After A Presidential Tragedy, Questions For Poland - Politics - Nairaland
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| After A Presidential Tragedy, Questions For Poland by ireneann: 9:43am On Apr 13, 2010 |
[b]Poland's loss seems incomprehensible. On Saturday, a plane carrying the country's top leaders and historic figures, including President Lech Kaczynski, crashed in Smolensk, Russia, en route to the Katyn massacre's 70th anniversary memorial service. All 96 onboard perished, most high-ranking officials and "icons" of Polish politics. Poland has declared a week of mourning, even as acting President Bronislaw Komorowski works to determine who should be the next leaders of the Polish state. Many questions remain about the April 10 tragedy, what was lost, and where Poland will go from here. The brothers Kaczynski The crash killed both the president and his wife Maria, leaving behind a daughter, two grandchildren, Kacyznski's ailing mother, and his twin. It was President Kacyznski's twin brother, Jaroslaw, who identified the body. Identical twins whose differences could only be distinguished by Lech's mole and wedding ring, the two seemed inseparable in their rise to political power. This kinship has raised speculation that the surviving brother could step up to run for his late brother's seat. The brothers had always been close: They were child stars in an enduring children's movie called "The Two Who Stole the Moon." A 2005 Irish Times profile recounted how they'd swapped for one another in school: Jarowslaw took the science tests, Lech the language ones. In politics, Lech ran for positions in the new Solidarity movement, while Jaroslaw—his elder by a mere 45 minutes—was what the Christian Science Monitor called "a kind of Karl Rove of Polish politics." The two cofounded the Law and Justice Party, but lost public favor in recent years with their focus on "uncover[ing] misdeeds by former communist officials." Their favorite phrase "My brother and I think, " became a "cult expression." Inevitably, analysts are looking at Jaroslaw, who resigned as prime minister in November 2007, as a possible presidential candidate. Citizens who were interviewed about this possibility were sympathetic about the tragedy, but don't see the twin as a viable candidate. In the meantime, a Law & Justice spokesperson has dismissed such talk, saying "This is a time of mourning." The Katyn massacre memorial The Polish delegation had been en route to the Katyn memorial, commemorating the 22,000 Polish officers killed 70 years ago by the Russian secret police, NKVD, under Joseph Stalin. Observing the 70th anniversary underscored the strain between Poland and Russia, its former ruler. One think-tank analyst told CNN, "Katyn has been the most difficult issue up to the present moment. Everyone in Poland knows that the Katyn massacre was a very small part of a systematic effort by Russians to get rid of a whole class of Polish people." Russia admitted to the massacre 20 years ago, but has never named those responsible. Yet the service itself and the rapid speed at which Russia responded to the accident represent "a revolutionary change" in the countries' relationship, according to the Washington Post. Within hours of the crash, prime ministers Donald Tusk (Poland) and Vladimir Putin (Russia) flew to the scene. Forensic investigators and media soon followed. Russia and Ukraine declared Monday as a day of mourning, out of sympathy for the Polish people. Questions about pilot error Why did Capt. Arkadiusz Protasiuk and his crew ignore air-traffic controllers' counsel and proceed with a fifth—and disastrous—landing attempt in fog? Did the president himself order the move, as he did back in 2008 when a pilot refused to land in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, during the war between Russia and Georgia? The recovered cockpit recorders show the pilot received fair warning, and analysts are looking for more clues. The presidential plane itself had gone through a thorough checkup just four months ago, although questions remain about the aging aircraft and the Tu-154 overall. Polish government: What happens now? The interim president has 14 days from Kacynski's death to select an election date, and that election must be within 60 days of the announcement. Poles will likely elect their new leader before July 5. By many accounts, the conservative Kaczynski would have faced a tough autumn election against parliamentary speaker and liberal Komorowski, now acting president. There are other, possibly even more worrisome, concerns: The unprecedented number of deaths challenges the protocol to be followed in the event of a president's death. Polish laws dictate that only a sitting president can fill some of the vacancies, although interim leader Komorowski has made some appointments. Among the dead, AP reports, were ", the army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, the national bank president, the deputy foreign minister, the army chaplain, the head of the National Security Office, the deputy parliament speaker, the Olympic Committee head and at least two presidential aides and 17 lawmakers." Finding military chiefs may be among the most crucial tasks. Just days before the crash, Gen. David Petraeus had met with military leaders in Poland. Now the American general offered his condolences: "Almost everybody who was sitting on the other side of the table at my meeting with the general staff is no longer with us." [/b] |
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