Poland's government-in-exile will hand over its historic symbols of authority to Lech Walesa at a ceremony Saturday after his inauguration as president, a spokesman for Walesa said today. Parliament Speaker Mikolaj Kozakiewicz has called the National Assembly into session on Friday and Saturday. The assembly is to formally approve the election results Friday and witness Walesa's inauguration Saturday. Andrzej Drzycimski, a Walesa spokesman, said representatives of the government-in-exile were in Warsaw to discuss a ceremony to be attended by Ryszard Kaczorowski, president of the London-based government that dates to World War II. The transfer of symbols means the government-in-exile will cease to exist. Walesa, who won election Dec. 9, is expected to receive the insignia of power from Kaczorowski at Warsaw's Royal Castle, former seat of the presidency, after being sworn into office as president. On Monday, Polish authorities said they are investigating three generals and five colonels in the 1970 shootings of striking workers along the Baltic Coast that left at least 45 people dead. Walesa, then an unknown electrician in Gdansk, was among the leaders of the 1970 strike over food price increases that prompted the crackdown by security forces. The protests helped pave the way for the birth of the Solidarity free trade union movement a decade later. Justice Minister Aleksander Bentkowski did not name the officers under investigation, but said the initial order to shoot the workers was given by the late Wladyslaw Gomulka, then the Communist Party leader. A final decision on whether to put the eight officers on trial will be made by March, Bentkowski said. ``At present we have enough evidence to present charges against eight persons - three generals and five colonels who were directly involved in the events,'' Bentkowski told state television Monday night. ``I think that revealing their names is not proper now as the investigation is under way. We plan to end the proceedings by the end of March,'' he said. The Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported today that the military prosecutor had already presented preliminary criminal accusations against the eight. The newspaper said that unless the accused prove that they were acting in self-defense or out of higher necessity, they could be charged with homicide or abetting homicide. Official Communist accounts say 45 people, including 28 in the cities of Gdansk and Gdynia, were killed by security forces in the December 1970 anti-government protests, which began when workers went on strike to protest food price increases. Many people believe the death toll was higher, and investigations are being conducted to see if names of additional victims can be found. Victims of the 1970 shootings were buried secretly, often without family members being informed. Bentkowski said that so far 160 witnesses have been questioned in the case. He said Gomulka's order to shoot the protesters was relayed by the late Prime Minister Jozef Cyrankiewicz to Gen. Grzegorz Korczynski, the army commander in Gdansk. The strikes led to Gomulka's replacement as party leader by Edward Gierek, who remained in power until he was toppled after the August 1980 strikes that resulted in the founding of Solidarity. Walesa, who led the 1980 strikes, insisted that those who died in 1970 should not be forgotten. At Solidarity's insistence, a monument to the slain workers was unveiled in December 1980. On Sunday, the 20th anniversary of the killings in Gdansk, Walesa returned to the monument to pay homage to the slain workers. ``Solidarity was born from their blood,'' said Walesa.
