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发帖数: 6 | 1 By Vanessa Gera | AP
January 13 at 5:33 PM
WARSAW, Poland — The mayor of a city in Poland was in very serious
condition after he was stabbed on stage Sunday during the finale of a large
charity event, and Polish media reported details that gave the attack a
political element.
Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz was attacked with a knife while he stood on
stage, held his belly and collapsed during the “Lights to Heaven”
fundraiser organized by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, Poland’s
most important charity.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said he was informed that “doctors succeeded
in reanimating the heart of the seriously injured Mayor Pawel Adamowicz and
there is hope, but his condition is very difficult.” He called on for
people to pray for the mayor.
Polish broadcaster TVN reported that the suspected assailant shouted from
the stage that he was imprisoned under a previous national government led by
Civic Platform, a party to which the mayor formerly belonged, despite being
innocent. He was arrested.
Several Polish media outlets, including Rzeczpospolita, reported that the
man yelled after stabbing Adamowicz: “Hello! Hello! My name is Stefan, I
was jailed but innocent. ... Civic Platform tortured me, that’s why
Adamowicz just died.”
Police said he was a 27-year-old with a criminal record and had carried out
bank robberies.
Radio Gdansk reported that Adamowicz was stabbed in the area of his heart,
but did not cite its source, while Rzeczpospolita described his condition as
“critical,” citing unnamed sources. A spokesman for the hospital called
his condition “very serious.”
TVN footage showed Adamowicz on stage just before the attack with a sparkler
in hand telling the audience that it had been a “wonderful day” and then
the attacker coming toward him.
European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who
co-founded Civil Platform and is from Gdansk, wrote on Twitter: “Let’s all
pray for Mayor Adamowicz. Pawel, we are with you.”
The head of the charity, Jerzy Owsiak, is a liberal critic of Poland’s
current right-wing government. He blamed what he described as an atmosphere
of hate under the ruling Law and Justice party for the attack on the mayor.
Owsiak referred to being personally depicted in a defamatory manner in an
animation that ran on state TV last week and that also had anti-Semitic
overtones.
The animation showed Owsiak as a clay figure being manipulated by a leading
Civic Platform official who seized piles of cash that he collected,
apparently suggesting the charity was a ruse to raise money for the
opposition party. A Star of David was on one of the banknotes. The
broadcaster apologized after the animation triggered an outcry.
Adamowicz, 53, has been mayor of Gdansk, a Baltic port city, since 1998. He
was part of the democratic opposition born in that city under the leadership
of Lech Walesa during the 1980s. After leaving Civic Platform, he was re-
elected to a sixth term as an independent candidate in the fall.
As mayor, he has been a progressive voice, supporting LGBT rights and
tolerance for minorities. He marched in last year’s gay pride parade, a
rare action for a mayor in Poland.
He also showed solidarity with the Jewish community when the city’s
synagogue had its windows broken last year, strongly denouncing the
vandalism.
“Horrified by the brutal attack on Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz,” said
Frans Timmermans, a Dutch politician and leading European Union official. “
Hope and pray he will recover. A great leader of his city and a true
humanitarian.”
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity raises money for state-of-the-art
medical equipment Poland’s cash-strapped health care system, mostly for
children but also for the elderly.
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