Part of the Westerplatte territory, including the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast, returns under Gdańsk administration, said the city mayor spokesman. The decision was made by the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA). In 2019, the plot was taken over by the state with a special act. After the legislation came into force, construction of an external exhibition has been launched. Since then the city hasn’t been allowed to organise WWII outbreak anniversary commemorations.
Daniel Stenzel, spokesman for Gdańsk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, informed on Friday that the Supreme Administrative Court has decided a part of the Westerplatte territory, taken over by the state in 2019 with a special act, will return to the city of Gdańsk. The ruling is legally binding.
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„This ruling means that government officials weren’t following the provisions of their own legislation, which had been adopted in a flash, and based on which the plot with the monument was taken over. Based on this, the Defence Ministry and its chief Mariusz Błaszczak organised commemorations in 2020 and 2021. It turns out that, in the light of today’s ruling by the NSA, had a very dubious legal basis,” – said Maciej Buczkowski – Deputy chief of Gdańsk Mayor Office.
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„Today the NSA confirmed that the decision two years ago to take over the Westerplatte site was unlawful,” Agnieszka Pomaska (KO) said at a press conference on Friday. „I would like to thank the judges for their thorough consideration of the case and for the verdict,” said Piotr Adamowicz (KO) in turn. In his opinion, „the court’s decision means the fiasco of the PiS party’s historical policy.”
Pomaska argued that in the opinion of the majority of Pomeranians, the decision of the parliamentary majority of 2019 „was simply unwise”. „Instead of building something together, PiS decided to bring political guns to bear on Westerplatte,” – she said.
In her opinion, the NSA’s decision means that the annual commemoration of the start of World War II will now be „beyond political divisions” and „no one will be divided into better and worse”.
source: tvn24.pl
