Polish opposition slams defence minister's 'festival of nonsense'

Deputy head of Civic Platform and former defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak said at a press conference in parliament on Thursday that “Poland cannot be held hostage to his obsession.”

Siemoniak's remarks come in the wake of renewed claims by Macierewicz that the 2010 Smolensk air disaster was caused by sabotage.

Macierewicz was also alleged to have rebuffed the United States in a speech given over the weekend.

“So people who only built their state in the 18th century are going to tell us what democracy is?” Macierewicz had declared.

Siemoniak said that for several days “we have been confronted with a festival of nonsense delivered by Macierewicz.

“It was about an act of terrorism, it was about democracy in the United States, it was about electromagnetic weapons, and yesterday at the defence committee's session we were confronted by the next wave of this nonsense,” he said.

Siemoniak said that Macierewicz's conduct “discredits Poland, exposing us to ridicule in the international arena.”

In recent days, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has tried to defend his fellow minister, claiming that the results of the Smolensk crash - in which the then president Lech Kaczńyski died - were such that “it was as if someone had wanted to eliminate the then leadership of the Polish state.”

Referring to claims that Macierewicz had lashed out at the United States, Waszczykowski argued that the foreign minister might have been referring to another country that arose in the 18th century. (nh)

Source: PAP