Relatives of Smolensk victims send letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte

On July 25th, 2014, family members of the Smolensk crash victims have sent a letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte concerning Malaysian flight MH17.

On July 25^th, 2014, family members of the Smolensk crash victims have sent a letter to the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte concerning Malaysian flight MH17. Families of the Smolensk crash victims have expressed their condolences to families and relatives of the victims who died in the crash in Ukraine. Describing the negligence and mistakes that were made during the investigation around the Smolensk disaster, the signatories of the letter warned the Dutch authorities against the actions of Russian authorities.

>> Read the full letter sent to Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte

On July 29, 2014, a petition concerning the Smolensk air disaster was submitted to the secretariat of European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions.

The main petitioners are:

Marta Kochanowska, daughter of late Ombudsman of the Republic of Poland Janusz Kochanowski;
Małgorzata Wassermann, daughter of late Member of Parliament, Zbigniew Wassermann.

The petition has the support of members of the crash victims’ families, experts tasked with investigating the causes of the disaster, several foundations and associations and a large number of journalists. It has been accompanied by 400.000 signatures collected by the Solidarni 2010 Association and the 2010 Katyn Families Association in response to an initial call by Andrzej Melak for an international investigation into the Smolensk disaster.

>> Read the full petition

The petitioners are seeking the support and involvement of the European Union to address the unresolved aspects of the Polish Tupolev Tu-154M crash, of April 10th, 2010; are asking for the EU institutions to deliberate, consider and decide on all available legal provisions and all appropriate steps in relation to the subject matter; are seeking EU pressure on Russia for the effective return of all evidence including the wreckage and black boxes to Polish authorities; are asking for the EU institutions to turn their attention to specific aspects of the organisation of the flight, the investigation conducted, the preservation of evidence and of the crash scene, the treatment of the victims and the inobservance of procedures, international law and breaches of human rights similar to those witnessed in the case of Malaysian airlines flight shot down over Ukraine. The petitioners are also calling for the EU institutions to support and help establish an international investigation into the crash of the Tu-154M.

The petition has the support of:

Family members
Ewa Błasik, Dariusz Fedorowicz, Beata Gosiewska, Grzegorz Januszko, Wanda Jankowska, Ewa Kochanowska, Mateusz Kochanowski, Zuzanna Kurtyka, Paweł Kurtyka, Rodzina Bożeny Mamontowicz-Łojek, Andrzej Melak, Magdalena Merta, Janusz Walentynowicz, Piotr Walentynowicz, Dorota Skrzypek, Radosław Sierpień (Borowski family), Dariusz Bąkowski.

Journalists
Aleksandra Alehno (Gazeta Polska Codziennie), Krzysztof Czabański (wSieci, przewodniczący Kongresu Mediów Niezależnych), Magdalena Czarnecka (wPolityce.pl), Maria Dłużewska ("Mgła", "Pogarda", "Testament", "Córka", "Polacy"), Krzysztof Feusette (wSieci), Marcin Fijołek (wPolityce.pl), Witold Gadowski (wSieci), Małgorzata Gagajek (TV Republika), Anita Gargas (TV Republika, "10.04.10", "Anatomia Upadku"), Ryszard Gromadzki (TV Republika), Roman Graczyk (wSieci), Krystyna Grzybowska (wSieci), Jerzy Jachowicz (wSieci), Radosław Jankiewicz (TV Republika), Joanna Jenerowicz, Marta Jeżewska (TV Republika) Dorota Kania, Michał Kania (TV Republika), Redbad Klynstra (TV Republika), Jan Korab (TV Republika), Krzysztof Kossowski (TV Republika), Piotr Kotomski, Jerzy Kubrak (wPolityce.pl), Joanna Lichocka (TV Republika, "Mgła", "Pogarda", "Przebudzenie", "Prezydent"), Jacek Liziniewicz, Dorota Łomicka, Dorota Łosiewicz (wPolityce.pl), Beata Łupińska, Maciej Maciejowski (TV Republika), Aleksander Majewski (wPolityce.pl), Maciej Marosz, Maciej Mazurek (wPolityce.pl), Grzegorz Melańczuk (TV Republika), Maja Narbutt (wSieci), Marzena Nykiel (wPolityce.pl), Piotr Pawelec (TV Republika), Katarzyna Pawlak (Gazeta Polska Codziennie, Niezależna.pl), Jan Pawlicki, Maciej Pawlicki (wSieci), Samuel Pereira (Gazeta Polska Codziennie, Niezależna.pl), Anna Piotrowska (TV Republika) Agnieszka Ponikiewska (wPolityce.pl), Jan Pospieszalski, Andrzej Rafał Potocki (wSieci), Marek Pyza (wPolityce.pl), Michał Rachoń (TV Republika), Bogusław Rąpała (wPolityce.pl), Tomasz Sakiewicz, Anna Sarzyńska (wPolityce.pl), Piotr Siemiński (TV Republika), Sławomir Sieradzki (wPolityce.pl), Barbara Stanisławczyk (wSieci), Robert Swaczyński (Gazeta Polska Codzinnie), Wiktor Świetlik (wSieci), Antoni Trzmiel (TV Republika), Łukasz Warzecha (wSieci), Bronisław Wildstein, Dawid Wildstein, Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz (wSieci), Piotr Zaremba (wSieci), Agnieszka Żurek, (Tygodnik Solidarność), Łukasz Żygadło (wPolityce.pl) and Anita Czerwińska (Chair of the Warsaw "Gazeta Polska" Club).

