Greek govt to face no-confidence vote over 2023 train tragedy
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Greek opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to trigger a no-confidence vote against the government over its handling of the country’s worst rail tragedy in 2023, the head of the socialist party said.
Outside parliament, police dispersed a large demonstration with tear gas and stun grenades after protesters set fire to bins and threw firebombs.
Over 8,000 people according to the authorities had earlier gathered in a protest called by labour groups. Similar protests were held in Thessaloniki and several other Greek cities.
“The Greek people are determined not to allow this crime to be forgotten,” communist party leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas said at the Athens protest, referring to the 2023 train disaster.
“All those responsible must be sanctioned, no matter how high they are,” he said.
Pasok party leader Nikos Androulakis said the motion was filed because of what he claimed was the conservative government’s “criminal incompetence”.
Three leftist and left-wing parties – Syriza, New Left and Course of Freedom – supported the move.
The rail disaster occurred on February 28, 2023, when a train from Athens to Thessaloniki carrying more than 350 passengers collided with a freight train near the central city of Larissa, killing 57.
The two trains had travelled towards each other on the same track for miles without triggering any alarms. The accident was blamed on faulty equipment and human error.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is certain to defeat the motion, has accused the opposition of peddling “nightmarish” lies about the accident.
“I have an obligation to keep the country steady and safe in this uncertain climate,” the conservative leader, in power since 2019, told parliament earlier Wednesday as his lawmakers delivered a standing ovation.
He accused his opponents of spreading a “storm” of misinformation and seeking to use the tragedy as a “battering ram” to sow discord and destabilise the country.
Myths, fantasies and lies
“There never was a (cover-up),” Mitsotakis said, dismissing the claims as a “colourful collection of myths, fantasies and lies”.
Rival party leaders said the government had ignored repeated signs and warnings that Greece’s railways were chronically underfunded and accident-prone.
“You are both guilty and useless,” Androulakis said.
Syriza leader Sokratis Famellos said Mitsotakis had a motive in covering up the tragedy as he was seeking re-election a few months later.
“Society does not trust you. Society does not believe you. You have no legitimacy,” he said, adding: “It is our obligation to overthrow this government.”
Mitsotakis’ ruling New Democracy party has 156 lawmakers in the 300-seat chamber, enough to survive the censure motion, expected to be held late Friday after a three-day debate.
He had also handily defeated a similar motion last year.
Over 40 people have been prosecuted, including the local station master responsible for routing the trains, but a trial into the accident is not expected before the end of the year.
Opinion polls show a large majority of Greeks believe the government tried to cover up evidence into the tragedy.
On Tuesday, parliament voted to launch an investigation into whether a senior official dispatched by Mitsotakis to the scene after the accident authorised the bulldozing of the crash site, leading to the loss of vital evidence.
The official, Christos Triantopoulos, resigned on Tuesday. He denies any wrongdoing and says he was overseeing relief efforts.
Hundreds of thousands turned out at protest rallies nationwide during a general strike on Friday, the second anniversary of the tragedy, to demand justice for the victims, in one of the largest mobilisations recorded in Greece.
A previous parliamentary committee investigating the tragedy concluded last March without assigning blame to senior politicians.
Critics noted that the committee, which was headed by a ruling party MP, had not interviewed key witnesses including Triantopoulos.
Source: Agence France-Presse
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
