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BBC MUNDO RADIO
(April 17) --President Barack Obama became the latest world leader to abandon plans to attend tomorrow's funeral for Poland's president, citing the danger posed to airplanes by ash from Iceland's volcano.
Obama joins a list that includes Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Finnish President Tarja Halonen. Other delegations from Egypt, Macedonia, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Pakistan also canceled plans to attend the state funeral.
The ash cloud has forced huge portions of European airspace to be closed. The fear is that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail.
The White House announcement came about six hours before Obama was scheduled to depart on the overnight flight. Obama called Poland's acting president, Bronislaw Komorowski, with the news that the trip was off, citing fallout from the volcano in Iceland.
Church bells tolled and an emergency siren wailed across Poland this morning at 8:56 a.m. -- the moment when the country's presidential plane crashed in western Russia one week ago, killing the president, his wife and 94 others.
Hours later 100,000 mourners filled Warsaw's main square at a public memorial for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, who are due to be buried after a state funeral Sunday. Polish officials have so far said it'll remain on schedule, even though many foreign dignitaries may be unable to attend.
The couple's only child, Marta, and Kaczynski's identical twin brother, Jaroslaw, stood nearby as all 96 victims' names were read aloud. Their photos were placed above an altar with a huge white cross at the middle. After two full minutes of silence, several dozen Catholic bishops celebrated a funeral mass on the spot where the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II held two masses before.
Red-and-white Polish flags swayed over the crowd of mourners festooned with black ribbons. Huge video screens were erected across Pilsudski Square to give onlookers a better view.
"Our world went crashing down for the second time at the same place," acting president Bronislaw Komorowski told the crowd, referring to last Saturday's plane crash near Russia's Katyn forest. All of the plane's passengers -- the Polish president and first lady, national bank chief, military generals and dozens of other dignitaries -- were heading to a 70th anniversary memorial for Polish officers massacred by Soviet secret police in World War II.
Also speaking at today's memorial, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the crash "the greatest tragedy in Poland since the war."
Warsaw is allowing mourners to ride buses and subways for free today, and the government temporarily banned the sale of alcohol. Among the bells pealing across Poland this morning was the nearly 500-year-old Sigismund Bell at the Wawel Castle in Krakow, the country's 16th century capital. It's been used on only the most solemn occasions in Polish history. After their funeral, the caskets of Kaczynski and his wife will be interned at the castle crypt alongside the nation's most revered kings and generals.
That final resting place has sparked controversy among Poles who regret Kaczynski's death but say he was a strongly divisive figure in Polish politics, and don't believe he deserves a spot among the country's heroes. A conservative nationalist, the late president backed traditional Catholic values and sought to expose former communist sympathizers. He wasn't expected to win re-election.
But this weekend's memorials cap a week of intense national mourning during which Poles displayed remarkable unity. The country hasn't displayed such grief since the death of Polish pope's death five years ago.
"What happened was a great shock for us; we are here today though we didn't like many of the things that those who died represented," 40-year-old Maciej Gajewski told The Associated Press. "But we are sorry for them," he said, standing at the memorial alongside his wife and three children. "I feel like a Pole here, I feel united with my compatriots in this difficult situation."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said that despite airports being closed through Monday, he intends to fly to Krakow Sunday. Czech President Vaclav Klaus said he would travel to Krakow by train and car while Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic and Slovenian President Danilo Turk said they would go by car.
Obama joins a list that includes Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Finnish President Tarja Halonen. Other delegations from Egypt, Macedonia, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Pakistan also canceled plans to attend the state funeral.
The ash cloud has forced huge portions of European airspace to be closed. The fear is that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Visitors to Warsaw's Pilsudski Square grieve in front of a giant screen displaying photographs of the 96 people killed in a plane crash a week ago. A memorial service for those who died will be held Saturday.
The White House announcement came about six hours before Obama was scheduled to depart on the overnight flight. Obama called Poland's acting president, Bronislaw Komorowski, with the news that the trip was off, citing fallout from the volcano in Iceland.
Church bells tolled and an emergency siren wailed across Poland this morning at 8:56 a.m. -- the moment when the country's presidential plane crashed in western Russia one week ago, killing the president, his wife and 94 others.
Hours later 100,000 mourners filled Warsaw's main square at a public memorial for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, who are due to be buried after a state funeral Sunday. Polish officials have so far said it'll remain on schedule, even though many foreign dignitaries may be unable to attend.
The couple's only child, Marta, and Kaczynski's identical twin brother, Jaroslaw, stood nearby as all 96 victims' names were read aloud. Their photos were placed above an altar with a huge white cross at the middle. After two full minutes of silence, several dozen Catholic bishops celebrated a funeral mass on the spot where the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II held two masses before.
Red-and-white Polish flags swayed over the crowd of mourners festooned with black ribbons. Huge video screens were erected across Pilsudski Square to give onlookers a better view.
"Our world went crashing down for the second time at the same place," acting president Bronislaw Komorowski told the crowd, referring to last Saturday's plane crash near Russia's Katyn forest. All of the plane's passengers -- the Polish president and first lady, national bank chief, military generals and dozens of other dignitaries -- were heading to a 70th anniversary memorial for Polish officers massacred by Soviet secret police in World War II.
Also speaking at today's memorial, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the crash "the greatest tragedy in Poland since the war."
Warsaw is allowing mourners to ride buses and subways for free today, and the government temporarily banned the sale of alcohol. Among the bells pealing across Poland this morning was the nearly 500-year-old Sigismund Bell at the Wawel Castle in Krakow, the country's 16th century capital. It's been used on only the most solemn occasions in Polish history. After their funeral, the caskets of Kaczynski and his wife will be interned at the castle crypt alongside the nation's most revered kings and generals.
That final resting place has sparked controversy among Poles who regret Kaczynski's death but say he was a strongly divisive figure in Polish politics, and don't believe he deserves a spot among the country's heroes. A conservative nationalist, the late president backed traditional Catholic values and sought to expose former communist sympathizers. He wasn't expected to win re-election.
But this weekend's memorials cap a week of intense national mourning during which Poles displayed remarkable unity. The country hasn't displayed such grief since the death of Polish pope's death five years ago.
"What happened was a great shock for us; we are here today though we didn't like many of the things that those who died represented," 40-year-old Maciej Gajewski told The Associated Press. "But we are sorry for them," he said, standing at the memorial alongside his wife and three children. "I feel like a Pole here, I feel united with my compatriots in this difficult situation."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said that despite airports being closed through Monday, he intends to fly to Krakow Sunday. Czech President Vaclav Klaus said he would travel to Krakow by train and car while Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic and Slovenian President Danilo Turk said they would go by car.
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