FORMER defence minister Costas Papacostas yesterday accused a high-ranking army officer of misleading him on the danger of the explosives stored at a naval base, which blew up on July 11 killing 13 men, reports said yesterday.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the accusation was heard during a lengthy House Defence Committee meeting held behind closed doors that examined the causes of the explosion at the Evangelos Florakis naval base.
The report said Papacostas told the committee that his ministry had agreed to receive the 98 containers, seized late in 2009 from a ship headed to Syria from Iran, after receiving assurances from Colonel Giorgos Georgiades, deputy commander of the support brigade and former commander of the ordnance corps, that the material was inert.
“It was you who misled me,” Papacostas reportedly said, with Georgiades telling the former minister to stop pleading ignorance. “You knew,” Georgiades reportedly said.
But on Saturday, committee chairman, EDEK MP Giorgos Varnava, said Georgiades never said such a thing and reports in the media got it wrong.
“This is not true. No such phrase was uttered by Mr. Georgiades and I think there needs to be a correction because this statement, which was the first item on the news yesterday, undermines and at the same tine offends people,” Varnava said.
According to the same report, Leonidas Pantelides, the head of President Demetris Christofias’ diplomatic office, said he only informed his boss when he deemed appropriate.
Asked whether he informed Christofias of the developments in relation to the munitions after February 2011, Pantelides responded “no.”
Pantelides also said that after the cargo was seized, the role of his office was reduced considerably and that the matter was being handled by the foreign ministry.
The report said Pantelides has already given police a lengthy statement and also handed over 300 documents regarding the case.
Speaking to reporters after the over five-hour meeting, committee chairman, EDEK MP, Giorgos Varnava said some conclusions have been drawn but some questions still remain unanswered.
Varnava avoided saying if officials taking part in the meeting had tried to shift the blame but he added that there were conflicting views.
The EDEK lawmaker did not give an answer either on whether Christofias and Papacostas knew of the danger.
Asked if the committee knows the contents of the containers, Varnava said an inventory and other documents has been submitted, without giving any other details.
He said four of the containers had been inspected aboard the ship, while the rest were checked when placed at their initial location at the base in Mari.
According to Varnavas, the containers had been initially placed closer to the sea and were later relocated to the location where they exploded, after a concrete pad had been constructed.
The essence in the case is the selection of the areas and the negligence in their storage, Varnavas said.
Police present at the discussion, at times asked for certain questions not to be asked or others not to be answered in a bid to ensure that an ongoing criminal investigation and potential prosecution of anyone involved will not be compromised.
The session was followed by relatives of the 13 victims.
Discussion continues next Wednesday morning.
