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Polish opposition slams Russian influence probe

30.11.2023 14:30
Polish opposition politicians have slammed a report by a state commission investigating Russian interference in Poland's internal security from 2007 to 2022, saying the panel has been created "for political ends" and that its work "undermines Poland's security services."
Senior opposition lawmaker Borys Budka addresses Polands parliament on November 29, 2023.
Senior opposition lawmaker Borys Budka addresses Poland's parliament on November 29, 2023.X/Polish Sejm

On Wednesday night, lawmakers voted to dismiss the members of the commission, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

The move was backed by MPs from the liberal Civic Coalition (KO) group, the rural-based Polish People's Party (PSL), the centre-right Poland 2050 group, the Left party, and some lawmakers with the far-right Confederation group, news outlets reported.

The commission had been appointed by the previous parliament, controlled by the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Senior Civic Coalition politician Tomasz Siemoniak said on Thursday that the panel had been created "based on political premises" and that its preliminary findings were "absurd."

Earlier on Wednesday, the commission released its preliminary findings, stating that Poland's Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) maintained close contacts with Russia's Federal Security Service FSB between 2010 and 2014, without the formal consent of then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The panel recommended that Tusk and senior ministers in his Cabinet at the time, including Siemoniak, "should not be appointed to positions with responsibility for national security."

Siemoniak, a former defence minister, told private broadcaster Tok FM that Poland's counterintelligence had worked with Russia's FSB to protect Polish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, adding that security agencies from around the world, including America's FBI and CIA, "did the same" at the time.

The politician said that the commission's recommendations "undermine Polish security services and undermine Poland."

Marcin Kierwiński, a senior Civic Coalition MP, told reporters on Thursday that opposition parties "have yet to decide" who to appoint to the panel to replace its dismissed members, the PAP news agency reported.

On Wednesday, the head of the Civic Coalition's parliamentary caucus, Borys Budka, told MPs that he would "recommend the abolition of the sham commission" into Russian influence.

The Left's Włodzimierz Czarzasty, deputy Speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, told the media that the opposition would "likely appoint" new members of the panel "from among the current MPs."

The Left's MP Wanda Nowicka said in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Thursday that the commission "was created for ideological reasons," adding that "it would be worthwhile to examine" the panel's "potential to work without ideology."

Opposition-backed senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski told Polish Radio that "the issue of Russian interference" in Polish politics "requires an investigation."

Polish MPs are likely to elect Donald Tusk as the country's new prime minister on December 11, to head a Cabinet made up of four pro-EU opposition groups, the parliamentary Speaker in Warsaw said on Wednesday.

The Civic Coalition's Kierwiński, a politician close to Tusk, is tipped to be the next interior minister.

Siemoniak, meanwhile, is widely expected to be put in charge of Poland's security services under Tusk.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, Tok FM