New Appointments: Police; ABW; Sejm Commission

Bieńkowski is the first person without a police background to be appointed to this post. According to Ryszard Kalisz, the move is a signal to the police saying that among them there was no one to choose from. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 7) … Witold Marczuk, former head of Straż Miejska in Warsaw has been appointed the new head of the Internal Security Agency (ABW). His candidacy still has to be accepted by the President and the Sejm Secret Services Committee. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. A4) … Yesterday, an unofficial coalition of Law and Justice (PiS), Self-Defense, Polish Family League (LPR) and Polish Peasants Party (PSL) voted in favor of increasing the number of the members of the Sejm Secret Services Committee. PiS thus proved it has a majority in Sejm. Against the change were Civic Platform (PO) and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) ... Premier Marcinkiewicz has banned all former secret service officers from sitting on the management or supervisory boards of any state-owned companies. Marcinkiewicz said that in this way he wants to eliminate the illegal actions of the past and present secret services employees from economy. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 22) A.F.