“I believe that on the eighth anniversary the monuments will be standing here, and that we will have the final answers about the Smolensk crash,” said PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński on ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw. On Thursday evening, members and supporters of the Law and Justice party met to commemorate the 88th mensiversary of the crash. There was also a counter-demonstration.
The March of Remembrance set off from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, moved across pl. Zamkowy and along ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście to arrive in front of the Presidential Palace. A banner with the inscription “We remember Smolensk” was carried at the head of the group. Many participants waved Polish national flags.
“Monuments on the eighth anniversary”
The chairman of PiS Jarosław Kaczyński delivered a speech in which he expressed hope that monuments commemorating the victims of the Smolensk crash would soon be standing. He also said we were getting closer to “learning the truth about the crash.” “We keep hearing new reports, and I am certain that when these monuments are unveiled, and I believe this will happen on the eighth anniversary of the tragedy, we will also hear the final answer, no matter what it is,” he stressed. “It so happens that at this point there will have been 96 marches, and the number of victims was also 96 – we will be able to say: we have finished our job. We have finished, because we have won, and until we win, we will not stop and no one will be able to stop us,” said Kaczyński.
Barriers were put up along the entire route of the march and police officers stood guard.
Counter-demonstration
In the evening, members of a counter-demonstration started to gather along the barriers. Many of them brought white roses, Polish national flags and EU flags. Leader of Obywatele RP Paweł Kasprzak appealed to the demonstrators not to interfere with the mensiversary march, particularly during prayers.
“When the Smolensk people pray, let’s do everything we can to show respect for their constitutional rights,” he said. He called for “avoidance of any forms of aggression, including verbal.” “We also remember the 96 victims of the tragedy today. We even remember Lech Kaczyński, former President of Poland, a tragic President,” he continued. If Lech Kaczyński were alive, “the antics that his twin brother gets up to today would not have been possible,” claimed Kasprzak.
“In our initial assessment, the demonstration and counter-demonstration were peaceful. Police officers performed their duties, such as examining identity papers of the demonstrators,” said Sylwester Marczak, spokesman of the Metropolitan Police.
Źródło: tvn24.pl/tłumaczenie Intertext.com.pl