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| Europe |
| Poland mourns President Lech Kaczynski |
| 2010-04-11 |
| Poland has been plunged into mourning by the deaths of President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of political and military leaders in a plane crash. The jet crashed as it attempted to land at Smolensk air base in Russia in thick fog, killing all 97 people on board. Russian officials have said the pilots ignored warnings from air traffic control to divert to another airport. A week of mourning has been called in Poland where a two-minute silence will be held at noon (1000 GMT) on Sunday. Russia has also declared Monday a day of mourning for the victims, whose remains have been flown to morgues in Moscow. Relatives of the dead have begun arriving in the Russian capital, officials there said. Thousands of people gathered at the presidential palace in Warsaw on Saturday to lay flowers and light candles. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the crash was the most tragic event of the country's post-World War II history. Prime Minister Tusk said the business of government would continue. "We are completely devastated and shocked," Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told the BBC. "People have just been to church, to a mass, people are crying." He added: "We could not have conceived a more horrible, poignant, tragic occurrence than our president going to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the murder of 20,000 Polish officers at Katyn, himself dying with his wife, with the army commander, with parliamentarians, with the head of the national bank. It's just beyond belief." The parliamentary speaker, Bronislaw Komorowski, has now become the acting president. "Today in the face of such a drama our nation stays united," he said in a televised address. "There is no division into left and right, differences of views don't matter. We are together in the face of this tragedy." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 Yes, it is. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-04-11 20:38 |
| #7 That inappropriate right now, NS. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-11 19:01 |
| #6 I don't understand Poland putting all these folks on the same plane. Me either. Then I remembered this. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-04-11 18:19 |
| #5 when I worked for small firms or large multinats we had policies about too many from a firm, or executive, or functional group on the same plane. Sometimes even the same city. I don't understand Poland putting all these folks on the same plane. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-04-11 18:01 |
| #4 THE VICTIMS Lech Kaczysnki - Polish president. Maria Kaczynska - The president's wife Ryszard Kaczorowski - Poland's last president-in-exile Aleksander Szczyglo - head of the National Security Office Pawel Wypych - presidential aide Mariusz Handzlik - presidential aide Jerzego Szmajdzinski - deputy parliament speaker Andrzej Kremer - Deputy Foreign Minister Gen. Franciszek Gagor - head of the army chief of staff Andrzej Przewoznik - minister in charge of WWII memorials Slawomir Skrzypek - head of the National Bank of Poland Janusz Kurtyka - head of the National Remembrance Institute Przemyslaw Gosiewski - lawmaker Zbigniew Wassermann - lawmaker Grzegorz Dolniak - lawmaker Janusz Kochanowski - civil rights commissioner Bishop Tadeusz Ploski - army chaplain |
| Posted by: ed 2010-04-11 12:42 |
| #3 It'a a great tragedy, both for Poland and Western freedom. Not that it will do any good now, but I can't help but wonder why they had so many of their important leaders on the same plane (never mind Russian plane; the Tupelovs have a miserable safety record). What were they thinking? My deepest sympathy to the Polish people. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-11 10:41 |
| #2 I have two Polish students. One of them called me in the morning yesterday and told me the news. She was bawling her head off, and just wanted to vent. It wasn't just that the president died, but so many of their historic leaders (including their last president in exile), and up and comers that would have been president or prime minister one day. It was a complete catastrophe for Poland. But there's one thing you can count on, just like the sun rising, is they'll bounce back. The Poles are nails, and it's one of my favorite countries in Europe to visit. |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2010-04-11 06:56 |
| #1 First Manas air base, now US BMD in Poland - its good to be Russian! |
| Posted by: Clyde Thatch7826 2010-04-11 00:03 |