Poland in row over EU video clip
Solidarity was in the vanguard of anti-communist protests in the early 1980s
A Polish protest over an EU video marking 20 years since the collapse of communism has prompted the European Commission to make changes to it.
Poland's ambassador to the EU, Jan Tombinski, had demanded changes to the clip in a letter to the Commission.
He called the film's vision of history "simplistic", saying it had omitted the role of Polish anti-communist figures such as the late Pope John Paul II.
Poland's Solidarity trade union defied communism long before the 1989 events.
Commission officials said some footage of Solidarity would probably be added to the film, called 1989-2009: 20 years of Liberty.
The officials also said one inaccuracy in the clip would be corrected.
'East German perspective'
The video, which was broadcast on the EU's YouTube channel, only shows some brief shots of Poland at the time of martial law, imposed by Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981.
In his letter on Monday, Mr Tombinski said the clip failed to mention not only the Pope but also the Round Table Talks, which ushered in the first non-communist government in the Soviet bloc.
He said the video focused too much on the fall of the Berlin Wall and that the choice of scenes reflected "the past 20 years solely from the East German perspective", the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
He also warned that the clip could "introduce needless controversies which should be avoided during the European election campaign".
Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the film was not a documentary but "quite an artistic video clip".
Its producers would have to agree to any changes, he added.
A Polish protest over an EU video marking 20 years since the collapse of communism has prompted the European Commission to make changes to it.
Poland's ambassador to the EU, Jan Tombinski, had demanded changes to the clip in a letter to the Commission.
He called the film's vision of history "simplistic", saying it had omitted the role of Polish anti-communist figures such as the late Pope John Paul II.
Poland's Solidarity trade union defied communism long before the 1989 events.
Commission officials said some footage of Solidarity would probably be added to the film, called 1989-2009: 20 years of Liberty.
The officials also said one inaccuracy in the clip would be corrected.
'East German perspective'
The video, which was broadcast on the EU's YouTube channel, only shows some brief shots of Poland at the time of martial law, imposed by Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981.
In his letter on Monday, Mr Tombinski said the clip failed to mention not only the Pope but also the Round Table Talks, which ushered in the first non-communist government in the Soviet bloc.
He said the video focused too much on the fall of the Berlin Wall and that the choice of scenes reflected "the past 20 years solely from the East German perspective", the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
He also warned that the clip could "introduce needless controversies which should be avoided during the European election campaign".
Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the film was not a documentary but "quite an artistic video clip".
Its producers would have to agree to any changes, he added.