Kaczynski burial plan causes split

A row has broken out over the decision to bury Polish President Lech Kaczynski in Wawel cathedral in Krakow - a place reserved for Poland's kings and heroes.

Hundreds have taken to the streets of the southern city in protest at the plan for a second consecutive night.

Thousands have joined an internet campaign against it. Mr Kaczynski died in a plane crash on Saturday along with his wife and many senior officials.

A date for a presidential election will be set after the funeral on Sunday.

Acclaimed Polish film director Andrzej Wajda dubbed the burial arrangements "misplaced" and "hastily made as emotions ran high", in an open letter published by the newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza.

"Lech Kaczynski was an ordinary and good man, but there is no reason for him to lie in the Wawel among the kings of Poland and Marshal Jozef Pilsudski [the founder of modern-day Poland]," he said.

Officials said the site in a crypt close to Marshal Pilsudski was chosen by church leaders and the Kaczynski family, which include Mr Kaczynski's twin, Jaroslaw - the leader of Poland's opposition.

But Mr Wajda said the decision "will spark protests and could cause the deepest splits in Polish society since 1989".

Facebook protest

Hundreds of people staged a protest in front of the residence of Krakow's Archbishop, Stanislaw Dziwisz, on Tuesday evening, carrying banners reading: "Not Krakow, not Wawel", and "Are you sure he is the equal of kings?"

Late on Wednesday a second protest was held, as well as a smaller counter demonstration in favour of the plan.

A Facebook group called "No to the Kaczynskis' burial in Wawel" had attracted more than 26,000 members by Wednesday.

Many world leaders are to attend Sunday's funeral, including US President Barack Obama along with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany.

Polish officials have said that elections for a new president will be held in June.

In a parliamentary document they wrote that there were "two possible dates" - 13 or 20 June.

Poland's acting President, Bronislaw Komorowski, is expected to name the exact date after consulting political parties.

The bodies of the presidential couple have been lying in state together at the presidential palace in Warsaw.

They were among 96 people on board the Polish government jet that crashed in heavy fog while trying to land in the Smolensk region of Russia.

They had been travelling to attend a memorial service for Polish military officers and others massacred by Stalin's secret police at Katyn in 1940.

Other victims of the crash, whose bodies are believed to have been badly disfigured or burnt in the crash, are being identified by forensic scientists in Moscow.

A number of the dead have yet to be retrieved from the wreckage, officials said.

Russian investigators believe pilot error was to blame for the crash.

Air traffic controllers who handled the plane have been quoted as saying the Polish crew refused three times to heed advice to divert to another airport because of poor visibility.

Chicago's Polish Community Mourns Victims of Plane Crash

A woman prays during a memorial service for Polish President Lech Kaczynski
and his wife at Holy Trinity Polish Church in Chicago on Sunday,
11 Apr 11 2010.

Chicago is home to the largest Polish community outside of Warsaw. Poles in that Midwestern city are mourning the loss of Poland's President and other national leaders who died in a plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk over the weekend.

For several months, the Polish American community here had been planning for President Lech Kaczynski's visit to the Windy City at the end of April.

But excitement for his visit has turned to sorrow in the wake of Saturday's plane crash. Ninety-seven people, including the Polish president and first lady, and many senior members of the Warsaw government died when the presidential plane crashed in thick fog outside Smolensk.

An over capacity crowd gathered at St. Hyacinth's Basilica in Chicago for a Roman Catholic mass to mourn those who perished in the crash.

"Almost everyone in Chicago does have family in Poland, so the news spread immediately, mostly from Poland. We got many calls," Zigmunt Matynia said. Matynia is Poland's Consul General in Chicago.

He says a wave of patriotism has descended on Chicago's Polish community in the wake of the tragedy. "As you can see right now, Chicago looks like a Polish city. Every car has a flag. Many Poles come -- not only Poles, but people who feel that it was a great tragedy comes to the Polish consulate."

Sebastian Rotiarski was one of the hundreds of mourners to visit the Polish consulate on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive.

"It's a sad an ironic day in the sense that we've lost so many great people, so many influential people, so many good people, that it's in every Polish person's heart today and yesterday, and for years to come, it's going to be a very painful and very memorable day. So I just wanted to share the experience with others," he said.

Some mourners came to the consulate to lay flowers or wreaths at the base of a flagpole in the consulate's front yard. The Polish flag above them flew at half-staff.

An activist and artist in Chicago's Polish community was among those who died in the crash. Wojciech Seweryn created a monument in the Chicago suburbs to the victims of the 1940 Katyn massacre.

The plane carrying Seweryn and 96 others, including President Kaczynski, was en route to a ceremony in Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre, in which Soviet forces killed some 22,000 Polish military officers and civilians leaders.

"Poland survived many difficult moments in history. So this is another tragic moment. But we will be stronger. But this is the message I would like to spread through the community," Matynia said.

Matynia says she hopes the Polish Constitution Day Parade, scheduled for May 3 in Chicago's Grant Park, will be held as a sign of healing in a community that coming to terms with the loss of its home country's beloved leader.