Poland commemorates Smoleńsk crash anniversary
11:25
On Sunday, Poland marked the sixth anniversary of a plane crash in Smoleńsk, which killed 96 people, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife. This year's celebrations were the first since conservative party Law and Justice (PiS) led by Jarosław Kaczyński, twin brother of late president, took power in October 2015.
On Sunday morning, President Andrzej Duda attended a commemorative mass in the Royal Wawel Cathedral in Kraków and laid flowers on the grave of the president and his wife. In Warsaw, Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Jarosław Kaczyński took part in a ceremony at graves at Warsaw’s Powązki cementary.
In the afternoon, President Andrzej Duda unveiled a memorial plaque to Lech Kaczyński in front of the presidential palace. Calling for unity and forgiveness, the president said that "an honest and calm, solid inquiry into what happened then [is necessary]. But without political quarrels.”
The culmination of the day was a speech by Jarosław Kaczyński, who blamed the previous government led by Donald Tusk for the crash.
"Because somebody's responsible for that tragedy, at least morally, irrespective of what its causes were. It's the previous government that was responsible, the one led by Donald Tusk," he said. "Yes, forgiveness is needed. But forgiveness after the admission of guilt and after appropriate punishment is meted out," he added.
Kaczyński also announced that a new monument on Krakowskie Przedmieście in central Warsaw should be erected.
