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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E388-E389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NEVER FORGET SMOLENSK MASSACRE
______
HON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, this month, the people
of Poland
[[Page E389]]
mark 10 years since the tragic Smolensk plane crash, which killed 96
people including President Lech Kaczynski and Polish First Lady Maria
Kaczynska. On April 10, 2010, a Polish state delegation was heading to
Smolensk, Russia, to commemorate the murder of nearly 22,000 innocent
Polish citizens by the Soviet secret service NKVD in the spring of 1940
during World War II. The gruesome crash in the thick fog near Smolensk
in western Russia was Poland's worst air disaster since World War II
and completely stunned the country as scores of military political
leaders were killed in one fell swoop.
The American people stand with the people of Poland in solemn
commemoration of this horrible national tragedy that still reverberates
throughout Polish society to this very day. The Soviet Union was
complicit with Nazi Germany in the oppression of the courageous people
of Poland. Despite the ongoing Wuhan Virus, senior Polish officials
laid wreaths at the monument to the victims of the Smolensk air
disaster at the Pilsudski Square in Warsaw earlier this month.
Unfortunately, questions relating to the cause of this tragedy still
linger. Although an official Polish government investigation concluded
that the crash was caused by pilot error, suspicions of foul play
persist. At the memorial earlier this month, Polish President Andrzej
Duda said, ``After 10 years, it's difficult to say anything or predict
whether the case can ever be resolved.'' This is mainly because Russia
has consistently refused to turn over basic evidence to the Polish
state. The Russian government is still in possession of the plane
wreckage including the black boxes that could provide more clarity.
In a press statement from earlier this month, Poland's Foreign
Ministry renewed demands that Moscow return the wreckage of the Tupolev
aircraft that crashed so that the Polish people can finally find some
closure. Russia's refusal to turn over evidence raises many suspicions,
despite claims by Russia's Investigative Committee that crew errors led
to the accident.
The American people support the Polish Foreign Ministry's calls to
return the wreckage to Poland, as well as the Ministry's assertion that
``no norm of international law gives grounds for Russia to impound
Polish property.'' We stand with the people of Poland in remembering
the victims of this awful tragedy and supporting efforts for a
transparent investigation into its cause to provide a measure of
justice to the victims and their families.
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington is well
represented by Ambassador Piotr Antoni Wilczek, promoting the message
to never forget this catastrophe. President Andrzej Duda is appreciated
in America. Democratic Post-Communist Poland is the only country in
Europe to have 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth, which I saw
firsthand in January. I particularly know the significance of America's
beloved Polish-American Community of 10.5 million citizens. My
daughter-in-law Jennifer Miskewicz Wilson is grateful for Krakow
heritage and her association with Poet Adam Mickiewicz.
____________________