I see no reason why anyone should hide documents so many years after the Smolensk disaster, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday. If it is indeed the case that there are some secret documents that Antoni Macierewicz wants to protect, this in itself is a unique scandal, he noted.
The head of government was asked at a press conference on Tuesday about the statement of the former head of the Smolensk Subcommittee, Antoni Macierewicz, who stated earlier in the day that top secret, classified and restricted materials of the Smolensk Subcommittee were in safes. he had the keys. The PiS politician said he could only forward them to the State Aviation Accidents Investigation Commission.
It is a bit humiliating, the need to comment on the words of someone like Antoni Macierewicz, after years of what he has done, also with the emotions of all the families of the victims.
– said the Prime Minister at a press conference.
If it is indeed the case that there are secret documents that he wants to protect, that in itself is a unique scandal
– he emphasized.
Tusk noted: “I find no reason why, so many years after the disaster, anyone, even such a strange and ambiguous figure as Mr. Macierewicz, planned to hide documents related to the disaster.”
Ignoring the entire context of the situation. This is outrageous. Honestly, I don’t even want to talk about it. I can only assure you that (…) we will draw all the consequences
– said the Prime Minister.
I can also assure you that the decisions we make, including with regard to Mr. Macierewicz, will be upheld whether anyone likes it or not.
– added.
By decision of the head of the Ministry of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on December 15, the subcommittee on the re-investigation of the Smolensk disaster was liquidated and its members dismissed. Members of the subcommittee were required to arrange by December 18 all documentation, property, and equipment used for the subcommittee’s work.
On April 10, 2010, the crash of the Tu-154M aircraft near Smolensk killed all passengers and crew: 96 people, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife. The Polish delegation was on its way to the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.
The Subcommittee for the Re-investigation of the Smolensk Disaster was established under the regulation of February 4, 2016, signed by the then Minister of National Defense Antoni Macierewicz. The first meeting took place on March 7, 2016.
In April 2022, Macierewicz presented a report on her work that questioned the Miller Commission’s findings.
The cause of the April 10 disaster over Smolensk was an act of illegal interference by the Russian side on the Tu-154M aircraft with a delegation of the President of the Republic of Poland; the main and indisputable evidence of this interference was an explosion in the left wing 100 m before the plane passed a birch on Dr.’s plot. Bodin, over an area where there were no tall trees or other obstacles that could threaten the aircraft.
– said Macierewicz, presenting the report.
In April this year, the Smolensk Subcommittee submitted a notification to the Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of committing the assassination of President Lech Kaczyński and the murder of the remaining 95 people who traveled on the Tu-154 on April 10, 2010.
In 2010-2011, the causes of the Smolensk crash were investigated by the State Aviation Accident Investigation Commission, chaired by the then head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration Jerzy Miller. In the report presented in July 2011, the commission determined that the cause of the disaster was the descent below the minimum descent height, which resulted in a collision of the aircraft with trees, leading to the gradual destruction of the Tu-154M -structure. According to the Commission, neither the audio recorders nor the flight parameters confirm the suspicion of an explosion on board the aircraft.
The investigation into the Smolensk disaster has been conducted by the prosecutor’s office since April 10, 2010. First of all, it was the Military District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. After the reform of the public prosecutor’s office by the PiS government, the investigation was taken over by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office from the then liquidated military public prosecutor’s office. Since March 2016, the case has been handled by Investigation Team No. I of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office. In July this year, the PK announced that the Smolensk subcommittee’s report had been included in the investigation.
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Words from the head of the Ministry of National Defense
Government officials, such as committee members, do not own the materials; the owner is the Polish state – said on Tuesday the Deputy Prime Minister and the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, referring to the words of the former head of the Smolensk Subcommittee, A. Macierewicz.
On Tuesday, Antoni Macierewicz, former chairman of the Smolensk subcommittee, said in the PAP Studio:
Top secret, classified and restricted materials from the Smolensk Subcommittee are in vaults to which I have the keys. I can only pass them on to the State Aviation Accidents Investigation Commission.
When asked whether he was concerned about Macierewicz’s words, the Deputy Prime Minister replied that accounting for all materials, documents, reports and analyzes should be self-evident.
Government officials, such as subcommittee members, do not own material. The owner is the Polish state. If the committee ceases to function, all documents and expert opinions ordered for its needs must be transferred. If unlawful conduct has occurred, we will explain everything
– he emphasized.
Asked whether Macierewicz had handled all the documents, Kosiniak-Kamysz said a variety of situations could have arisen over the course of eight years. He also noted that the statement, among other things, This matter will be dealt with by a specially appointed team under the supervision of the Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk.
This requires a calm and serious analysis with experts in the field of law and aviation safety
– he said.
The head of the Ministry of National Defense announced that the team will be presented this week or just after Christmas.
mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce