian autonomy between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin con- tinued to develop in the past year. Last August. Saudi Arabia put pressure on President Sadat to abandon the Camp David peace process and break relations with Israel. Shortly afterward. Sadat wrote a letter to Prime Minister Begin explaining that he had no Choice but to suspend the Egyptian-lsraeli talks on Palestinian autonomy. Saudi Arabia called for all Arab coun- tries to unite in a holy war to liberate lsraeli-occupicd Arab territory and es- tablish a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Israelis had a mild reac- tion. llWe are not shocked and we are not worried. said a foreign ministry spokes- man. Letters passed between Sadat and Be- gin spelled out the differences that had led to a breakdown in Egyptiamlsraeli talks on Palestinian autonomy. provid- ing insight into the thinking of both men as negotiations for peace once more reached an impasse. wSherri Ross J International l5

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, F- International Russians Invade Between Dec. 24 and 27, 1979, at least 350 Soviet aircraft landed at Kabul International Airport and at Bagram airbase. 25 miles north of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. On Dec. 27, Russian airborne troops stormed the Darulaman Palace. capturing and shoot- ing President Hafizullah Amin. By the next day. the capital was entirely in So- viet hands. In the course of the lightning invasion, tour Soviet divisions moved into Af- ghanistan. becoming the iron fist behind a eoup that ended the three-month-old regime of President Amin. Amin, whom the Soviet press had treated with respect until only a few days prior to the overth- row, was described by Moscow as lla man who was in the service of the CIA. In his place the Soviets installed Babrak Karmal, a former Deputy Prime Minis- ter long considered a Russian protege. Soviet planners made heavy invest- ments that convinced intelligence offi- cers the occupation would last for years and involve more Soviet soldiers. But re- sistant groups in many parts of the coun- try. although lacking central leadership. were expected to make it difficult for the Russians to attain their goals. , 7-Sherri Ross l4 International Turkish Coup Turkeyls generals had warned politi- cians for months to stop feuding and start working together to help end the countryls surging factional violence. But the squabbling continued. and the death toll from terrorism mounted to the point where there was talk of imminent civil war. Finally the military took matters into its own hands. In mid-Septembcr. ar- mored personnel carriers and ground troops fanned out through Turkeyls cap- ital city. surrounding government build- ings and setting up roadblocks. In a bloodless coup, a National Security Council. composed of six generals, re- placed the democratically-eleeted gov- ernment of Premier SUleyman Demirel. General Kenan Evcen. a political moderate who headed the junta. said in a radio announcement the army had moved in to prevent llfollowers of fascist and Communist ideologies. as well as re- ligious fanatics. from destroying the Turkish Republic. The generals dis- solved parliament, banned all political and trade union activity, and announced they would run Turkey ltuntil necessary laws are prepared for the smooth func- tioning of a parliamentary democracy.n rHSherri Ross Olympics l80 1980 proved to be an exceptional year for the Olympic Games. Not only did Erie lleiden capture five individual gold medals in various speed skating events but the US. hockey team performed amidst the tensions of a Cold War and potential Moscow Olympic boycott. Herb Brooksl hockey players inspired the nation and proved themselves to the world by beating the powerful Russian world champions and winning the gold medal. In other ice events, however, Ameri- cans didnlt fare as well. Gold medal hopeful Linda Fratianne came up short in figure skating with a disappointing second place finish. Teammates and po- tential gold medalists Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner were forced to withdraw late in the competition after Gardner in- jured a groin muscle. Sweden's super-skier Ingemar Sten- mark ruled the slopes, but only a second ahead of gutsy American Phil Mahre, who returned to the mountain after reco- vering from a leg injury that almost left him impaired for life. Unfortunately, Americals hopes to compete in the Moscow summer games were shattered by a US. boycott. The protest followed a Soviet invasion of Af- ghanistan. and the fate of future Olym- pic games remained unclear. -Liz Chesney

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International IranlIraq War The long-simmering border conflict between Iran and Iraq flared into full- scale hostilities this past year. Last Oc- tober. United Nations President Mo- hammad ul-Hag Zia of Pakistan went on a peace-seeking mission to the fighting countries; his mission failed. General Zia found that Bagdad was satisfied with what it had already won. but Tehe- ran intended to continue struggling until it required what it had lost. But it seemed lraq's invasion of Iran had come to a stop along most sectors of the front. NATO analysts concluded the Iraqis. having inflicted serious but not crippling losses on the Iranian army, were content to sit tight and repel any counter offen- sive. And although Iran was given time to gather its forces in a counteroffensive, its capabilities were uncertain. The Iraqi Air Force scattered many of its Soviet-built planes to safety havens in neghboring Arab countries. The Iranian Air Force, its planes largely acquired from the United States. was restricted to hit-and-run strikes against political and psychological targets because it lacked a solid command structure. As of Decem- ber. military analysts believed the con- flict would probably sputter along incon- clusively. -Sherri Ross Exiled Shah Dies After spending the final 19 months of his life in exile fighting an exhausting battle against cancer. 60-year-old Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi died in Egypt early in August. Since fleeing Iran in 1979, one step ahead of Islamic revolutionaries, the shah and his wife, Empress Farah, had shuttled from country to country in search of sanctuary. Their final refuge in March 1980 was Cairo, where the cou- ple arrived at the invitation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadatt who reminded his people of the Shahls generous aid to Egypt during the October War of 1973. In Egypt the shah underwent emergency surgery from which he never fully recov- ered. Mourning over the shahls death was limited around the world, particularly in Iran, the country he had ruled for 37 years. Memories of SAVAK, the shahls secret police who were said to have ar- rested, tortured and murdered thou- sands of dissidents, lingered in the minds of many Iranians. President Sadat in- sisted on a full military funeral for the former monarch, despite the shahls re- quest for a simple service. Although sev- eral nations, including the United States, sent low-level representatives to the funeral, foreign leaders were mar- kedly absent. American commitments to the shah were a source of controversy throughout much of the rulers exile. Problems be- gan in December 1979 when the United States allowed the shah, already nine months in exile. to fly from his villa in Mexico to New York City for radiation and gallbladder surgery. This move prompted the seizure of the US. Embas- sy in Teheran and the taking of Ameri- can hostages. Tensions increased as the shah prolonged his stay in the United States at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where he recovered from his sur- gery and waited sanctuary elsewhere. His next refuge turned out to be Con- tadora Island in Panama, where his health steadily deteriorated for three months. Partly for medical care, and partly out of fear for his personal safety, the shah finally accepted Sadatis long- standing invitation for asylum in Egypt, where he met his death. After the shahis death, no significant changes in the hostage situation arose. Iranian revolutionaries claimed that since the shahls death was predictable, it would not lead to the release of the 52 Americans still being held in Iran. The stalemate continued. -Jill Rippey OK International