Sikorski – 'Thatcher was a fearless champion of liberty'

A photo dated 04 February 1984 shows British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (C) buying Hungarian hot red paprika in the Great Market Hall during her visit in Budapest, Hungary. EPA/ Attila Manek

Sikorski, who was himself granted asylum in the UK after martial law was declared by Poland's communist authorities in 1981, reflected that Baroness Thatcher “stood up for captive nations” and “helped the free world win the Cold War.”

Writing on his Twitter account, Sikorski declared that the late British leader “deserves a statue in Poland.”

Sikorski's sentiments were echoed later on Monday by former president Lech Walesa, the erstwhile leader of the Solidarity trade union.

“She was a great person. She did a great deal for the world, along with [late US president] Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Solidarity, she contributed to the demise of communism in Poland and Central Europe,” Walesa told Agence France Presse (AFP).

“I'm praying for her,” he added.

Baroness Thatcher died of a stroke aged 87 on Monday morning, according to her spokesman Lord Bell. She had been suffering from dementia for several years, as was first acknowledged by her daughter Carol, in 2008.

As head of Britain's conservative party, Thatcher, dubbed 'the Iron Lady,' became the UK's first female prime minister in May 1979, holding the post until November 1990.

Although a staunch anti-communist, recently declassified documents indicate that she wavered over throwing Britain's weight behind Solidarity in December 1981, after martial law was declared in Poland. (nh)