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    New Human Rights Ombudsman appointed by the Parliamentary Committee

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    redakcja
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    New Human Rights Ombudsman appointed by the Parliamentary Committee
    twitter/@KancelariaSejmu

    The Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Human Rights gave a positive opinion on the nomination of Law and Justice MEP Bartłomiej Wróblewski as Ombudsman. The candidates of the Civic Coalition and the Polish People’s Party, Prof. Sławomir Patyra, and Lewica, Piotr Ikonowicz, did not win the support of a majority of members.

    “A very competent, honest, principled person who has his own values, which he described, and who turns his words into deeds. He helps people, helps the weakest, people with disabilities. He does it as an MEP, as a human being, and I am sure he will do it as an ombudsman. And I hope and deeply believe that the Sejm will accept, but also in the Senate there will be a reflection that party affiliation is not the most important thing.” stated Robert Gontarz from the Law and Justice. 

    “As far as the candidacy of MEP Wróblewski is concerned, we have a consensus that we will not support the candidacy. As for prof. Patyra, we will rather unanimously support this candidacy. As for Piotr Ikonowicz, our voices will be varied, but I will leave it for the evening to be a surprise.” commented Hanna Gill-Piątek from the Poland 2020 party.

    “There is one big problem and contradiction. This ruling is ordered for the political dictatorship from Nowgorodzka street. I am not going to decide today what Law and Justice will present in parliament today, but it will certainly not be in accordance with the Constitution. The Constitution does not provide for an acting ombudsman to be elected in a formula other than the Constitutional One.” said Borys Budka, the leader of the Civic Platform opposition party. 

     

     

     

    The ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal on the Ombudsman published in the Journal of Laws

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    redakcja
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    The ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal on the Ombudsman published in the Journal of Laws
    Bartosz Kalich / Gazeta Polska

    In the Journal of Laws on Thursday afternoon, the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal was published, declaring unconstitutional the provision, which allows the Ombudsman to perform his duties after the end of his term of office until his successor takes office. The provision is to expire 3 months after the publication of the ruling.

    As indicated by the Constitutional Tribunal in the justification of the judgment, within that time the parliament should pass an act on the term of office of the Ombudsman.

    In the justification of the judgment, Judge Stanisław Piotrowicz emphasized that the three-month period for the expiry of the law was defined in order to maintain the continuity of protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens.

    Proceedings in this matter were initiated by PiS deputies with a motion submitted to the Tribunal in mid-September last year. The aim was to examine the constitutionality of the statutory extension of the performance of duties by the Ombudsman in a situation where his five-year term specified in the constitution expired and a successor was not elected by the parliament.

     

    The open-air exhibition “Katyn Massacre 1940. The murder of Polish elites”

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    The open-air exhibition "Katyn Massacre 1940. The murder of Polish elites"
    gov.pl

    It is now eighty-one years since the Soviet murdered in April and May 1940 almost 22 000 of our compatriots who were the elite of pre-war Poland. On 13th April the Polish Parliament established the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre. On this occasion, the Ministry of Justice presents an open-air exhibition, which can be seen on the fence in front of the Ministry of Justice headquarter in Warsaw.

    Exhibition “Katyn Massacre 1940. The murder of Polish elites”, was prepared in cooperation with the Institute of National Remembrance. It succinctly presents the origins of the Katyn Massacre: from Stalin’s alliance with Hitler enshrined in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, by the Soviet assault on Poland of 17 September 1939, the detention of Polish officers in prisons and camps of the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs), until the decision of the Political Office of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of 5 March 1940 to shoot prisoners held in camps in Kozielsk, Starobielsk and Ostaszków and 11 thousand Polish prisoners from the eastern territories of the Second Republic. The creators of the exhibition described how the crime was carried out: transport to the scene of the shooting, shot on an occiput, burial in a mass grave. Thanks to the collected photographs, we can see the faces of the executioners, and short testimonies of their participation in the murder were also given.

