Mari blast report to be submitted today

Chairman of the Defence Parliamentary Committee Giorgos Varnava has said that the report, prepared by the Committee, regarding the deadly blast at “Evagelos Florakis” naval base, near Limassol, on July 11 will be submitted on Monday, August 29, to the Attorney General Petros Clerides and to the single-member inquiry committee.

Speaking here Sunday, Varnava said that the report will also be submitted to the Plenary of the House of Representatives at its next session on September 15, 2011.

Varnava noted that the report does not include criminal responsibilities for the incident. At the same time, in the conclusions, one can distinguish the political responsibilities, which are allocated. Surely, apart from the conclusions, the Committee states in the report its own positions and views regarding the tragic incident”, he said.

Replying to a question, Varnava said that the report was adopted by all political parties except ruling left wing AKEL, which submitted its position that the report should not be adopted.

As regards the public hearings that begin on Monday before the single-member inquiry committee, headed by lawyer Polis Polyviou, Varnava said that the House Committee expects that all persons involved in the deadly blast, will testify before the inquiry committee.

On the other hand, he pointed out, the Defence Parliamentary Committee expects that in the conclusions of the inquiry committee of Polis Polyviou, all political responsibilities will be allocated.

Asked if the testimony of President of the Republic Demetris Christofias before the inquiry committee should be broadcast live, Varnava said that this is something that it is not up to the House Committee to decide.

Thirteen people were killed by a huge blast, following a massive explosion at the Naval Base “Evagelos Florakis”.

The blast caused extensive damages to nearby Vassiliko power plant, leading to power shortages all over Cyprus. Communities in close proximity where also hit, while Mari village suffered most of the damage.

The blast occurred in the containers, full of munitions, which Cyprus had confiscated from “Monchegorsk”, a vessel sailing from Iran to Syria in 2009.

Following the incident, the government appointed a single-member inquiry committee, to investigate events which led to the deadly explosion.