President Komorowski is to award Gazeta Wyborcza editor-in-chief Adam Michnik, former PM Jan Krzysztof Bielecki and politician Aleksander Hall the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest decoration.The move has triggered resignations from the Chapter of the White Eagle, a body of previous winners of the honour, who say they were not consulted over the awards, which is a break with the usual protocol.
Adam Michnik was controversially left out by President Lech Kaczynski in March 2008 when he awarded all of the leading participants of the March 1968 protests in Poland bar the editor-in-chief of the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. Michnik was a fierce critic of the late Lech Kaczynski.
The three former Solidarity activists will be given the Order of the White Eagle medals during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on 10 November.
ProtestPrevious recipient of the medal, leading Solidarity activist Andrzej Gwiazda has resigned from the Chapter of the White eagle in protest as he says that he and other medal holders were not consulted over the nominations.
“This kind of behaviour does not befit the President,” Gwiazda told Polish Radio.
He said however that he has nothing personally against the three who will collect the awards next week.
Presidential minister Slawomir Nowak confirmed that President Bronislaw Komorowski’s decision to award Michnik and the others the distinction was agreed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
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