World mourns Polish leaders in crash

"I am not coming here today to send my condolences by words but by what I am doing now," said a Polish woman who came with great sadness to pay her respects at the Polish Embassy in Beijing on Sunday. Li Hengying, an Armed Police Force officer, said more than 30 people signed the condolence book in the first two hours he was on duty. Yan Xiaoqing / China Daily

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WARSAW/SMOLENSK - Thousands of people stood silent in the streets of Poland's capital on Sunday to mourn President Lech Kaczynski and the dozens of political, military and religious leaders killed in a plane crash that ravaged the top levels of the nation's elite.

Church bells pealed and emergency sirens shrieked for nearly a minute before fading into silence. Hundreds bowed their heads, eyes closed, in front of the presidential palace. Buses and trams halted in the streets.

The president's body was returned to Poland on Sunday, where it was greeted by grieving dignitaries and thousands of Poles lining the route to the presidential palace. Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw - formerly Poland's prime minister - knelt on the ground and pressed his head against the flag-draped coffin.

Saturday's crash came as the aging Soviet-built Tu-154 airliner tried to land in deep fog in Smolensk, Russia, en route to a ceremony commemorating a slaughter that has divided the two nations for seven decades.

Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-staff and taped black ribbons in their windows after hearing that so many Poles lay dead in woods a short drive from the site of the Katyn forest massacre, where 22,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police in one of Poland's greatest national traumas.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Polish President Donald Tusk had pledged at their Katyn commemoration last week to work to overcome such painful historic memories.

In Beijing Sunday, outside the Poland embassy with its flag flying at half-mast, mourning visitors left roses and lilies on the fence and candles on the ground. A Polish man in a gray suit who did not want to be named stated, "It was devastating. It was the worst day for Poland since World War."

President Hu Jintao on Saturday sent condolences to Polish parliamentary speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, who is now acting president. Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also sent their condolences to Tusk and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski over the plane crash.

The crash also shocked Russia. Sensing the depth of the tragedy for Poland, Putin took charge of the investigation and quickly and publicly offered condolences, along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Chunks of the plane were scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the red and white national colors of Poland stuck up from the smoking debris. Early indications pointed to pilot error in heavy fog as a factor in the crash, officials said as investigators began to study data from flight recorders they recovered.

On board were the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said. Kaczynski's wife, Maria, also died.

Also among the dead were Poland's army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces. The government said the armed forces and state offices were operating normally.

Komorowski urged Poles to set aside their political differences at this

time. Kaczynski, a combative right-wing nationalist, was a controversial figure who made many enemies.

"We worked together to build Polish democracy," said Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement to which Kaczynski had belonged.

"Differences later pushed us apart ... But that is a closed chapter now," said Walesa.

Kacyznski had said he would seek a second term in presidential elections this fall but was expected to face an uphill struggle against Komorowski and his governing party, the moderate, pro-business Civic Platform.

Reuters, Xinhua and China Daily's Wang Chenyan contributed to the story

Associated Press

(China Daily 04/12/2010 page12)