The Subcommittee for the Investigation of the Smolensk Disaster will continue to operate under the applicable law until August 2024. The head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has taken a position that the subcommittee’s current decisions are not legally valid. This stance has contributed to a lack of accessible information, according to Antoni Macierewicz, the subcommittee’s chair, who spoke to PAP while commenting on reports about the subcommittee’s liquidation.
Withdrawal of the decision establishing the subcommittee
The Ministry of National Defense announced that on Friday, December 15, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz signed a decision, initialed by Deputy Minister Cezary Tomczyk, to revoke the decision establishing a subcommittee of the Ministry of National Defense for the re-investigation of the Tu-154 air accident of April 10, 2010.
The subcommittee is being liquidated and its members are required to dispose of all documentation, real estate and equipment used for the subcommittee’s work by Monday, December 18.
– stated in the announcement of the Ministry of National Defense. It was also announced that from Friday all powers for activities related to the work of the subcommittee will be withdrawn from the members of the subcommittee.
In the near future, a special team will be set up to analyze every aspect of the activities of the liquidated subcommittee
– announced.
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“Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz’s position is illegal”
In fact, the position taken by Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz is described as illegitimate, which means he cannot issue decisions that would lead to the liquidation of the Subcommittee. The minister also has no authority to require the transfer of documents and other materials of the subcommittee’s work by the Chairman within four days before the end of the subcommittee’s term. None of the provisions cited by the minister authorize winding up the Subcommittee before August 2024.
– Macierewicz told PAP.
He noted that the functioning of the Subcommittee is defined by the Regulation of the Minister of National Defense from 2016, and there is no provision or mechanism to wind up the Subcommittee before its one-year term ends.
The 1996 decision concerns only the powers of the Ministry of National Defense and does not grant the authority to liquidate the subcommittee
– he emphasized.
This is described as a breach of the rule of law
– Macierewicz emphasized.
“No government official can decide on the validity of the report.”
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk stated on Friday that the report of Jerzy Miller’s commission remains the valid document on the Smolensk disaster.
He added that Jerzy Miller’s report is a valid document and will be restored to the Ministry’s website for the Department of National Defense
– said Tomczyk.
This stance was described as lawlessness
– said Macierewicz.
No government official can decide the validity of the report. By law, this is the exclusive domain of the Subcommittee Chairman
– he emphasized.
Tomczyk pointed out that from the moment the head of the Ministry of National Defense issued the decision, the subcommittee had no right to undertake future activities or obligations.
This was labeled nonsensical
– said Macierewicz.
There was no document provided to the subcommittee, and no information about it was communicated through media or by telephone. Our secretary was at the Ministry of Defense office, and nothing was disclosed. Due to the action, it appears as media propaganda and from a legal point of view is a measure that should be described as propaganda-repressive rather than lawful.
– noted the Chairman of the Subcommittee.
A family member of Kosiniak-Kamysz and Deripaska’s company
He added: “Everything indicates that Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz is personally involved in this case.”
The situation is linked to a 2009 decision by the then Deputy Minister of National Defense Kosiniak-Kamysz, which influenced the choice to route the aircraft’s repair work away from the previous company and toward the company of Mr. Oleg Deripaska, the owner of the Samara factory and a known associate of Vladimir Putin with ties to the secret services. The Polish entity Polit Elektronik, which had Polish status, played a central role. This context suggests the issue extends beyond politics and into personal ties that may fuel unlawful conduct.
– Macierewicz stated.
Macierewicz stressed that no state official can invalidate the report or cite other material as a valid report.
It’s impossible
– he added.
Such decisions can only be made by the chairman of the subcommittee, not by the minister, the prime minister, or the president. There is no such mechanism here, which signals a broader pattern of lawlessness among current institutions, a situation that cannot be tolerated.
– he pointed.
“It is not possible to question our report.”
Asked about potential actions upon receiving the liquidation decision, he responded:
If a legal position is provided, it will be followed. That is clear. Regardless of political views, the law must be obeyed.
The subcommittee’s functioning is independent: None of the President, the Prime Minister, or the Minister of Defense have the right to accept or challenge the report. They neither accept nor deny
– Macierewicz noted.
It is not possible for Kosiniak-Kamysz, his deputy, or even Donald Tusk to question the report adopted in 2021 and published in 2022. Current officials of the Ministry of National Defense claim the Subcommittee has not published a report on the causes of the Smolensk disaster. That claim is disputed, and the report and its attachments have been removed from the Ministry of Defense website. It is viewed by some as a Soviet-style maneuver
– the vice president of PiS stated.
He described the decision as an obvious step that could align with external actors, but asserted that this would not alter the facts. He urged those involved to avoid deception.
While the Ministry of Defense and political figures may perceive support from various media, the stance remains contested.
Investigation into the causes of the Smolensk disaster
On April 10, 2010, the Tu-154M crashed near Smolensk, resulting in the deaths of all onboard passengers and crew, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife. The Polish delegation was en route to the Katyn massacre commemoration ceremony.
In 2010-2011, the causes were examined by the State Aviation Accident Investigation Commission, chaired by Jerzy Miller. The July 2011 report concluded that the descent below the minimum altitude led to a collision with trees and progressive aircraft destruction, with no conclusive evidence of an on-board explosion based on available flight data and audio records.
Earlier, in October 2010, members of the committee issued a document asserting that Russian positions were false about pilot error and called for a new report.
The Subcommittee for the Re-investigation of the Smolensk Disaster was established under February 4, 2016 regulation signed by Antoni Macierewicz, then Minister of National Defense. The first meeting occurred on March 7, 2016.
In April 2022, the head of the subcommittee, Antoni Macierewicz, presented a report that questioned the Miller Commission’s findings. The April 10 disaster was attributed to illegal interference by the Russian side, with evidence cited as an explosion in the left wing near the birch tree line, and a second explosion in the center wing.
– Macierewicz described the report and its key conclusions. Opposition figures criticized the subcommittee’s work. In December 2022, some critics argued about funds spent and the state of the investigation, while Macierewicz published material viewed by some as contentious.
In April this year, the Smolensk Subcommittee filed a notification to the Prosecutor’s Office regarding suspicions of involvement in the assassination of President Lech Kaczyński and the 95 others on the Tu-154. In December this year, the Subcommittee prepared a complaint against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights, asserting that explosions caused the disaster.
The investigation into the Smolensk disaster has been conducted by the prosecutor’s office since April 10, 2010. It began with the Military District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw and later moved to the National Public Prosecutor’s Office following reforms under the ruling party. Since March 2016, the case has been handled by Investigation Team No. I of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office. In 2022, the prosecutor’s office charged Russian controllers with actions intended to cause the disaster. A Warsaw court later arrested these controllers. In July this year, the PK noted that the Smolensk Subcommittee’s report on the attack on the Polish President and political elite was included in the ongoing investigation.
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Citation: wPolityce