Who will bid farewell to Lech Kaczyński on behalf of Belarusians?

The German chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkosi, head of Russia Dmitrii Medvedev and US President Barrack Obama will gather near the coffins of Lech and Maria Kaczyńskis. Higher representatives from the EU and NATO are also expected. Barack Obama said that the tragedy near Smolensk was a loss for the whole world. He announced it at a nuclear security summit in Washington.

Barack Obama: “It is a loss not only for Poland but for the whole world. America is together with Poland as an ally and a close friend in these hard days. I know that we will all be together with the Polish people as the international community. Poles have proved their unusual strength and endurance throughout the history. Our soles are together with the Poles – in our thoughts and prayers. Let us join them in their mourning”.

National mourning has been announced on different continents. Lithuania, Brasilia, Ukraine, Georgia and other states have expressed their solidarity with the Poles who have lost the majority of their political elite. However, the Belarusian authorities have only limited to written sympathy so far. It is still not clear whether the Belarusian leader will attend the funeral of Kaczyński, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s press service has informed about it in an interview with ERB.

An employee of the press service: “Alyaksandr Ryhoravіch is on a business trip across Belarus so we have no information now. I think they all are in Homel Province now”.
The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrei Savihyn has assured ERB that Belarus would be represented by officials of high rank at the funeral of the Polish President Lech Kaczyński.
Andrei Savіnyh: “An official delegation of high rank will be sent by the Republic of Belarus to take part in mourning ceremonies in Poland. Its composition is still being decided and will become known one of these days”.
The BNF party is also going to send its delegation to the funeral of Lech Kaczyński. Let us remind you that the Polish President’s party “Law and Justice” and the BNF party have agreements about partnership.
Meanwhile, bodies of those who died in the plane crash near Smolensk on April 10 are being brought to Poland. 32 coffins with the remains of the tragedy’s victims were delivered to Warsaw on Wednesday, April 14. The body of the last President of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski will be delivered to the Polish capital on another special plane.

People are bidding farewell to Lech and Maria Kaczyńskis now. The coffins with their bodies are placed in the Presidential Palace for numerous visitors. Poles are queuing in front of the Presidential Palace even at night.

Elderly woman: “I have been queuing all night long, from 11 p.m. till morning. It has only started raining now and the weather was good at night so queuing was good. I do not stand here for anything; I do it for certain values. I have to realize them the way our President did”.
A ceremony dedicated to all the victims of the crash will take place in Warsaw on Saturday, April 17. The presidential couple’s relatives would like to bury them in Krakow. Lech and Maria Kaczyńskis will rest near Jozef Pilsudski, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Adam Mickiewicz and Polish kings. Krakow's archbishop, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz has officially confirmed it.

Stanisław Dziwisz: “The final decision has been taken. The best place will be Krakow Wawel. The President should be buried near the people who did a lot of our country – kings, heroes and leaders. I would like this funeral and place to unite our society.”
Meanwhile, the decision of Kaczyńskis’s relatives to bury the presidential couple in Wawel has not been welcomed by some Poles. There was a meeting organized in Krakow on the evening of April 13. Its mottos were “Krakow says no!”, “Really worth the kings?” and “Not Wawel but Powązki Cemetery!”  About 400 people took part in it. The protesting people promised that their number would keep increasing.
Krakow student: “Of course it is embarrassing to protest during a national mourning. However, Wawel is a place where people who did most for the history of our country rest. They are great personalities. I respected President Kaczyński but, to tell the truth, I don’t think he will fit in this company”.

By the way, about 30 thousand Internet users have signed the letter of protest against the burial of the Kaczyńskis in Krakow. The producer of the film “Katyn” Andrei Vaida has also supported them.

Burial-vault of Krakow Cathedral where the Kaczyńskis will be buried