Monday, August 28, 2006

"Soviet spies" accusation against ex-foreign ministers

A storm continues after Deputy Defense Minister of Poland, Antoni Macierewicz, accused several Polish former foreign ministers of being Soviet spies, Radio Polonia reports.
Vice-Premier Andrzej Lepper, leader of the minor coalition party Self-Defense, wants Macierewicz either to produce evidence to back his charges or to resign. Lepper argued that such accusations may hamper his talks with the Russian side on opening Russian market for Polish food products. The parliamentary foreign affairs committee is to take a stand on Macierewicz’s opinion presented in the Catholic television station Trwam August 20. The special services committee suspended its work until it hears all that the Deputy Defense Minister may know about the foreign ministers in question. The committee’s head Marek Biernacki said that if the commission has no chance to examine this issue, it makes no sense to work on other issues. The opposition Civic Platform demanded a reaction from the Polish authorities, saying that what Macierewicz said was harmful to Poland’s image abroad and to the national interest. The Civic Platform backed a motion by the opposition Left to include the government’s information on Macierewicz’s statement into the agenda of the parliamentary meeting.
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