Archbishop blames a ‘lack of decision makers’ for Mari blast

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos II lashed out against the government on Monday and blamed its indecisiveness for last month’s naval base explosion in Mari.

Speaking at the Panayia Chrysorogiatissa Monastery in Paphos on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Chrysostomos said the situation was unacceptable and said it must not go unnoticed.

“If they were decision makers, we would not have had this tragic event,” he said.

“They continually put off moving those materials until we got to the point where we had this tragic July 11 incident and with it grief, wailing and lamenting in our daily lives.”

The Archbishop was referring to reports that the authorities had failed to move 98 containers of munitions and explosions from the ‘Evangelos Florakis’ naval base where they had been stored following their confiscation from the ‘Monchegorsk’. The Russian owned, Cypriot flagged ship, and its cargo was detained in early 2009 following demands by the US and UN.

Nevertheless Chrysostomos stopped short of calling for President Demetris Christofias’ resignation. Unlike other public figures who have called for the president to take political responsibility for his failure to deal with the issue and to step down, the usually vocal Archbishop said it was not his place to comment on such a matter.

“These things are dealt with by politicians… what should have been done was not to get to the point we did and lose lives,” he said.

“Certainly some are to blame and some must finally pay so that others can fear… We cannot be indifferent about everything, to lose lives and then in the end everyone comes out on top and no one is to blame… This is an unacceptable situation and must not go unnoticed,” he added.