The dispute over a ceremony commemorating Katyn

Debate is currently raging in Poland over whether the ruling PiS party is abusing the memory of the victims of the Soviet massacre at Katyn for its election campaign. Director Andrzej Wajda, whose new film 'Katyn' is currently a hit at Polish cinemas, wrote a letter to President Lech Kaczynski calling on him to postpone a commemoration ceremony planned for this weekend in Warsaw until after the elections. Kaczynski has now agreed to the request. Igor Janke praises the president: "His policy on history is the best aspect of his presidency. ... Graves play just as important a role as economic development in the life of a normal nation. The idea of commemorating the murdered Polish officers in spectacular style is a great one and certainly worth implementing. But scheduling the ceremonies so close to the elections has aroused unnecessary sentiments. It would be a bad thing if the celebrations commemorating this great Polish tragedy became entangled in the reckless machinery of the election campaign."

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