Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the Smolensk disaster. Just one day before the official commemorations, a disgraceful provocation took place. A man appeared at the Smolensk Disaster Memorial in Warsaw and splashed the monument with red paint! TV Republika is reporting live from the scene.
The Smolensk Disaster
On April 10, 2010, Poland’s political and social elite—including the late President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria—died in a tragic plane crash on Russian soil. The delegation had been on its way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. Fifteen years have passed since the disaster, yet the memory of those who perished remains vivid.
Since then, on the 10th of every month, members of the Law and Justice party—led by party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, the brother of the late president—along with Gazeta Polska clubs, honor the memory of the 96 victims. However, these solemn monthly ceremonies are often disrupted by groups of provocateurs. Police response—particularly under the current coalition government led by Donald Tusk—has frequently been criticized as inadequate.
Dr. Nawrocki’s Appeal
Ahead of the 15th anniversary, Dr. Karol Nawrocki—both a presidential candidate and the head of the Institute of National Remembrance—issued an appeal to Rafał Trzaskowski, the Mayor of Warsaw.
See: Anniversary of the Smolensk Disaster – Nawrocki Appeals to Trzaskowski (VIDEO)
Provocation on the Eve of Commemorations
The Niezalezna.pl news portal reported today that one such anticipated provocation has already taken place.
“The man is recording himself on a phone, shouting slogans about the climate crisis, a burning planet, the suspension of asylum rights, and claiming that no one is telling the truth about Smolensk,”
the portal writes.
Police are already on site, though the man has yet to come down from the monument.