Tense Crowd Meets Tusk Who Testifies in Polish Investigation
WARSAW (AP) — Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, was met at Warsaw's main train station Wednesday by hundreds of people — both supporters and angry opponents — as he arrived to testify in an investigation.
The mood at the train station was tense, with supporters of the former Polish prime minister carrying EU and national flags and chanting "Donald, we are with you!" while opponents hurled accusations of crimes and of hurting Poland's interests. One detractor held up a large mock-up photo depicting him in striped prison garb.
Tusk is only a witness in the current case — an investigation by military prosecutors into alleged secret illegal contacts between Polish and Russian intelligence officials at a time when he was still prime minister.
However, many see his questioning as part of a larger attempt by Poland's nationalist government to discredit a political foe by linking him to scandals and perhaps imprison him eventually.
Tusk has also been accused by the Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz of treason in another matter, the handling of the aftermath of the 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
Prosecutors have not revealed details of the alleged illegal contacts, but they are investigating whether the heads of the intelligence had neglected their obligation to seek Tusk's approval for cooperating with foreign intelligence.
Polish media reports say the deal was aimed at allowing Polish investigators working on the Smolensk crash to operate on Russian soil.
Poland's current ruling party, Law and Justice, is led by the late president's twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a nationalist politician who is a long-term political rival of Tusk's.
Kaczynski drove the failed effort last month to block Tusk from getting a second term as head of the European Council. Only Poland opposed Tusk's re-election, with 27 other EU members supporting another term for him.
The mood at the train station was tense, with supporters of the former Polish prime minister carrying EU and national flags and chanting "Donald, we are with you!" while opponents hurled accusations of crimes and of hurting Poland's interests. One detractor held up a large mock-up photo depicting him in striped prison garb.
Tusk is only a witness in the current case — an investigation by military prosecutors into alleged secret illegal contacts between Polish and Russian intelligence officials at a time when he was still prime minister.
However, many see his questioning as part of a larger attempt by Poland's nationalist government to discredit a political foe by linking him to scandals and perhaps imprison him eventually.
Tusk has also been accused by the Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz of treason in another matter, the handling of the aftermath of the 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
Prosecutors have not revealed details of the alleged illegal contacts, but they are investigating whether the heads of the intelligence had neglected their obligation to seek Tusk's approval for cooperating with foreign intelligence.
Polish media reports say the deal was aimed at allowing Polish investigators working on the Smolensk crash to operate on Russian soil.
Poland's current ruling party, Law and Justice, is led by the late president's twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a nationalist politician who is a long-term political rival of Tusk's.
Kaczynski drove the failed effort last month to block Tusk from getting a second term as head of the European Council. Only Poland opposed Tusk's re-election, with 27 other EU members supporting another term for him.