Solidarity says it canceled strike because of warning

The Solidarity free trade union said it called off a threatened general strike after being warned by the Communist government that it could have led to total confrontation and a possible bloodbath. The union's acting national press spokesman, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, said Solidarity's negotiating team headed by union leader Lech Walesa came under "tremendous pressure" during tense 11th-hour negotiations which led to suspension of the general strike scheduled for last Tuesday.

Solidarity's leadership has acknowledged that the compromise agreement reached with the government fell short of its expectations, and Mr. Onyszkiewicz said the union hoped to go back to the bargaining table. The agreement, in which Solidarity failed to wrest any concrete guarantees on relaxation of pressure against political dissidents, led to leadership changes in solidarity.