Presidents
Obama and Komorowski review Polish troops in Warsaw.
Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
Poles Have
Questions for President Obama!
This Friday
and Saturday, the President of the United States will visit Warsaw. He
will participate in the 17th Summit of Central European Countries and meet our
politicians, representatives of the democratic opposition, and some of the relatives
of those who tragically perished in the Smolensk air crash. We don’t know what
they'll discuss, but we do know what some people would like to ask the U.S.
leader.
[Editor's Note: Much of this article revolves
around the April 11, 2010 Smolensk air crash, which took the lives of 97 of
Poland's leading politicians, soldiers and intellectuals, including the
president. The country has yet to recover. Ironically, the Polish passengers on
their way to Smolensk, Russia; were, along with Russian leaders, about to take part in a
memorial intended to heal the pain of the Katyn
massacre, the mass execution of Polish nationals perpetrated by the Soviet
secret police in April-May 1940. Many Poles believe there is some kind of cover
up - or even that it was a conspiracy hatched by the former opposition party, who
now govern the country.]
Could you help me, please?
JadwigaGosiewska, mother of former
MP PrzemysławGosiewski
who lost his life the Smolensk crash, wrote a letter to Barack Obama asking for a
meeting: “I am confident that you could help me and other families who lost
their loved ones in the Smolensk catastrophe, by ordering an independent international
investigation. The actions taken so far don't engender the confidence that human
rights are being respected. Hoping that you'll understand, I ask that you receive
me and hear me out.”
Will you involve yourself in the investigation?
Relatives of other victims of
those who died in the Smolensk catastrophe would like to meet Obama as well. StanisławZagrodzki, cousin
of EwaBakowska who also
died on April 10, would ask him: “Why didn’t the American administration get
involved in the investigation, or at least appoint someone to take part in it, particularly
when one of the victims was an American citizen. As we know, WojciechSeweryn had dual
citizenship - Polish and American.” [Translator’s Note: EwaBakowska was a granddaughter of MieczyslawSmorawinski, a famous Polish general killed in the Katyn massacre of 1940. She was also an active member of a group
representing the families of those who died at Katyn].
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Question Two: “Does the
United States, or its intelligence agencies, have intelligence on the possible causes of the
TU-154 crash in Smolensk? Will they co-operate and pass this information
onto the agencies investigating the disaster?” Zagrodzki
would also ask whether U.S. authorities posses
satellite imagery of the tragedy, and if they've managed to gather any
information about the people who may have been involved in the catastrophe, or
who have hindered the investigation.
New technologies and shale gas
GrzegorzNapieralski, leader of the Democratic Left
Alliance, would like to question Obama on issues relating to Polish-U.S and E.U.-U.S. cooperation,
in the battle to lessen the effects of the financial crisis, for example; what joint actions
toward stabilization could we share in terms of finance and the economy, and what should we make of the after-effects of the crisis, particularly
in terms of events in China relating to its currency reserves and financial expansion?
Napieralski added that he would also like to ask
Obama about U.S. government plans for using innovation and modern technologies
to allocate financial resources, and how they affect the economic development of
the country. He would also like to raise the sensitive issue of visas
for Poles. Deputy Prime Minister WaldemarPawlak, said that he would also like to talk to President
Obama about the shale gas issue.
National security and economy
Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska,
leader of the Poland
Comes First Party, says: “The visit of the President of the United States is a
good time to talk about both security and the economy, as they pertain to our
relations with the United States. Some form of special status for U.S.-Polish
relations would allow us access to the newest technologies, which could
strengthen our security.”
Shale gas: we won’t manage on our own
Zbigniew Lawicki, specialist in American
studies, also thinks we should talk
to Obama about our country's shale gas resources. But Lawicki
explained that he wasn't referring to producing the gas, because that is a
matter for U.S. companies that presidents have nothing
to do with. Rather, he is concerned about the ongoing Russian-German-French
propaganda campaign intended to impede or prevent the exploitation of our shale
gas deposits. If Poland stands alone, we won’t be able to realize the great
hopes we have for exploiting these deposits.
The missions we share
Defense Minster BogdanKlich expects President
Komorowski to raise the issue of Polish-American security cooperation with President
Obama, particularly regarding military operations in Afghanistan.
