WORLD : Walesa Booed by Angry Miners

WARSAW — Hundreds of angry miners demanding higher wages stormed onto the ground of the presidential palace today and booed President Lech Walesa.

Walesa, who rose to prominence as leader of the Solidarity labor union, gave no promises to the miners, who accused him of using slogans instead of giving straightforward answers.

“I don’t have any possibility of doing it,” Walesa said when asked to grant their wage demands.

The former Communist Union Federation OPZZ provided buses to bring miners to Warsaw from 40 mines around Katowice, the center of the coal-mining region in southwestern Poland, through heavy snow that has already closed roads throughout Poland. An estimated 2,500 miners participated in the protest.

The protest was organized specifically against the excessive wage tax, which is one of the pillars of Poland’s stringent economic reforms.

The tax has helped tame inflation and brought goods back to store shelves. The government warns its liquidation would mean a return to the old Communist system of spiraling inflation and widespread shortages.