     

    The next part of the exhibition is the story of the search for missing Polish officers, the discovery of the cruel truth about their deaths and the fight against attempts to hide it by the Soviet authorities and the Polish communists collaborating with them. We should not forget that until 1989, Katyn lies were officially taught in Polish schools, attributing the Katyn Massacre to Germany. That is why cultivating the memory of its victims remains so important to our national identity.

     

    The greatest emotion is undoubtedly caused by the pictures of the killed Poles and fragments of their logs and letters. Thanks to them, we have the opportunity to look into the eyes of the victims and hear their voice, full of optimism and faith in returning home. 

     

    The murderers were the elite of the Polish army and society. Among the 21,857 people murdered were 12 generals, about 8,250 officers of the Polish Army, more than 6,300 police officers, gendarmerie, prison guards, soldiers of the Border Protection Corps, intelligence and counterintelligence personnel of the Second Republic of Poland and 7,305 people from NKVD prisons. In addition to professional military and police officers, a large group were reserve officers – in civilian life performing various professions. Among those killed were 920 doctors and pharmacists, 770 scientists and teachers, 650 engineers, 450 lawyers, politicians, local government representatives, officials, landowners, priests and military settlers. 

     

    Prof. Gut: I don't see a chance to bring back stationary learning

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    Prof. Gut: I don't see a chance to bring back stationary learning
    pexels.com

    ‘At the moment, I see no chance to open schools and allow older children to attend schools freely,’ said virologist Prof. Włodzimierz Gut.

    Asked if he supported the government’s upkeep, he said that ‘the epidemic threat is not eliminated, so the restrictions have to remain’.

     

    ‘Of course, the more people are vaccinated, the easier it will be to loosen restrictions. We must remember that Poland ranks high in the ranking of deaths,’ stressed in an interview with “Super Express”.

     

    When it comes to the return of children to schools, Prof Gut is not very optimistic.

     

    ‘At the moment, I see no chance to open schools and allow older children to attend schools freely. Especially, since the elderly are no longer sick, and the generation of 40-50-year-olds,’ he pointed out.

     

    When asked in an interview with Super Express how it is possible to solve the problem of parents complaining that they do not have someone to leave their children with, who would normally attend primary school, Prof. Gut pointed out that “since the children have been in their homes, the mobility of parents has been reduced”. According to him, “this phenomenon is beneficial”.

     

    Answering the question of why the situation is so bad for deaths, as 700-800 people who die from coronavirus per day are huge numbers, the virologist concluded that “patients go to the doctor when it is too late”.

     

    ‘Therefore, it is important to react quickly. When you notice your first symptoms, contact your doctor immediately,’ appealed prof. Gut in an interview with “Super Express”.

    Belarusian militia in Andrzej Pisalnik's house

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    Belarusian militia in Andrzej Pisalnik's house
    wikipedia.org

    The militia entered the house of the editor-in-chief of znadniemna. pl, secretary of the General Board of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Pisalnik – reported kresy24. pl today.

    The phones of the journalist and his wife do not correspond. It is not known what is happening at this point in the apartment of the Secretary of the General Board of the Union of Poles in Belarus.

    Pisalnik was summoned on Tuesday to the public prosecutor’s office in Grodno. The prosecutor was to threaten an activist of the Polish minority in Belarus that he would be accused if he incited a feud on the basis of nationality if he did not stop talking in the media about the persecution of the Polish minority in Belarus.

     

    “I have been told that the authorities are monitoring publications on the Internet and they have to inform the authors that they are at risk of criminal liability” – spoke Pisalnik for kresy24. pl.

     

    The portal headed by Pisalnik znadniemna. pl previously informed about the detained members of the management of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB).

     

    Members of the Main Board of ZPB Poczobut, Biernacka and Tiszkowska were detained on 25th March by the Belarusian militia as part of a criminal case. President Boris had been detained two days earlier in connection with a case of “organising an illegal mass event” for which the authorities had declared annual folk arts and crafts fair Kaziuko mugė. On March 24, Boris was sentenced to 15 days in custody.

