Polish Greatness (Blog): Letter from Poland

Showing posts with label Letter from Poland. Show all posts

May 3, 2011

POLAND CONSTITUTION DAY MAY 3

Poland enacted its first Constitution on May 3, 1791 - the first European nation and the second nation in the world after the United States to do so. The Act was instigated by the Polish government which was then adopted by the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its scope was quite radical for its time - that is, the introduction of political equality between the townspeople and the nobility (szlachta) and protecting the rights of peasants from abuses of serfdom. Most notable was the abolishment of the liberum veto of the parliamentary institutions. By such veto any deputy could easily usurp all legislation passed by the Sejm and create utter havoc and anarchy. The Polish Constitution of May 3rd sought to resolve the chaos and imbalances with the introduction of egalitarian laws and democratic constitutional monarchy.

May 3rd Constitution (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). King Stanisław August (left, in regal ermine-trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new Constitution; in background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.

Ignacy Potocki

The development of these bold reforms provoked considerable animosity and hostility from Polands neighbours, as well as from a cabal of Polish magnates seeking to maintain the status quo. It ultimately led to the Second Partition in 1795 in which Poland was invaded and defeated by Prussia, Russia and Austria. Despite Poland''s defeat its Constitution was exemplary and influenced other democratic movements in other parts of the world. For the next 123 years the Polish Constitution was a beacon of hope to a nation under siege and struggling to restore its sovereignty. Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kollataj, the co-authors of the Constitution, referred to it as "the last will and testament of the expiring Fatherland".

Hugo Kollataj

In fact Poland has had several constitutions in its long and tumultuous history. In the 19th century the Duchy of Warsaw enacted its own
Constitution which was quite liberal for its time. It established a bicameral Sejm consisting of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies, with an executive body consisting of the Council of Ministers. Although it established Roman Catholicism as the state religion, religious tolerance was also guaranteed. Moreover egalitarian ideals were instituted and serfdom was abolished.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815 promised freedom of speech and religious tolerance and was considered to be the most liberal of all of Europe. Its constitution contained 165 articles in seven titles.

The Free City of Krakow, in 1815 was a city-state though not sovereign by any means. It was controlled by Russia, Prussia and Austria until 1846 when it was annexed to the Austrian Empire after the Krakow Uprising was defeated. However, the Krakow Constitution, enacted in 1815 did provide the city with a significant degree of autonomy.

During the Second Polish Republic there were three Constitutions: The Small Constitution, adopted on February 20, 1919 declared the Poland government as a parliamentary system, but omitted to declare itself a Republic. The Chief of State held executive power and could only appoint ministers with the consent of the the Sejm. All were responsible before the Sejm, and did not have the power to dismiss the legislature. Moreover, all Acts required the signature of the minister relevant to such a portfolio.

This constitution was supplanted by the March 1921 Constitution, the latter of which was based on the French one and considered very democratic. Foremost were articles which expressly ruled out discrimination on racial or religious grounds. It was amended in 1926 and superseded by the Polish Constitution of 1935.

The 1935 Constitution established a presidential system of government, albeit an authoritarian one. Despite its outright violation of its preceding constitution and the rule of parliament, it was fervently adopted in order to promote national interests rather than democratic ones.(Sanacja). As a result the President held enormous power and was imbued with the right to handpick members of his government, who in turn would be held responsible to the parliament. He could also dismiss parliament before the end of its term, appoint a third of the Senators, the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, as well as the General Inspector of the Armed Forces. In addition, the President could issue decrees and veto acts passed by the Sejm. Most notable was the right given to the President to name his successor in the event of war. This feature was used by the Polish Government-in-exile during World War II tol justify its existence. The Constitution was abolished by the Soviet-back Polish authorities in 1944. In its place was the restoration of the March Constitution along with many laws based on the Stalinist regime.

During the period of 1945-1989, the Polish Committee of National Liberation issued a Manifesto outlawing the April Constitution (of 1935) as unlawful and fascist. It held that the March Constitution of 1921 would be in force until it was replaced with the new "Small Constitution of 1947", later supplanted in 1952 by the constitution of the Peoples Republic of Poland.

Finally during the Third Polish Republic (1989 - present) the Small Constitution of 1992, was a major adjustment of the 1952 constitution and established Poland as a democracy with many democratic reforms including the establishment of legislative and executive branches and local self-government.
It was voted by Poland's first democratic government (elected in free elections) since 1928. In the process, the Stalinist Constitution was annulled, and Poland emerged as a liberal democratic nation with a market economy.

This was replaced by the current constitution of Poland, adopted by the National Assembly on April 2, 1997 and approved by a national referendum on May 25, 1997 and came into effect October 17, 1997.

The Preamble of the current Polish Constitution expresses what is in the heart of the Polish nation and its people. It speaks volumes. It looks ahead towards a future that is bright and promising for all its citizens, but never forgets at what cost such freedom was finally achieved. Poland inspires awe and respect for the struggles she has overcome, most notably in rebuilding a great modern nation and forging democratic and international commitments.

