Poland Resilient After Kaczynski Death
Washington - While Poland mourns the death of key political, military and financial leaders in a recent air accident, its people can take pride in their government's smooth transfer of power - a model of resilience and democratic continuity, top U.S. officials say.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other civilian and military leaders were killed April 10 as their aircraft attempted a landing in foggy weather at a remote airfield near Katyn, Russia. The group had planned to attend a commemorative service for the thousands of Poles executed in the area by the Soviets during World War II. Victims of the air disaster included Kaczynski's wife, Maria Kaczynska, as well as many of Poland's top civilian and military leaders.
President Obama alluded to Poland's unquenchable thirst for liberty in his April 10 condolence statement ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/April/20100412092549eaifas0.9484674.html ): "It is a testament to the strength of the Polish people that those who were lost were travelling to commemorate a devastating massacre of World War II as the leaders of a strong, vibrant, and free Poland."
He added, "That strength will ensure that Poland emerges from the depths of this unthinkable tragedy, and that the legacy of the leaders who died today will be a light that continues to guide Poland - and the world - in the direction of human progress."
Following the tragedy, acting president and speaker of Parliament Bronislaw Komorowski called for presidential elections to be held within 60 days of his announcement, a dictate in line with the Polish constitution. The first round of voting is scheduled for June 20.
Calling Poland "one of our closest friends and allies," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a May 3 statement on Poland's Constitution Day, told Poles, "Your people and your nation are strong and resilient, as the world saw in the wake of the tragic plane crash that took the life of your president and many other distinguished citizens."
Clinton congratulated the Polish people on the anniversary of one of the world's first modern constitutions, adopted by the Polish parliament in 1791. "The quest for freedom, human rights, and the rule of law that inspired Poland's leaders 219 years ago is still evident in your vibrant democracy," she said.
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Lee Feinstein, who attended President Kaczynski's state funeral, said that those killed in the air crash were "historic leaders of Poland's anti-communist resistance and patriots who have guided Poland's post-1989 democratic transformation. Their inspirational leadership and the memory of their courageous sacrifice shine as an example for future generations of Poles, Americans, and friends of democracy around the world."
Commenting on the Polish government's reaction to the disaster, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Pamela Quanrud said, "The strength of Poland's democratic institutions were obvious in the way the country's leaders responded to the tragic death of President Kaczynski and the other distinguished military and civilian leaders that died with him. It is a testament to the solidarity of the Polish people and their characteristic resilience in the face of great difficulty."
Poland's political history in the 18th and 19th centuries was one of domination and partition by powerful neighbors Austria, Russia, and Prussia. In the 20th century, a brief period of democracy was cut short in 1939 by invasion and occupation by Nazi and Soviet forces. Following World War II, a Soviet-imposed government ruled Poland until communism fell in 1989.
Despite that difficult past, Poland has democratic traditions going back to 1791, when it was the first country in Europe to have a written constitution, a constitution that "formed the basis for the creation of the modern Polish state," said Mateusz Stasiek, a Polish trans-Atlantic diplomatic fellow in the Office of Human Rights of the State Department's Bureau of International Organization Affairs.
"The recent air catastrophe was an important test for this constitutional system," Stasiek told America.gov. "The political, military, economic and civil society institutions that lost their leaders have proven to be stable enough to continue their operations without major interruptions and retain their independence."
Equally important, Stasiek said, are "the people who organized spontaneously and gathered in millions in Warsaw and in Krakow to bid farewell to their leaders, victims of the plane tragedy. This also provides important evidence of the vitality of grass-roots democracy in Poland."
"The timing of this loss is particularly poignant," said U.S. Representative Howard Berman of California, chairman of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee. "These officials were travelling to honor the Polish [prisoners of war] who were massacred at the Katyn Forest 70 years ago during World War II."
Despite the Soviet Union's domination of Poland from 1945 to 1989, Polish-Russian relations have been on the mend of late, Berman pointed out. "A ceremony [commemorating the Katyn Forest massacre] earlier this week was marked by the welcome participation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the first Russian leader to attend these memorial events. If any good is to come of this tragedy, I hope that it will be an impetus to continue the process of healing the wounds of the past."
On April 28, Russia's Federal Archives Service published for the first time documents signed by top Soviet officials, including state leader Joseph Stalin, ordering the death of thousands of Poles in what came to be called the Katyn Forest massacre. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called Russia's solidarity with Poland following the death of President Kaczynski "a duty."
