Sirens went off in some Polish cities early Sunday to mark the anniversary of the 2010 presidential plane crash, despite widespread protests that their sound would be unnecessary trauma to scores of refugees from the war in Ukraine.
The sirens were intended to add to the significance and the plaintive character of observances honoring late President Lech Kaczynski, the first lady and 94 other prominent Poles killed 12 years ago in a plane accident in Russia.
The sirens were heard at 0641 GMT, the exact time the presidential plane crashed on April 10, 2010, near Smolensk, Russia.
Kaczynski was the twin of Jaroslaw Kaczynski who is the leader of the main ruling Law and Justice party and Poland’s key politician. The brothers founded the party in 2001.
Wreaths and flowers were laid in Warsaw and across the country at the monuments and graves to the victims of the national tragedy. Jaroslaw Kaczynski and party figures were at the monuments to the late president and to all the victims, in downtown Warsaw.
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