Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US President Praises Poland as Model of Democracy

   VOA News  May 28, 2011
   US President Barack Obama and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski
   during an arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw,
   Saturday, May 28, 2011

Photo: AP

   US President Barack Obama and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski
   during an arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw,
   Saturday, May 28, 2011

   U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday praised Poland's role as a
   model of modernization and democratic reform in the region and around
   the world.
   Obama was speaking alongside Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski
   toward the end of a two-day trip to the country. The visit wrapped up
   the U.S. president's six-day tour of Europe.
   Recalling the Polish 1980 Solidarity movement that overthrew Soviet
   rule, Obama said it was a time when "ordinary people were standing up
   and doing extraordinary things with great courage against great odds."
   The U.S. leader drew a parallel between Poland's actions three decades
   ago with the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and the
   Middle East, appealing for calm as those nations transition to
   democracy.
   In contrast, Obama sharply criticized Poland's neighbor Belarus, where
   he said democracy was "backsliding". He said President Alexander
   Lukashenko's repressive actions in Belarus were having a negative
   impact across the region.
   The U.S. president also made a quick reference to the sensitive subject
   of missile defense, saying that it was important that the North
   Atlantic Treaty Organization remain in charge of the bloc's defense
   capabilities in the region.
   Washington's plan to place missile interceptors in central and eastern
   Europe has riled Moscow, who believes the system threatens its own
   missile weapons. Obama tried to soothe those concerns Saturday, saying
   that the United States and Russia shared the same outside threats.
   Obama said he also had discussed with Komorowski the visa process
   between the two countries. Warsaw has called for visa-free tourist
   travel to the United States.
   Poland's Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa
   declined to meet Obama, citing a previous meeting out of the country.
   On Friday, Obama met with leaders of 18 Eastern and Central European
   nations, where he emphasized the importance of a strong integrated
   Europe.
   Earlier Friday, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and
   paid his respects at a memorial marking the fated World War II Jewish
   uprising against Nazi forces in the Warsaw ghetto. Nazi Germany had
   confined many of Poland's Jews in the ghetto before transporting them
   to concentration camps.
   Obama was to have separate meetings with Prime Minister Donald Tusk to
   discuss trade issues, including Poland's reserves of natural gas which
   are of particular interest to U.S. energy companies.
   Obama traveled to Poland from France, where he attended a summit of the
   world's eight most industrialized nations (G-8). Poland is the last leg
   of his six-day tour of Europe which began in Ireland.
   A White House national security official had said earlier that Mr.
   Obama would announce an agreement to set up an aviation detachment in
   Poland. Liz Sherwood-Randall said the plan calls for the U.S. to rotate
   trainers and aircraft to Poland and establish a small, permanent ground
   presence. She said the deal would allow the countries' air forces to
   cooperate in training Poles on how to use the U.S. F-16 and C-130
   military planes that they have purchased.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

.