PREAMBLE

Having regard for the existence and future of our Homeland which recovered, in 1989, the possibility of a sovereign and democratic determination of its fate, We, the Polish Nation - all citizens of the Republic, Both those who believe in God as the source of truth, justice, good and beauty,
As well as those not sharing such faith but respecting those universal values as arising

from other sources,

Equal in rights and obligations towards the common good - Poland,
Beholden to our ancestors for their labors, their struggle for independence achieved at great sacrifice, for our culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the Nation and in universal human values,
Recalling the best traditions of the First and the Second Republic,
Obliged to bequeath to future generations all that is valuable

from our over one thousand years' heritage,

Bound in community with our compatriots dispersed throughout the world,
Aware of the need for cooperation with all countries for the good of the Human Family,
Mindful of the bitter experiences of the times when fundamental freedoms and human rights

were violated in our Homeland,
Desiring to guarantee the rights of the citizens for all time, and to ensure diligence and efficiency in the work of public bodies,

Recognizing our responsibility before God or our own consciences,
Hereby establish this Constitution of the Republic of Poland as the basic law for the State, based on respect for freedom and justice, cooperation between the public powers, social dialogue as well as on the principle of subsidiarity in the strengthening the powers of citizens and their communities.
We call upon all those who will apply this Constitution for the good of the Third Republic to do so paying respect to the inherent dignity of the person, his or her right to freedom, the obligation of solidarity with others, and respect for these principles as the unshakeable foundation of the Republic of Poland.

April 10, 2011

Remembering One Year Later: The Death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski

A year ago today, the plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and a delegation of 96 top-level government and military officials crashed near Smolensk, Russia. They were on the way to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Katyn Massacre. Shock and disbelief gave way to a period of national mourning for the President, a sorrow which still bears heavily upon their hearts and spirits of many Polish people - and Poles all around the world.

In the midst of domestic political disagreement over the issue, is the ever present public suspicion that Russia was responsible for the horrific plane crash that wiped out the President and the top creme of Polish government. Comparisons of this tragedy were made with that of the Katyn Massacre that occurred over seventy years ago near Smolensk, adding fuel to public anger. Yet again the insidious spectre of Russia looms over Polish sovereignty.

Despite attempts at rapprochement between the two nations, Russia and Poland are still as far apart as ever. At issue is the reluctance of the Russian government, ergo Putin, to fully disclose all secret information and documents relating to the Katyn Massacre. Russian-Polish relations were further strained by the enmity apparent between Putin and President Lech Kaczynski.

That Russian authorities took control of all investigative procedures immediately following the plane crash compounds public suspicion and distrust. In an article written by S. Eugene (Gene) Poteat, a retired senior CIA Intelligence Officer, a number of strange events took place prior to and after the plane crash that point to a Russian conspiracy. The plane which transported the President and his delegation had been completely refurbished and upgraded (in Russia) just four months before the fateful crash - and, in the opinion of Poteat, most likely fitted with bugging devices - and who knows what else. No wonder the Russians wouldn't let Polish investigators come anywhere near the plane wreckage. Adding to suspicions are conflicting reports; for example, Russian authorities insist that the pilot of the plane could not communicate in Russian - when in fact he spoke Russian fluently. Stranger still is the fact that the Russian traffic controller with whom he spoke had suddenly disappeared right after the crash. The Russians claimed that he went on retirement. Many other strange occurrences have taken place that need to be investigated thoroughly but have not been dealt with.

Just a few days ago the Prosecutor handed the Polish government fourteen (14) volumes of documents compiled by the Russian government,detailing the Russian investigation of the plane crash. That it took a year for them to complete is of no surprise, less still their timing in its presentation. Sources indicated that certain "anonymous sources" confirmed that the crash was due to pilot error in trying to land in heavy fog. If that were the case, then why bother writing fourteen volumes?

Poteat referred to Putin as a "master who knows his craft" wasting no time in taking compete charge of the investigation. No surprise there - Russia's motto has always been "Maintain Total Deniability".

The following is a series of four videos entitled, "Letter from Poland", narrated in English, but is largely in Polish with English sub-titles. The film was produced by a public TV station in the Netherlands, Tegenlicht Vpro and is one of the most insightful, thorough documentaries I have yet watched on the subject of this heartbreaking national tragedy. To watch the same video with Dutch sub-titles you may log onto the link I have provided to the Tegenlicht website.

I invite you to watch these videos. But I request also that you share the information with everyone you know. There is much about Poland that the West, in fact, the world still does not understand. Part of the problem is that many countries, including Russia, continue to speak on behalf of Poland instead of allowing Poland to speak for herself. The world is still brainwashed by Russian propaganda. The West in particular has been so easily manipulated having been fed Russian pablum since World War II. Here is the opportunity to discover the truth.

Israeli newspaper, Maariv, called the plane crash, " A Smell of Liquidation ".

Global News, a Romanian portal, suspected that it was assassination and declared that the FSB (the Russian Federal Security Service, aka KGB) was directly responsible.

Wiktor Suworow, former agent of GRU (Russian military intelligence) also considers a very strong possibility of assassination, since the FSB took the black boxes immediately after the crash "as if they had something to hide."

In an interview with Jacek Przybysli, Andrey Iłłarionow, former advisor to Vladimir Putin revealed some interesting facts: (English translation follows)

"Shortly after the disaster, we heard that the pilot, four times as he approached for landing. Everyone at the airport knew that there was only one landing attempt. For several days, however, repeated the lie about the four samples. Then he began to spread disinformation that the Polish pilot was inexperienced. Only after some time it appeared that he had sufficient experience. It was said that he did not know Russian, and could not communicate with the tower. This too was a lie. Finally, time has proved to be untrue disaster. The cockpit was not there any women."

In an interview on August 26, 2010, Antoni Macierewicz, member of Polish Parliament and former Vice-Minister of National Defense, and former Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Poland was asked if the crash was an assassination. Here is what he said,

"What we do know for sure, is that the controllers from the Smolensk control tower, after consulting with the Russian Central, and specifically, with the secretary of the General Staff of the Russian Transportation Aviation (I am saying that based on the testimony given by the controller) is that he allowed, and to be more precise, advised this plane, Tupolev 154M, to descend to the altitude below 50 meters. When they descended to this altitude, they only had 3 seconds until the crash. And this is known for sure."