Poland’s Unity Is Disrupted by Plans for President’s Interment

Poland’s Unity Is Disrupted by Plans for President’s Interment Public discontent erupted on Tuesday for the first time in the grievous aftermath of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Poland’s president and dozens of top politicians and military leaders, as hundreds of people in Krakow protested the decision to inter the president and his wife in a crypt holding the remains of many Polish kings.

Opposition was building over the plan to lay President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, to rest in Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, which also holds the remains of leading historical figures like Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, the post-World War I leader of Poland, and Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski, leader of the government-in-exile during World War II.

Those opposed to placing the often divisive Mr. Kaczynski in such august company demonstrated Tuesday night outside the Palace of Bishops, the seat of the Krakow curia. Witnesses at the protest said they were chanting “Krakow, say no!” and holding signs reading, “Is he fit to be a king?”

Sylwia Plucisz, 32, a lecturer in English who learned about the protest after joining a group of more than 20,000 on Facebook called “No to Kaczynski at Wawel,” said she thought it was wrong to bury the late president in a rarefied place for national icons.

“They are exploiting Wawel for political ends, and I don’t think it should be used in this way,” Ms. Plucisz said in a telephone interview. “Wawel is the heart of Polishness, and nobody should be buried there, especially President Kaczynski, who was a divisive person. He deserves to be buried with dignity, but not there.”

Opposition to the plan raised the specter of a state funeral on Sunday marred by protests, even as world leaders, including President Obama, are expected to attend. And the difficult process of replacing crucial members of the government could become much harder if the political atmosphere decorative fruitwas poisoned by the dispute.