Sorrow and anger as Poland mourns
April 11, 2011, Monday
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CHURCH bells rang out across Poland yesterday to mark the exact minute one year ago that President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others died in a plane crash in Russia.
Poles also filled churches and cemeteries and a crowd gathered outside the presidential palace, where Kaczynski and his wife Maria lived until their deaths in the crash near Smolensk, on April 10, 2010.
The crowd fell still at 8:41am local time. Sirens wailed in central Warsaw and church bells pealed elsewhere. Earlier, the loved ones of many victims gathered for a private Mass at Warsaw's airport, the scene of some of last year's most painful scenes, as 96 flag-draped coffins were brought back there.
At the time, the country experienced a short period of national unity amid the shock of losing the president, first lady and many ranking military and civilian leaders.
The disaster, however, quickly deepened political divisions, and in a sign of that, separate commemorative events were held yesterday.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President Bronislaw Komorowski and other politicians placed candles at a memorial plaque to the victims in a Warsaw church. But Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw, marked the anniversary separately, placing a wreath at the presidential palace.
Kaczynski and many of the others killed belonged to the nationalist conservative party Law and Justice, which Jaroslaw Kaczynski heads. That camp now blames Tusk's government for selling out Poland's interests by allowing Russia to lead the main investigation into the crash. Russian investigators concluded that Poland bore full responsibility for the crash, sparking outrage in Poland.
The plane crashed while trying to land in heavy fog, and Tusk's government acknowledges that most mistakes were made by the pilots and other Poles. But they also want Russia to acknowledge what role Russian air traffic controllers and the basic state of the airport may have played.
The sense of Russia avoiding responsibility has fueled conspiracy theories among Kaczynski's supporters. On Saturday, demonstrators in Warsaw carried a banner accusing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of being a murderer.
Poles also filled churches and cemeteries and a crowd gathered outside the presidential palace, where Kaczynski and his wife Maria lived until their deaths in the crash near Smolensk, on April 10, 2010.
The crowd fell still at 8:41am local time. Sirens wailed in central Warsaw and church bells pealed elsewhere. Earlier, the loved ones of many victims gathered for a private Mass at Warsaw's airport, the scene of some of last year's most painful scenes, as 96 flag-draped coffins were brought back there.
At the time, the country experienced a short period of national unity amid the shock of losing the president, first lady and many ranking military and civilian leaders.
The disaster, however, quickly deepened political divisions, and in a sign of that, separate commemorative events were held yesterday.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President Bronislaw Komorowski and other politicians placed candles at a memorial plaque to the victims in a Warsaw church. But Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw, marked the anniversary separately, placing a wreath at the presidential palace.
Kaczynski and many of the others killed belonged to the nationalist conservative party Law and Justice, which Jaroslaw Kaczynski heads. That camp now blames Tusk's government for selling out Poland's interests by allowing Russia to lead the main investigation into the crash. Russian investigators concluded that Poland bore full responsibility for the crash, sparking outrage in Poland.
The plane crashed while trying to land in heavy fog, and Tusk's government acknowledges that most mistakes were made by the pilots and other Poles. But they also want Russia to acknowledge what role Russian air traffic controllers and the basic state of the airport may have played.
The sense of Russia avoiding responsibility has fueled conspiracy theories among Kaczynski's supporters. On Saturday, demonstrators in Warsaw carried a banner accusing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of being a murderer.
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