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Late Polish president commemorated with new plaque

PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki 09.04.2018 16:30
Officials in Poland on Monday unveiled a plaque in the country’s parliament to commemorate a past president who died in an air disaster eight years ago.
Conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński (centre) attends a ceremony in Poland's parliament on Monday to unveil a plaque commemorating his late twin brother Lech Kaczyński, who was president of Poland from 2005 until he died in a plane crash in western Russia on April 10, 2010. Photo: PAP/Rafał GuzConservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński (centre) attends a ceremony in Poland's parliament on Monday to unveil a plaque commemorating his late twin brother Lech Kaczyński, who was president of Poland from 2005 until he died in a plane crash in western Russia on April 10, 2010. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

The plaque honouring the late President Lech Kaczyński was unveiled jointly by lower-house Speaker Marek Kuchciński and the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczyński, the twin brother of the former head of state.

President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and upper-house Speaker Stanisław Karczewski were also among those attending the high-profile ceremony, which was held on the eve of the eighth anniversary of Lech Kaczyński’s death.

Addressing those gathered, President Duda said that Lech Kaczyński dedicated his life to building “a strong and sovereign Poland, a nation based on solidarity.”

Lech Kaczyński also worked to build "a fair Poland, with no room for cynicism or meanness,” Duda said.

Kuchciński, Speaker of the Sejm, the lower house, said that President Lech Kaczyński had a “vision of a fair and safe” country, one "built in the spirit of the values espoused by great Polish patriots."

Kuchciński added Lech Kaczyński’s death “changed the course of history for the country.”

The plaque commemorating Lech Kaczyński in Poland’s parliament -- next to one dedicated to the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II -- lists some of the key public positions he held before he became head of state in 2005, including his roles as mayor of Warsaw, head of the national audit office, justice minister, senator and MP.

The unveiling ceremony in the parliament building in Warsaw on Monday was part of a raft of official functions scheduled to take place nationwide as the country commemorates the victims of the Polish presidential plane crash in Russia on April 10, 2010.

The ceremonies were expected to culminate on Tuesday, exactly eight years since the disaster.

On April 10, 2010, a Tu-154 plane carrying the Polish presidential couple, Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria, and dozens of other top officials, crashed near Smolensk, western Russia. All 96 people on board were killed, among them Poland’s last president-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, senior parliamentarians and military leaders.

Those on board had been on their way to attend observances of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of Polish officers and intellectuals by the Soviets during World War II.

The air disaster eight years ago is still an open wound and a source of bitter dispute in Poland, with a team of investigators appointed by the country’s ruling conservatives conducting a new probe into the causes of the crash.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR/PAP

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