     

    On March 10, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brest opened a criminal case against a Polish activist and the headmaster of the Polish language school Anna Paniszewska. The case also concerns the alleged ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’. Paniszewa is in custody.

     

    The Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB) is the largest organisation of the Polish minority in Belarus. In 2005, the authorities in Minsk prevented its right to registration. For the statutory purposes of the ZPB activities, it is necessary to cultivate Polishness, promote Polish culture, learn the language and care for places of remembrance.

    Beata Szydło as a member of the Museum Council at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

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    Beata Szydło as a member of the Museum Council at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
    facebook.com/BeataSzydlo/

    Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport Piotr Gliński appointed Beata Szydło as part of the Museum Council at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Auschwitz for the term of office 2021-2025. “This social function is an honour and a great duty for me,” the former Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

    Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport’s provision of 8 April said that a total of nine people had been appointed to the Museum Council at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum for the term of office 2021-2025. The document entered into force on the date of signature.

     

    The Museum Council is an opinion body appointed by the Minister of Culture, in which representatives of different backgrounds sit. It supervises the fulfilment by the institution of its obligations to the collections and society. It shall also give an opinion on the annual activity plan and assess its implementation. In the previous term of office, the Council was chaired by the former Deputy Director of the Auschwitz Museum Krystyna Oleksy.

     

    The Germans founded Auschwitz in 1940 to imprison Poles. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was established two years later. It became the site of the extermination of the Jews. There was also a network of subcamps in the camp complex. At Auschwitz, Germans killed at least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, as well as Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners and people of other nationalities.

     

    In 1947, a museum was built on the site of the former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau camps. The former camp was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

    The number of Belarusians in Poland increased by half

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    redakcja
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    The number of Belarusians in Poland increased by half
    Pixabay.com

    The number of Belarusian citizens with valid residence permits in Poland has exceeded 30,000 people. Over the past two years, this group has grown by approx. 50 percent, said the press spokesman of the Office for Foreigners, Jakub Dudziak.

    The information provided by the Office for Foreigners shows that the majority of Belarusians residing in Poland have permanent residence permits issued in relation to their Polish origin and the Pole’s Card. Usually they are young people.

    “The territorial location of Belarusians settling in Poland is uneven. The most frequently chosen regions according to voivodeship are: Mazowieckie – 34 percent, Podlaskie – 20 percent, Lubelskie – 8 percent, Pomorskie – 7 percent and Małopolskie – 6 percent,” said Jakub Dudziak from the Office.

    “The number of applications for a temporary residence permit is also systematically growing. Currently, such documents are held by almost 10,000 Belarusian citizens. The vast majority of them are issued in connection with taking up employment – about 70 percent of cases,” Dudziak said.

    The Office for Foreigners also informed that since last year’s presidential elections in Belarus, the number of people applying for refugee status in Poland has also increased. From August 2020 to the end of March 2021, over 630 Belarusians submitted such applications.

     

    Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre. President: They were killed only because they were Polish patriots

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    Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre. President: They were killed only because they were Polish patriots
    ipn.gov.pl

    They were killed only because they were Polish patriots. Because they vowed to defend Polish independence and were ready to serve their daily work – wrote President Andrzej Duda in a message on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre. “Our memory of Katyn is a moral duty and a great commitment to serve the homeland. The victims of this massacre have left us with a testament to steadfast, proud patriotism,” he added.

    Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre is celebrated every year on April 13.

     

    “Every April 13, we honour in a special way the memory of nearly 22.000 Poles who have been the victims of a terrible communist crime against peace, humanity and the Polish people. The act of genocide, which was the Katyn massacre, continues in our historical memory as a painful wound and a warning” – stressed Andrzej Duda.

     

    Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also addressed today’s anniversary, stressing that “there are supporters not to talk much about the Katyn massacre”. 

     

    ‘Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre, established by the Polish Parliament of the Republic of Poland in 2007 and celebrated on April 13th, commemorates this terrible massacre, the victims of which were Poles. They were murdered because they were Poles. This was a sufficient and only argument for Soviet criminals. The perpetrators of this crime, as well as many others, have never been punished. In the Polish People’s Republic, those who demanded the truth were punished for this. Even today there are supporters not to talk much about the Katyn massacre, not to spread the truth about it because it is inconvenient truth’ – added the Head of Government.

