President Duda: thanks to Solidarity we now live in a free country

"This Gate to Gdańsk Shipyard - then named Lenin Shipyard - is a place where protesting workers were being shot at, blood of innocent people was spilled, people who only wanted decent living. Solidarity emerged out of it, out of a huge desire and cry for dignity. People simply wanted normal life, human dignity, observing human rights, respecting all what was always deeply rooted within us, the Polish people: the need for freedom, sovereignty and independence, but first and foremost, normality," - President Andrzej Duda addressed the signatories of the Gdańsk Agreement on Monday.

He also mentioned that Solidarity brought back freedom not only to Poles, but also to the whole region. "To this part of Europe which fell behind the Iron Curtain," Duda explained.

"Yes, it was Solidarity that led to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and yes, it was Solidarity that made it possible for Germany to reunite," Polish president said.

He added that "Solidarity has made it possible for us to live today in a free, sovereign and independent country. We must never forget about that".

In his speech, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that "dignity revolution", as he called the events of August 1980, has led to sovereignty and independent state. "It was a bloodless, peaceful revolution, a tremendous effort that inspires nation all over the world" - said Morawiecki.

Morawiecki also said that the Belarusians were fighting for freedom, democracy and sovereignty just like the Polish nation had done in 1980.

"Brother Belarusians, now you are having your own August, your own solidarity rising. We are with you, Polish Solidarity is with you," Morawiecki stressed.