Protestors call for Wawel without politiciians; below right, counter demo by Pres Kaczynski supporters; photos - PAP/Jacek Bednarczyk

Protestors for and against the burial of President Kaczynski and First Lady Maria at Wawel Castle in Krakow took place in city in southern Poland Monday night, marking one year since the funeral ceremonies of the couple killed in the Smolensk plane disaster.

Around 17.00 CET, a few dozen demonstrators carrying banners reading “Wawel without politicians” gathered outside the castle, protesting at what see as the politicisation of the resting place of Poland’s kings and national heroes.

Where to bury the Presidential couple opened up the first divisions in Poland following the disaster which killed all 96 on board the Tu-154 in western Russia. Some thought President Kaczynski should be buried in his hometown of Warsaw, while others, including his daughter Marta, thought Wawel Castle a more fitting resting place.

“This is a place for kings and that it is how it should be,” one protestor told the TVP public broadcaster.

The protestors handed out small Polish flags and leaflets declaring “"Cardinal error 04/18/2010”. According the Agata Wantuch from the Wawel Castle Civil Association which organised the protest the bodies of the presidential couple should be moved to Warsaw where they belong. “That‘s the point of the protest,” she said.

After 19.00 CET the protestors moved the Katyn Cross monument, in memory of the 22,000 Polish officers killed by Stalin’s security forces in 1940.

At the same, a few hundred supporters of the late president, including members of the opposition Law and Justice party gathered in the old market square in Poland and released 96 white balloons in memory of those who died in the Smolensk disaster.

The demonstration, organised by the right wing Gazeta Polska magazine also arrived at the Katyn Cross where prayers were led.

 

Marta Kaczynski thanked those who gathered for “keeping alive the memory of my father.”

The pro-Kaczynski protestors again called for the “truth” of the Smolensk plane crash be revealed, claiming that Russian investigators have been covering up certain details of what led to the plane crash on 10 April last year. They also are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Donald Tusk for what they see as his weakness in the face of the alleged cover up. (pg)