Foundations and associations

Marta Kochanowska, President of Ius et Lex and of the Children of 10 April 2010 Foundation,
Zuzanna Kurtyka, President of 2010 Katyn Families Association.
Ewa Stankiewicz, President of Solidarni2010,
Piotr Juchowski, Secretary to the board of Studenci dla Rzeczypospolitej (Students for the Republic of Poland),
Maria Szonert-Binienda, on behalf of Libra Institute, Inc.,
Młodzi dla Polski (Young People for Poland);
Joanna Potocka, lawyer, "Ruch 10 kwietnia"/"April 10th Movement" activist.

Experts
Prof. Wiesław Binienda (Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering at the University of Akron), Prof. Bogdan Gajewski (President of Association of Polish Engineers in Canada, Member of International Society of Air Safety Investigation); Dr Ing. Pil. Glenn Jørgensen (Technical University of Denmark), Prof. Harvey Wolf Hushner (Chairman of the Criminal Justice Department, Long Island University), Prof. Kazimierz Nowaczyk, Mec. Piotr Pszczółkowski, Grażyną Pszczółkowską, Dr. Ing. Grzegorz Szuladziński (Institution of Engineers Australia, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Research Network for a Secure Australia), Dr. Ing. Marek Dąbrowski.

Petitions entered in the register shall be forwarded by the President to the committee responsible, which shall first establish the admissibility or otherwise of the petition in accordance with Article 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Admissible petitions shall be considered by the committee responsible in the course of its normal activity, either through discussion at a regular meeting or by written procedure. Petitioners may be invited to participate in meetings of the committee if their petition is to be the subject of discussion, or they may request to be present. The right to speak shall be granted to petitioners at the discretion of the Chair. The committee may organise fact-finding visits to the Member State or region concerned by the petition. The report is submitted to the committee for its approval by a single vote, unless the Chair declares, where appropriate, that amendments may be tabled to parts of the report. They shall be forwarded to the President after approval by the committee. Where the committee deems it appropriate, it may refer the matter to the Ombudsman. The committee may, with regard to an admissible petition, decide to draw up an own-initiative report in accordance with Rule 52(1) or submit a short motion for a resolution to Parliament, provided that there is no objection by the Conference of Presidents. Such motions for resolutions shall be placed on the draft agenda of the part-session held no later than eight weeks after their adoption in committee. They shall be put to a single vote and shall also be without debate unless the Conference of Presidents exceptionally decides to apply Rule 151. In accordance with Rule 53 and Annex VI, the committee may seek the opinion of other committees whose areas of responsibility include the subject-matter of the petition, particularly if the committee’s report deals with the application or interpretation of the law of the European Union or changes to existing law, in which case the referral to the committee within whose area of responsibility the matter falls shall be made in accordance with Rule 53(1) and Rule 54, first and second indents. The committee responsible shall accept without a vote suggestions for parts of the motion for a resolution received from the committee responsible for the subject-matter which deal with the application or interpretation of the law of the European Union or changes to existing law. If the committee responsible does not accept such suggestions, the associated committee may table them directly to Parliament. The committee may request assistance from the Commission, particularly in the form of information on the application of, or compliance with, Union law and information or documents relevant to the petition. Representatives of the Commission shall be invited to attend meetings of the committee. The Committee on Petitions may request the President to forward its opinion or recommendation to the Commission, the Council or the Member State authority concerned for action or response.

"It is with great sadness, that we are resubmitting the petition to the European Parliament to assist the families who lost their loved ones on 10 April 2010 in a plane crash in Russia. As recent circumstances have illustrated inaction on behalf of European institutions means not only prolonged injustice to the families of the 10 April 2010 crash but now also the families of MH17 where similar issues and breaches are already an issue. It is more apparent than ever that accountable processes and remedies need to be put in place as soon as possible." - said Marta Kochanowska.

"To cope with our disaster and to hopefully close this difficult chapter one day, I need to find out what really happened in order to be able to live in the sense that I did everything I could." - said Malgorzata Wassermann.