STORING A cargo of confiscated munitions that exploded in July killing 13 men was the responsibility of the army and not the president who had never been informed of any immediate danger, the government said yesterday, as a document referring to the risks was made public two days before Demetris Christofias testifies at a public inquiry into the causes of the blast.
The document, a memo to the president dated September 6, 2010 and penned by the head of Christofias’ diplomatic office Leonidas Pantelides, said army officers “favoured destruction (of the munitions) due to some dangers posed by the high temperatures inside the containers during the summer”.
The memo was written after a meeting between Pantelides, Colonel Andreas Stavrou and Lieutenant Andreas Yennaris who belonged to the defence minister’s staff.
The three men discussed whether the National Guard was in a position, from a technical point of view, to destroy the munitions.
The munitions, stored inside 98 containers, had been left exposed to the elements at the Evangelos Florakis naval base for over two years since their seizure from a ship sailing from Iran to Syria.
They exploded on July 11 this year, killing 13 sailors and fire-fighters and knocking out the nearby power station at Vassilikos, sparking an energy crisis.
In the memo, Pantelides said “As I have already told you, I have spoken with the ambassador of Iran, who told me they would support this development (destruction) and would also speak to the Syrians so that they would also adopt this position.
“In such a case we will reach out to the (UN) Security Council Sanctions Committee anew, to secure approval for destruction.”
The government responded yesterday by saying the leaked document debunked two lies: that the cargo was kept in Cyprus to be sent to Syria later on and that it had been Christofias’ decision not to destroy the munitions.
“The meeting was not convened for reasons of safety but to advance destruction of the cargo,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told reporters yesterday.
The spokesman said that references in the document also proved that the risk assessment by those responsible was incorrect since the document contained a “general if not vague reference to ‘some dangers’.”
“This is the truth, which is unfortunately brutally twisted by some in a bid to preempt the results of the investigating procedure,” Stefanou said.
Asked what the government did between September 6 last year, when the memo was written, and July 11, Stefanou said there are various documents showing that the government was in touch with Iran for the destruction of the cargo.
He said there is also the February 2011 meeting in which Pantelides raised the issue of destroying the munitions and “everything that sees the public light either through documents or the testimonies at the public hearings”.
On whether Christfias did anything after he was briefed of the dangers and high temperatures, Stefanou repeated that the reason for the meeting was political: “to put forward the destruction of the cargo. The matter of storing the cargo is not the responsibility of the President. It was the responsibility of the National Guard.”
Stefanou said no one had ever raised – even much later – “an issue that there was an immediate risk of the cargo exploding.”
“And even when it was raised in July 2011, the President had not been informed,” Stefanou said, referring to a meeting held a week before the explosion when one of the containers bulged due to pressure created by self-igniting gunpowder.
The spokesman said handling and storage of the cargo was assigned to the competent authority.
“I do not know if there is anyone who thinks that any President would decide about the manner and location of military materiel,” Stefanou said.
The spokesman said the government made efforts to convince Syria and Iran of the need for the munitions to be destroyed “in the framework of a sensitive and difficult matter for the national interests of the Republic of Cyprus”.
“On Monday (tomorrow) the President will appear before the public hearing, he will say what he has to say and finally, for once, the President will also be heard,” Stefanou said.
Main opposition DISY said yesterday that the new document confirmed the extent of the political responsibility Christofias had in the affair.
“DISY will remain vigilant and will be watching the progress of the investigating procedure and especially the presence of the President at the hearing on Monday, aware now of the fact that the President and his government are required to give clear answers to the massive questions already raised,” spokesman Haris Georgiades said.
For DIKO vice chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos, the document proved beyond doubt that Christofias is politically responsible for the tragedy.
“We hope that he will finally assume his share of the heavy political responsibility and do what is required of him,” Papadopoulos said.
Government hits back at Turkish sabre-rattling over gas
By George Psyllides
THE government yesterday condemned Turkish threats of military action over Cyprus’ intention to drill for natural gas, and urged its neighbour to respect international law.
“This behaviour is unacceptable and condemnable,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said. “Turkey should realise that the era of gunboat politics has gone.”
On Friday, Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis said his country would not hesitate to send its navy to the drilling area, southeast of Cyprus, near Israel.
Bagis was quoted in Zaman newspaper as saying that when explorations were made in the past, ships from the Turkish military fleet “were quick to make their way to the area”.
“It’s for this reason that we built our army and trained our soldiers,” said Bagis claiming “it is illegal to explore waters that do not belong to them”.
“The Greek Cypriot side had tried to make similar moves in the past but there are some who remember what they went up against,” he added.
Bagis added that Turkey would exercise all its rights under international law.
Cyprus plans to begin drilling in its Exclusive Economic Zone on October 1. The drilling will be carried out by the Texas-based company, Noble Energy.
Yesterday, Stefanou said Turkey continued to engage in actions that went against international law and the UN Charter by “openly threatening Cyprus, a member-state of the UN and the EU, whose independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity Turkey has been violating with the force of arms since 1974.”
The government said it would act accordingly so that Turkey receives the message that it has to stop the threats and provocations.
“The international community and especially the EU, in which Cyprus is a member and Turkey aspires to join, should send a decisive and clear message that provocations and threats will not be accepted,” Stefanou said.
He added that Cyprus will continue to explore its natural resources in the framework of international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