     

    “More – some try to whitewash criminals, accusing victims of actions they never committed. This confusion of notion, of mixing good with evil, is intended to abate the truth, to create the conviction that “everyone has their truth”. Therefore, on days like today, we must take care of the truth and pass it on to future generations” – emphasized Morawiecki.

     

    In the spring of 1940, about 22,000 Polish officers, soldiers and policemen interned in Soviet prisons and camps were murdered upon the orders of the highest authorities of communist Russia (including Joseph Stalin). Poles were to be killed without trial by officers of the Soviet political police – NKVD. This mass killing is referred to as the Katyń Massacre, the name deriving from the town of Katyń – one of several places where Polish officers were murdered.

     

    Nowak released from prison on bail

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    redakcja
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    Nowak released from prison on bail
    Fot. Portal TV Republika

    The developing story of high profile political corruption took another turn today as the District Court of Warsaw released Mr. Sławomir Nowak from prison. Mr Nowak was a colleague of former prime minister Donald Tusk, a minister in his government, and head of the Ukrainian road authority. Last year Kiev produced the corruption charges and since July 2020 Nowak has been in detention. The Warsaw court’s decision to free Nowak came as a shock to the prosecutors.

    Sławomir Nowak might look like a model but years ago he was one of the most promising ministers in the Donald Tusk government. Now he is being prosecuted for committing several corrupt acts, including accepting bribes for the awarding of contracts for the construction and repair of roads in Ukraine, as well as money laundering. Journalists established that the judge, Agnieszka Domańska, who freed Nowak is a part of the Justicia organisation that opposes the current government. Last Friday former prime minister Donald Tusk appeared on national television and called the Nowak arrest “political”. 

    “There is a question whether Mr. Tusk’s aggressive and baseless accusation on TV and the action of the judiciary are connected? For months we got completely different verdicts based on the same facts.” commented minister of justice, Zbigniew Ziobro. 

    Nowak paid the court a 1 000 000 Polish zloty bail, police supervision, and a ban on leaving the country.

    “I will fight for my reputation but now please allow me to meet my family. And I thank everyone who has supported me.” stated Sławomir Nowak.

    Joanna Broniszewska, Nowak’s attorney announced that she will disclose illegal activities of state law enforcement agencies in this case.  

    “I am happy for what has happened but at this stage I will not comment on further proceedings.” said the attorney.

    At the same time the prosecutor wants the court to reconsider the decision because of the severe penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment. Prosecutors need to hear additional witnesses and are afraid that Mr. Nowak will influence the hearing if he is set free.  

    The remaining suspects in the investigation of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw are also at large, including a friend of the former minister, Jacek P., who is also a suspect and a key witness for the prosecutor’s office, as his explanations contributed to the presentation of further charges against Nowak.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Tulips for the late Maria Kaczyńska from the Clubs of the “Gazeta Polska”

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    redakcja
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    Tulips for the late Maria Kaczyńska from the Clubs of the "Gazeta Polska"
    Bartosz Kalich / Gazeta Polska

    On Tuesday, April 13 at 12.00 in front of the Presidential Palace, the Clubs of “Gazeta Polska” will pay tribute to the late Maria Kaczyńska – First Lady, spouse of the late President Lech Kaczyński. As every year, the area in front of the Palace will be decorated with beautiful tulips, her favorite flowers.

    As every year, Maria Kaczyńska is remembered by the Clubs of “Gazeta Polska”. In front of the Presidential Palace, they lay the First Lady’s favorite flowers – tulips.

    First Lady Maria Kaczyńska had a plant variety of the tulip genus, which was named in her honor. The name was named after Maria Kaczyńska in September 2008 in the gardens of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Warsaw at ul. Kawalerii 10. The initiator of the naming was the Dutch ambassador to Poland – Marnix Krop. The tulip onion given to the first lady was number 00001.

     

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