COMMUNICATIONS Minister Harris Thrassou yesterday dismissed relentless accusations of favouritism and malpractice regarding the Helios Airways crash and flaws in the Civil Aviation Department (CA).
Thrassou has been on the defensive in the wake of a flood of accusations from former Helios employees and CA staff at the inquiry headed by Panayiotis Kallis’ committee to look into possible responsibilities of the crash
Commenting on television and radio yesterday, Thrassou said he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong with regards to the crash and that this would be proved by the ongoing investigation.
The Minister again came under the spotlight when the Head of the Helios Victims’ Relatives’ Committee Nicolas Yiasoumis told reporters Thrassou had telephoned him back in March begging him not to call for his resignation.
Yiasoumis then called on Thrassou, who has denied saying any such thing, to find the political courage to hand in his resignation.
The inquiry has heard in one instance Helios had asked to lease a plane from Egypt. Even though no airworthiness tests were carried out on the aircraft, the CA granted Helios a licence to fly it.
Responding to the accusation, Thrassou told state radio that all he knew was that the airline had asked for an inspection of the aircraft and that he approved the procedure. He added that it was normal procedure of inspections for all airlines. A CA whistleblower has claimed inspectors did travel to Egypt, but never actually saw the plane.
Asked about an ignored report on the plane that crashed last year, which stated that eight safety issues needed to be rectified on the specific aircraft, Thrassou pointed out the matter occurred in April 2004, before he was appointed Minister.
He added: “Are they saying that all these wrongdoings that occurred at the civil aviation all happened while I was Minister?
“If there is blame which has to do with what happened with the crash, then they will be brought to justice when the investigations are finalized,” said Thrassou. “It is one thing to talk about blame for problems in Civil Aviation and another matter to talk about blame which led to the plane crashing.”
Political parties from all sides have given their backing to Thrassou, for now, insisting the investigations should be completed before fingers were pointed
“There are two procedures currently taking place and we must be patient so they can be completed,” said AKEL spokesman Andros Kyprianou. “I am more than certain that if the Minister is indeed deemed to have some sort of blame in what happened then he will appear himself to answer to any charges.”
His thoughts were relayed by Christos Pourgourides of opposition DISY, who said it was far too early to ask for Thrassou’s resignation. He added that any possible statements or finger pointing at this stage could have a negative influence on the ongoing investigation.
Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardes yesterday said those responsible would come to light when the investigations were over.
“At this moment, there is no question of the Minister stepping down.”
