[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 77 (Thursday, April 23, 2020)]
[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.

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