The Solidarity logo will be displayed on the landmark statue, which looms over the Brazilian capital Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday evening, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“The statue of Christ with outstretched arms, commemorating the centenary of Brazil's independence, is intended to remind people about peace, hope and dignity, and these values were also incorporated in the foundation of Solidarity,” Poland’s ambassador to Brazil, Jakub Skiba, was quoted as saying by PAP.
“These same values also were at the root of the actions of many millions of Poles, who in August 1980 fought for freedom and solidarity, and created the first great, independent trade union in one of the countries under communist totalitarian rule,” Skiba added.
Founded in 1980 as a trade union in the Gdańsk Shipyard, Solidarity became a leading social force in the defeat of communism in Poland and throughout its region.
Poland’s communist government was eventually forced to negotiate with the Solidarity-led opposition, resulting in the country’s landmark, partially-free elections of June 4, 1989.
A string of events is scheduled to be held at the end of this month in Poland and beyond to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Solidarity and the signing of the country’s milestone 1980 August Agreements, when the country’s communist government was “for the first time forced to sit at a negotiating table with striking workers," as one official put it.
(jh/pk)
Source: PAP