President Kwasniewski will not participate in the opening of Orlat cemetery

Yesterday President Aleksander Kwasniewski cancelled his visit to Lvov, where he was to participate in the opening ceremony of the Orlat Cemetery. "There are no conditions to honor the memory of the dead on May 21," he said. On Thursday, despite appeals from both Polish and Ukrainian sides, Lvov councilors rejected the December agreement between Warsaw and Kiev on the shape of the cemetery. According to Gazeta Wyborcza daily, they were irritated by the word "heroically" in the inscription "To unknown soldiers who heroically died in the struggle for Poland," as well as the monuments of French volunteers and American aviators. "I'm sad and disappointed. The decision of the councilors is not in harmony with the agreement between our countries," said Kwasniewski. A month ago Polish and Ukrainian presidents assured that on May 21 they would personally open the cemetery. Kwasniewski admitted that by this assurance they wanted to exert a small amount of pressure on Lvov. "The dispute on the cemetery does not mean that Poland will suspend cooperation with Ukraine in other fields," added Kwasniewski. (Gazeta Wyborcza, May 18-19, p.1) A.Z.