"I dream of Poland, whose institutions of justice are transparent and worthy of true respect and confidence. These types of institutions ought to be the foundation of a sovereign nation."

Maria Fieldorf-Czarska

Tomasz Sakiewicz, the Editor in Chief of Poland’s leading opposition newspaper “Gazeta Polska”, goes on the record: "The Polish president [Lech Kaczynski] was murdered!"

Throughout the last year-and-a-half, the "Gazeta Polska" journalists attempted to ascertain the circumstances and events leading to the death of the President and the elites of the Polish nation [who accompanied him on that tragic flight]. The most important information regarding the Smolensk crash is persistently hidden form the public, and the key evidence was either destroyed, or is, in the Russian hands.  Despite this, we've managed to truly learn a lot.  We have consulted with the most prestigious Polish and foreign experts.  Among them, authorities in aviation, air crash investigations, and terrorism. We reached out not only to the members of various government commissions, prosecutors, and investigators, but also to the members of the intelligence community.  Our journalists brought back with them fragments of the Tupolev [Tu-154M, that crashed in Russia to be independently analyzed].

Some of our findings were made available for further studies in the United States.  At that time, we had published these documents; the documents that in our view, contribute to the ongoing investigation. 

Amidst many existing theories, a frightening picture emerges.  The facts [leading to my conclusions] are becoming more, and more persuasive, and neither Madam [Tatiana] Anodina's [Director, Interstate Aviation Committee (Russian Federation)] propaganda, nor the incoherent ramblings in [Minister Jerzy] "Miller’s Report", will suffice any longer. After a year-and-a-half-long investigation, I became convinced that the Smolensk crash was no accident. The scope of the distraction sustained by the aircraft, the existence of the evidence indicating an explosion, the catastrophic fall of the Tupolev, the immediate destruction of the evidence [by the Russians], and their incredible deceitfulness, make it impossible for me to reach any other conclusion.  While I don’t know for sure, who carried out this assassination, I know however, who benefited from it:  it were both Polish and Russian governments.

The theory of assassination was excluded in Poland almost immediately after the crash.  It happened, when the investigation was transferred into the Russian hands.  For over year-and-a-half, [the families of the victims were not allowed to] exhume the remains of their loved ones; a period of time sufficiently long enough, to make any chance of extracting forensic evidence mute.  Leaving the remains of the aircraft unprotected from the elements, after cutting it earlier to pieces, resulted that any chemical trace-evidence had all but evaporated.  No representative of either Polish, or Russian governments, is able to explain such conduct. Similarly, no one is able to sensibly explain the absence of the recordings of the control tower communications.

Regardless of who the immediate culprits of this assassination are, there were many people both in Poland, Russia, and abroad, who would have benefited from the death of the Polish president. We do know with absolute certainty, as to who benefited from the president’s death.

If there are still some who have illusions that in today’s world we are too-civilized to kill the heads of state, one only ought to see the photos from Chechnya, [See "The Chechen Lullaby" Here] where several hundred thousand of innocent people were murdered.  Let him see the footage from the Russian invasion of Georgia.  All of these events took place right before our own eyes. Why did the present Polish government elites acquiesced to sweeping this investigation under the rug?  Because, those who would never accept that, had for the most part, perished near Smolensk.

Those of us, who survived, have the responsibility to explain the puzzling deaths of our leaders and friends.  They would have done the same for us.

Today, I am not presenting my own report about this matter just yet.  I am not disclosing the new evidence in the investigation.  I am neither bound by known theories, nor unofficial reports.  Some of those were published on the pages of our weekly “Gazeta Polska”, and our daily “Gazeta Polska Codziennie”.  I am writing about my profound convictions, resulting from participating in these matters for a very long period of time. 

I wish that the present reality was different, that all that had happened didn’t. [I wish] that the world would return to what it once was, before April 10, 2010.  I wish, that I could have a glass of wine with Janusz Kurtyka, and was able to invite Sławek Skrzypek to that postponed dinner; or, if only once again, I could hear yet another of Stefan Melak’s tirade.  [I wish, I could just once again] gossip a little with Lech Kaczynski at the Belweder.  It will never be the same again.  Somebody stole it brutally.  But, there are 40 million Poles who were left behind - they must know the truth! The must know what is taking place in their country, who governs them, and what was done to those who wanted to govern them differently.  I am convinced, that today, I wrote the whole truth about it.

By Tomasz Sakiewicz, Editor In Chief, "Gazeta Polska"

- "Gazeta Polska" can be reached at: sekretarat(at)gazetapolska.pl
- Published in "Gazeta Polska Codziennie", October 8, 2011.
- Translated by Jola D., Polish language version of this editorial can be found here.