Polish bank rejects Walesa commemoration coin

By Dagmara Leszkowicz

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's central bank confirmed on Thursday it had turned down a request to mint a coin with the image of ex-president and Nobel Laureate Lech Walesa, but denied suggestions that its decision was politically motivated.

Walesa led the Solidarity trade union that toppled communism in Poland in 1989 but is now embroiled in a row with rivals, including President Lech Kaczynski, over claims he worked for the secret police in the early 1970s, claims he denies.

The mayor of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, asked the central bank last year to mint the Walesa coin to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

"The anniversary is a great opportunity ... to commemorate Poland's role in the fight for freedom and independence," Adamowicz was quoted as saying in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

The bank issued a statement explaining its refusal.

"The central bank has decided not to put images of living persons on coins," the bank, adding that the sole exception was Polish-born Pope John Paul II. The pope died in 2005.

The bank said it would not get involved in political rows.

Gazeta Wyborcza linked the decision to the fact that Central Bank Governor Slawomir Skrzypek is an appointee of Kaczynski.