Cyprus President 'responsible' for DEADLY blast

Cyprus President 'responsible' for DEADLY blast

From:AFP
October 03, 2011
11:06PM

A PUBLIC inquiry into a Cyprus munitions blast that killed 13 people
and crippled the island's main power plant has found that President
Demetris Christofias was responsible for the disaster.

The head of the inquiry, Polis Polyviou, handed over his findings -
which are not legally binding - to the president and the attorney
general before giving a press conference.

"Unfortunately, based on the facts as shown by the testimony that came before me,
I have no choice but to conclude that the president of the republic has serious
institutional and personal responsibilities in relation to the matter,"Polyviou said.

"My conclusion is that the main responsibility for the tragedy lies with the president."
Polyviou said Christofias's role in the deadly blast was "direct, specific, unambiguous and serious".

He told reporters that the president had the "greatest responsibility"
because he was in charge of a failed decision-making process that saw
no measures taken to protect Cypriot citizens.

Christofias was accused of "unforgivable negligence" for allowing
the munitions to be stored out in the open at a naval base on the
island's south coast for two and a half years and taking no steps to
avert the risks despite repeated warnings.

"It was a timebomb left at the naval base until it exploded," he said.

The lawyer said he was convinced that Christofias was aware of the danger
that the deteriorating arms cache posed but chose to keep 98 containers
piled up at the base unprotected.

They were stored just 150 metres from the island's biggest power station.

Last month, Christofias told the public inquiry he was never told of the risk
posed by the arms cache.

The inquiry's hefty 650-page report argues that
Christofias has no excuse to say he was not told of the dangers.

"Saying I didn't know is not enough," said Polyviou.

"The president of the republic, even if his version is accepted, knew at
least from September 2010 that the cargo was kept at a National Guard
camp in a field exposed to weather phenomena especially in summer,
increasing the danger that comes with the gunpowder deteriorating," he
wrote in his report.

Christofias said that at no point was he informed of the risks posed by the containers
of seized Iranian munitions stored out at the Mari naval base, even after officials met a
week before the July 11 blast to discuss their deterioration in the scorching summer heat.

The defence and foreign ministers and the commander of the Greek Cypriot National Guard resigned over the blast.

The deputy commander was sacked.

The containers had been at the base since their seizure in February 2009
when Cyprus intercepted a Cypriot-flagged freighter bound from Iran for
Syria, under pressure from the United States and other governments.

Christofias said the decision to keep the weapons on the island was the "correct"
one after a proposal for the UN to take responsibility for the cache did not materialise.

But Polyviou said the munitions were kept on island to placate Syria and Iran in a risky diplomatic game which gave Cyprus no room for manoeuvre.

He said that ex-foreign minister Marcos Kyprianou blocked the arrival of UN weapons inspectors who requested they be allowed to check the "actual state of the cargo".

"Within two minutes they would have realised the cargo was in a bad state," said Polyviou.

The arms were seized after a UN sanctions committee said the consignment contravened a ban on Iranian arms shipments.

Relatives of the victims have welcomed the hard-hitting report.

The munitions blast killed 13 service personnel and firefighters and
knocked out the Mediterranean island's biggest power plant, leading to
rolling daily power cuts, economic disruption and public uproar.
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NO, "Related Coverage" Links for this?

I did post a lot about it, that all ignored...like the two DUTCH
Communications Towers that 'burned' and collapsed just after
...and that is affected BRITISH NAVY BASED NEAR BY...

Inquiry blames Cyprus president
for deadly blast


Cypriot president Dimitris Christofias
speaks to the media after the annual
Cyprus Independence day military parade
in the divided capital ofNicosia,
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011.

Christofias says exploratory drilling
for offshore oil and gas deposits will continue
despite Turkey's strong opposition.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974,
when Turkey invaded in response to a coup
aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960.
Petros Karadjias / AP Photo
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/03/2436304/inquiry-blames-cyprus-president.html#ixzz1ZjN7P1tv

The Associated Press
NICOSIA, Cyprus --
Cyprus' president is mainly to blame for events that led to the explosion
of seized Iranian munitions that killed 13 people and caused a
political and economic crisis on the island, the head of an official
inquiry said on Monday.

Polys Polyviou says Dimitris Christofias was primarily responsible
for the "inadequacy, negligence and carelessness" that led to
the July 11 blast at a naval base.

The explosion wrecked Cyprus' main power station and stoked fears and
sapped public trust in Christofias' presidency amid calls for him to resign.

"My conclusion is that the main responsibility for the tragedy
weighs the president of the republic," Polyviou told a televised news
conference to present the public inquiry's nonbinding findings.

Christofias had earlier testified at the inquiry hearings that he was never told by
subordinates just how dangerous the munitions were and denied any personal responsibility.

But Polyviou said Christofias had "very serious personal responsibilities," adding that he should have known about the dangers involved with the munitions and showed "inexcusable
negligence which resulted in the death of 13 people."

The munitions - mostly gunpowder and some nitroglycerine stored in 85
containers - were seized in Feb. 2009 from a Cypriot-flagged ship
suspected of transporting it from Iran to Palestinian militants in Gaza
through Syria. The United Nations had ruled that the ship had breached a
ban on Iranian arms exports.

The containers had been left piled in an open field inside the base for 2 1/2 years, exposed to wide temperature swings on the Mediterranean island which may have made the
munitions unstable.

Polyviou said since Christofias personally decided to confiscate the cargo, it was incumbent on him to take measures that would ensure the munitions' safe storage.

"The essence of the matter is that the president of the republic, in this
instance, failed in his duty to implement the necessary measures for the
safety of the citizens of the Cyprus republic and especially its military
and fire department personnel," said Polyviou.

A separate, police-led probe is also expected to conclude soon.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/03/2436304/inquiry-blames-cyprus-president.html#ixzz1ZjMfiS6T

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You should name all your spam threads "The News that has FUCKALL to do with anything anyone anywhere fucking cares about".