Madam, - Your editorial (April 30th) concerning the witch-hunt against certain people in Poland who have a proven anti-communism track record rightly criticises a government policy which fails to recognise that membership of the European Union brings with it a strong requirement that the civil rights of citizens must not be trampled upon.
I am concerned at the extraordinary attitude of the Polish prime minister and his twin brother, President Kaczynski in pursuing my colleague in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group, Prof Bronislaw Geremek, to repeatedly establish his credentials.
Prof Geremek's record as an activist with Solidarity against the communist regime in Poland is well documented, and it is extraordinary that a man who played such a prominent role in guiding Poland from communism to democracy should be subject to this insidious campaign.
Three years ago he was democratically elected to the European Parliament by 121,805 voters and at that time fulfilled the requirement to declare that he had never collaborated with the secret police.
Prof Geremek's current refusal to make a further declaration relates purely to his concern to protect the rights of citizens in a democratic Poland and European Union.
The attacks upon him by the Union for Europe of the Nations Group in the European Parliament involve a few extreme right-wing members, and in no way reflect the view of the Parliament, and indeed the leaders of most of the groups expressed full support for and solidarity with Prof Geremek.
Prof Geremek is a principled politician with an established record for promotion of civil rights.
It is crucial that his rights as a European citizen and as a member of the European Parliament are protected. - Yours, etc,
MARIAN HARKIN MEP, Emmet Place, Sligo.