Kaczynski buried after world leaders attend state funeral (Roundup)

Apr 18, 2010, 17:15 GMT

Krakow, Poland - World leaders prayed alongside a grieving Poland at the state funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria at St Mary`s Basilica in Krakow on Sunday.

The two sealed coffins lay near the altar, draped in the white and red Polish flags, a week after the couple was killed along with 94 others in a plane crash in Russia.

Their only child, Marta, and Kaczynski`s twin brother Jaroslaw, who heads the opposition Law and Justice party, sat in the front row.

Among some 700 mourners inside the basilica were other relatives, the heads of state of Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, as well as Polish acting President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Before being seated, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev - whose country has had an often fractious relationship with Poland - lit a candle for the couple and bowed before a portrait of them at the entrance of the church.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who conducted the mass, said the tragedy gave hope that tensions would warm between Warsaw and the Kremlin.

'Seventy years ago, the Katyn (massacre in 1940) distanced two nations,' Dziwisz said in reference to the execution of Polish officers by Soviet forces.

'Hiding the truth about the innocent spilled blood did not allow painful wounds to heal. The (plane crash) tragedy of eight days revealed many good foundations,' the cardinal added. 'The empathy and help we experienced in the past few days from our Russian brothers revives hopes of uniting our two Slavic nations.'

Komorowski said Katyn was a 'painful wound' in Polish history that for long decades poisoned relations with Moscow. 'Through generations, Poles were condemned to silence about Katyn,' Komorowski said. 'Today, partly because of the second drama near Smolensk, the whole world talks of Katyn.'

Russia admitted guilt for the massacre after decades of blaming the killings on Nazi Germany. In communist Poland, it was forbidden to mark the massacre or say it had been ordered by Joseph Stalin`s secret police.

Komorowski said Poles 'prize and accept with open hearts' the 'words and gestures' from Russian society, its president and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that came after the plane crash. He said the gestures give hope the truth about Katyn will be known.

Around 150,000 people attended the ceremonies or stood outside to follow the service on large screens.

Many waved Polish flags or flags of the labour union Solidarity, which Kaczynski had joined during under communism.

The pair's coffins had been brought earlier Sunday to Krakow by military plane and then traveled in a motorcade to the basilica for the service. Hundreds lined the route, waving the Polish flag and showering the vehicles with daffodils and tulips.

A historic number of world leaders had been expected to attend the funeral, but many canceled as a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano shut down airports across Europe.

US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Austrian President Heinz Fischer were among the 40 delegations who could not attend.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek made the trip to Krakow by rail or car.

After the mass, family members and Polish politicians formed a funeral procession that made its way to Wawel Cathedral, set on a hill that overlooks the Vistula River. Thousands lined along the route singing the national anthem, applauding or chanting, 'We thank you, Lech Kaczynski.'

The tolling of the historic Zygmunt`s Bell, that signaled the death of Polish-born Pope John Paul II in 2005, accompanied the procession when it neared the cathedral.

Meanwhile, the Berlin Philharmonic gave a concert - a gesture from the German foreign minister - for the foreign delegations, who stayed at the basilica. The delegations were later taken to the cathedral.

The Kaczynskis were buried in the crypts of Wawel Cathedral, the traditional resting place of Polish kings, generals and poets.

Their coffins were placed at the altar that served for coronations of Polish kings, then they were carried to the crypts. Cardinal Dziwisz said the last prayers as family, Polish and foreign delegations were in attendance.

The presidential couple were placed in an onyx sarcophagus near that of Jozef Pilsudski, the general who won independence for Poland in 1918 after more than a century of partitions.

Only relatives and friends were inside the cathedral when the coffins were lowered into the crypt.

The funeral came a day after some 100,000 people attended an official ceremony in Warsaw to honour the crash victims.

Kaczynski and his delegation were en route to Russia for ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when their plane crashed in Smolensk and left no survivors.