The self-styled defenders of the Smolensk cross in Warsaw have asked for dialogue to end the dispute but threaten that they will camp outside the Presidential Palace all winter if need be.

A group of people holding vigil near the Smolensk cross in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw have called on President Bronislaw Komorowski to start dialogue with them.

The defenders of the cross, commemorating the 10April air crash that killed Poland’s presidential couple and 94 others, say they are ready for a compromise but are adamant on the point of leaving the cross where it is.

They have so far prevented attempts to move the cross to a nearby church and say it should be an element of a monument, which should be erected in front of the Presidential Palace.

“We sincerely want this conflict to end. We are being used instrumentally here, and perhaps we are needed here. But I am asking – how long can this last – till spring? We are certain we can survive the winter,” one unnamed protestor told Polish Radio.

The dispute over the cross has set Poles apart. Some 7,000 people, who are against the presence of religious symbols in public places, have staged a demonstration there recently, responding to a call on the internet. (kk/pg)