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People in Minsk pay tribute to Polish president

Dozens of people are arriving at the Polish embassy in Minsk to pay tribute to President Lech Kaczynski and other senior Polish figures who were killed in a plane crash in Russia on Saturday.

Sympathizers lay flowers at the fence, light candles and stand in silence for a while.

Vital Rymashewski, chairman of the organizing committee for Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD), also arrived at the place.

“I learned about the tragedy just an hour ago,” he told BelaPAN. “On behalf of BCD and the entire pro-democratic community, we’ve come here to offer condolences to the Polish people and representatives of the embassy. It is also our tragedy. For me personally, the president was one of exemplary conscientious politicians who can be rarely seen even in Europe today. We are grateful very much to him and all those in Poland who supported and continue to support Belarus.”

“I am also a Pole and my family is there, in Poland," said a Minsk resident, Ivona Macukiewicz. “For me, this is also a tragedy. I was born in Belarus, but my roots are there.”

The Polish ambassador to Belarus, Henryk Litwin, said that the embassy had made arrangements for a memorial service to be held at the Blessed Virgin Mary cathedral in Minsk on April 11.