[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 135 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 135

 Remembering the 1-year anniversary of the April 10, 2010, plane crash 
 that claimed the lives of the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, his 
  wife, and 94 others, while they were en route to memorialize those 
  Polish officers, officials, and civilians who were massacred by the 
                         Soviet Union in 1940.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                April 7 (legislative day, April 5), 2011

Mr. Lugar submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Remembering the 1-year anniversary of the April 10, 2010, plane crash 
 that claimed the lives of the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, his 
  wife, and 94 others, while they were en route to memorialize those 
  Polish officers, officials, and civilians who were massacred by the 
                         Soviet Union in 1940.

Whereas, on April 10, 2010, the President of the Republic of Poland Lech 
        Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and a cadre of current and former Polish 
        statesmen, military officers, family members, and others departed Warsaw 
        by plane to travel to the Russian region of Smolensk;
Whereas the purpose of the delegation's visit was to hold a ceremony in solemn 
        remembrance of the more than 22,000 Polish military officers, police 
        officers, judges, other government officials, and civilians who were 
        executed by the Soviet secret police, the ``NKVD'', between April 3 and 
        the end of May 1940;
Whereas more than 14,500 Polish victims of such executions have been documented 
        at 3 sites in Katyn (in present day Belarus), in Miednoye (in present 
        day Russia), and in Kharkiv (in present day Ukraine), while the remains 
        of an estimated 7,000 such Polish victims have yet to be precisely 
        located;
Whereas the plane carrying the Polish delegation on April 10, 2010, crashed in 
        Smolensk, tragically killing all 96 persons on board;
Whereas Poland has been a leading member of the transatlantic community and the 
        North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an Alliance vital to the 
        interests of the United States, and Poland's membership in the Alliance 
        has strengthened NATO;
Whereas the Polish armed forces have stood shoulder-to-shoulder and sacrificed 
        with airmen, marines, sailors, and soldiers of the United States in 
        Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, and around the world;
Whereas Poland has been a leader in the promotion of human rights, not just in 
        Central Europe, but elsewhere around the world; and
Whereas the deep friendship between the governments and people of Poland and the 
        United States is grounded in our mutual respect, shared values, and 
        common priorities on nuclear nonproliferation, counterterrorism, human 
        rights, regional cooperation in Eastern Europe, democratization, and 
        international development: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) remembers the terrible tragedy that took place on April 
        10, 2010, when an aircraft carrying a delegation of current and 
        former Polish officials, family members, and others crashed en 
        route from Warsaw to Smolensk to memorialize the 1940 Katyn 
        massacres, killing all 96 passengers;
            (2) honors the memories of all Poles executed by the NKVD 
        at Katyn, Miednoye, Khakriv, and elsewhere and those who 
        perished in the April 10, 2010, plane crash;
            (3) expresses continuing sympathy for the surviving family 
        members of those who perished in the tragic plane crash of 
        April 10, 2010;
            (4) recognizes and respects the resilience of Poland's 
        constitution, as demonstrated by the smooth and stable transfer 
        of constitutional authority that occurred in the immediate 
        aftermath of the April 10, 2010, tragedy; and
            (5) requests that the Secretary of the Senate transmit an 
        enrolled copy of this resolution to the Ambassador of Poland to 
        the United States.
                                 <all>