Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights ( pl, Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO) was a right-wing political and social organization formed in

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

in March 1977. It tried to resist the regime by denouncing it for violating Polish and international laws including the

Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland The Constitution of the Polish People's Republic (also known as the July Constitution or the Constitution of 1952) was a supreme law passed in communist-ruled Poland on 22 July 1952. It superseded the post-World War II provisional Small Cons ...

and

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...

History

The declaration, issued and presented to the press on March 26, 1977, was signed by 18 people, among them

Andrzej Czuma Andrzej Bobola Czuma (born 7 December 1938 in Lublin) is a Polish politician, lawyer and historian. He was an activist of the Polish anti-Communist opposition in the Polish People's Republic and was oppressed and imprisoned by the Communist autho ...

and gen.

Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz Mieczysław Ludwik Boruta-Spiechowicz (20 February 1894, in Rzeszów – 13 October 1985, in Zakopane) was a Polish military officer, a general of the Polish Army and a notable member of the post-war anti-communist opposition in Poland. He joine ...

(Ret.) It explained that the aims of the ROPCiO were to preserve and defend the

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. In fact the real aim was to fight the Communist regime of the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

by legal means. The declaration was issued only three days after the Polish parliament had ratified the

. ROPCiO focused on preparation of open letters of protest to the communist government, organizing legal and financial support for the families of

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s and providing members of the anti-Communist opposition with brochures explaining their rights. Among such secretly-published books were also so-called ''handbooks to arrest'', that is instructions on how to behave when arrested by the militia or the

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it w ...

. ROPCiO also organized a net of legal advisors and published several magazines, mostly underground. On September 16, 1978, a part of ROPCiO members led by Leszek Moczulski left the movement and established the ZINO movement, which later broke down onto the

Confederation of Independent Poland Confederation of Independent Poland (KPN, pl, Konfederacja Polski Niepodległej ) was a Polish nationalist political party founded on 1 September 1979 by Leszek Moczulski and others declaring support for the pre-war traditions of Sanacja and Jó ...

Movement of Young Poland Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...

and

Movement of Free Democrats Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...

. The remainder of ROPCiO gradually melted into the structures of the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

after its forming.

References

* * * Solidarity (Polish trade union) 1977 establishments in Poland Nonviolent resistance movements Human rights organisations based in Poland Anti-communism in Poland Organizations established in 1977 {{organization-stub

History

See also

References