Your Grace, Tadeusz MazowieckiPrime Minister, Your Excellency, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.
This is a very moving moment for all of us here. We are welcoming the first non-communist Prime Minister of a government in Eastern Europe since 1948. History is being made this evening and it is a very warm welcome indeed that we extend to you, Sir, and the distinguished members of your delegation to Number 10 Downing Street on this, your first official visit to the United Kingdom.
We know you, Prime Minister, as a man of supreme integrity and utter dedication. It is hard to imagine circumstances more difficult than those under which you took the leadership of Poland's government. But you have not flinched for a moment from hard decisions. You have not promised your people easy solutions or painless remedies. Rather, you have told them the plain, unvarnished truth and they have responded to that. [end p1]
Prime Minister, you have the unrestrained admiration of every one of us and of people far beyond the confines of this room. Winston Churchill understood the true nature of Poland and the courage and idealism of its people when he said in October 1939: “The soul of Poland is indestructible” .
That has been demonstrated time and again since then and I experienced it in a very personal way when I stood in Saint Brygida's Church in Gdansk just over a year ago and felt the great moral strength of Solidarity. You never for a moment let the hope of freedom die. And from the dark winter of four decades of oppression bloomed the Polish Spring of 1989, the great triumph of free men and women over a system which offered neither moral nor material satisfaction.
It was your example—Poland's example—which inspired the other peoples of Eastern Europe to claim their freedom in the great peaceful revolution which has transformed our continent. So we honour you, Prime Minister, and we honour Solidarity's leader, Lech Walesa, who for millions of people round the world symbolised Poland's refusal to be cowed and her yearning to be free.
And we honour General Jaruzelski whose patriotism and commitment to the best interests of Poland played their part in leading Poland away from one-party rule. [end p2]
Of course, Prime Minister, there are particularly strong feelings about Poland in Britain. We think of the last war in which Poland and Britain fought from the earliest days, right until the last. We remember how the Polish Government came to London to continue the fight for freedom. We shall never forget that one in eight of the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain was Polish. And like the British pilots alongside whom they fought, they bore heavy casualties.
We have many memories of battles fought side-by-side and of lives lost, memories of comradeship, memories of heroic deeds. And I know those memories will come back when you go to the Polish Airmen's Memorial at Northolt tomorrow to pay tribute to some of those who laid down their lives. Nothing can create a stronger bond between peoples than shared experiences such as these.
We have the most marvellous Polish community in this country. They work very hard, they are model members of their communities and best of all, most of them are very Conservative. We understand they gave you a rousing welcome this evening, Prime Minister, which must have been a great joy for everyone.
Prime Minister, your government has moved with speed and with courage to enact far-reaching reforms. You have a vigorous and active Parliament and I fully sympathise with you about that if you have to answer questions in the noise in which I have to do it. [end p3]
Nevertheless, the rule of law is being restored and you have begun to rebuild Poland's economy. We know that the measures you have taken will cause hardship and require sacrifice in the short-term. But your people are prepared to bear that because they trust their government and know that this is the only way to create a secure foundation for future prosperity. People are prepared to endure hardship and difficulty when they know that the result will be a better life for them and their children.
Britain and other members of the international community can be proud of the help that we are giving you. The Know-How Fund of £50 million which we have set up has already been used to launch fifty projects concentrating on management, accountancy and finance. But we are ready to expand it to cover many other fields too. We have contributed to your Stabilisation Fund and we are helping with the rescheduling of Poland's debt. And through the European Community we are helping with food and with medical supplies. We do it gladly because we believe your government and the Polish people deserve help to sustain their own efforts and their own sacrifices.
May I make special mention of the marvellous role played in providing voluntary help by two ladies who are present here tonight, Baroness Ryder and Baroness Cox? Both of them are great friends of Poland and the work they have done has been absolutely remarkable and deserves the warmest praise. [end p4]
Prime Minister, Poland's example has inspired others in Eastern Europe to cast off the communist system and establish democracy, freedom and a rule of law. Our dream of a Europe in which the barriers are torn down is coming true. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and others too will take their place once more in the European family of free and democratic nations.
Already we are thinking, and Britain was the first in Europe, of new forms of association between the European Community and the individual nations of Eastern Europe. We know too that Poland is applying to become a member of the Council of Europe and your application has our full support.
We understand that some of the developments taking place in Europe stir deeply felt anxieties. Both Poland and Britain have had experiences in this century which have left their mark and which we are determined should not happen again. That is why we believe it is so important to work out very carefully the implications of Germany's unification for existing alliances, for the Helsinki Accords and for the European Community.
And even as we speak, arrangements are being discussed in Ottawa for talks between the Berlin four and the two Germanys of the important external aspects which are raised by unification. And we understand and support your view, Prime Minister, that the present border of Poland should be guaranteed. [end p5]
Of course we accept the right of the people of the two German states to determine their own future in freedom. But it is vital that Germany's unification should uphold, not weaken, Europe's stability and security. And that is why these matters must be very carefully worked out in full consultation with Germany's allies and neighbours. Poland and Britain share a common interest in that, as we share an interest in a reunited Europe, free from the bitterness and confrontation of the past forty years.
Prime Minister, we in Britain care deeply about Poland and her people. We want you to succeed and pledge you every help in that. We hope you have enjoyed your visit to us and will return. And we ask you to take back to Poland a message of goodwill, of support, of admiration and of deep and lasting friendship.
May I therefore ask you all to rise and drink a toast to the Prime Minister of Poland and the Polish people.
The Prime Minister and the Polish people. [end p6]
Mr. Mazowiecki
Allow me to add to these words in reference to what you have said, Prime Minister.
Referring to the historical moment, which is the arrival here of the first non-communist Prime Minister from Eastern Europe, let me add to it my comment on a different aspect of this visit which I feel.
Both you and myself have invoked the words of Winston Churchill. These talks which we have had yesterday and today have given me the understanding that indeed the basis of the relationship between Poland and your country and the rest of Europe, the attitude of you, Prime Minister, to the basic reason of state of Poland and to what I believe is also the basic reason of state of Europe, through your understanding of the need for the inviolability of the Polish borders and your understanding of the need for Poland to be present in the present processes which are under way in Europe, through these I come to a feeling that in a way the historical relationship between Britain and Poland is being restored, a relationship which was manifested on 3 September 1939.
To you, Prime Minister, and to all of our British interlocutors with whom we have found so much interest and so much understanding, but especially to you, Prime Minister, with whom I have found so much understanding for Polish affairs, to all of you I would like to thank you most warmly.
I have told you, Prime Minister, of a saying which exists in the Polish culture: “Nothing can be decided about us without us.” I believe that through her fight for freedom in Eastern and Central Europe, Poland has proven how important her presence in the current historic processes is. And I believe that Britain, and yourself, Prime Minister, will be the advocates of this cause.
I thank you for all that we have been accorded during this visit from you, Prime Minister, and from everybody and let me raise a toast to your good health Prime Minister.