ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250036
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WARSAW, POLAND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Poland's prime minister, facing a military investigation into charges he spied for Moscow, said Wednesday that he would resign his post and fight to clear his name.
Jozef Oleksy, the first former Communist to become premier, was visibly nervous as he announced his decision on national television.
``The propaganda against me and my party and the coalition continues, but the running of the nation must be put first,'' Oleksy said.
The announcement came just hours after the military prosecutor's office opened an investigation into charges Oleksy passed classified information to Moscow from the early 1980s until he became prime minister in March.
Oleksy vigorously denied the allegations.
``I am not afraid of the investigation,'' he said. ``Only that can show the truth and clear my name.''
Oleksy, 49, acknowledged previously that he was friends with a man who later proved to be a top Soviet spy in Poland, but claimed he had only social contacts with him and did not know he was an agent.
It was not clear exactly when Oleksy would step down. When he does, President Aleksander Kwasniewski must name a new prime minister within two weeks.
The charges that he passed classified documents and other information to Moscow were first made last month by supporters of Solidarity hero Lech Walesa.
Kwasniewski unseated Walesa in November elections. That loss came as a severe blow to the political heirs of Solidarity, which guided Poland to a peaceful democratic revolution in the 1980s. Poland's Communist regime fell in 1989.
Oleksy called the charges politically motivated and accused right-wing Walesa supporters of misusing Poland's secret service to try to regain power.
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Oleksy.by CNB