Defence Minister accepts Mleczak's resignation after missile blunder

Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdziński yesterday accepted the resigntion of Defence Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak. The resignation comes fo llowing his announcement that Polish soldiers had found French Roland missiles in the area of Al-Hilla, in Central Iraq, with a production date of 2003. The statement caused immediate reaction from French President Jacque Chirac, who denied the allegations and announced that the country had not authorized any military equipment to be send to Iraq since 1990. A detailed report concerning the said missiles is to be issued during a forth coming press conference on October 13. Prime Minister Leszek Miller criticized the army and said that all details should have been checked before a public announcement was made "While media reports can sometimes be wrong, rep resentatives of the Ministry have to have absolute certainty," he said. (www.onet.pl) A.K.