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Milinkevich suggests announcing day of mourning for Poland

Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the Movement for Freedom, has called on the Belarusian authorities to declare an official day of mourning for the victims of the weekend plane crash that killed the Polish president, his wife and 94 other Polish citizens, BelaPAN said.

“Our neighbors, the Poles, are experiencing a great tragedy,” the former presidential candidate says in his statement. “The most prominent representatives of the political, military intellectual and public elite of the country, including President Lech Kachynski, perished in the plane crash. All neighbors of Poland, including Russia and Ukraine, have announced national days of mourning in connection with the tragedy.”

“The minimal standards of humaneness and good-neighborliness require Belarus to join the mourning,” Mr. Milinkevich says, calling on “Belarusians of good will” to express their condolences and sympathy to the Polish people.

A week of mourning for the victims of the plane crash started in Poland on April 12. Lithuania is observing three-day mourning, from April 12 through April 14. Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Spain held national days of mourning on Monday. A day of mourning was observed on April 11 in Georgia. Moldova declared Tuesday a day of mourning. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey will mourn the Polish president on the day of his funeral, April 18. Canada will hold a national day of mourning on Thursday, April 15.