Christodoulides laments ‘tragic mistakes’ on Mari anniversary

President Nikos Christodoulides lamented “tragic mistakes” made by the state on the 13th anniversary of the Mari explosion, which killed 13, on Thursday.

Speaking to journalists ahead of a memorial service at the Evangelos Florakis naval base, where the explosion occurred, he offered his condolences to the families of the bereaved.

“I am here first and foremost on behalf of the state as the President of the Republic of Cyprus to apologise for the tragic mistakes made by the state, for all the things that should have been done and were not done which led to this tragedy,” he said.

“At the very least, their sacrifice should act as a reminder to all of us who are in positions of responsibility to not be led to such human tragedies ever again.”

He then gave a speech at the memorial service, telling mourners he was here “to look you in the eye and express the state’s sincere apologies for the mistakes which led to this tragedy”.

“This tragedy came about due to a sequence of mistakes which all have one thing in common, and we must be completely honest, a lack of concern and care, which should have been shown by many of those at the highest level of the administrative, military, and political hierarchy,” he said.

“As a result of this, the state was irreparably exposed in the eyes of its citizens, in the eyes of all of you.

“The establishment of the correct procedures, training, and continuous controls is the only way which can minimise the chances of accidents happening and of ensuring to the greatest possible extent the safety of human life and of the state’s vital infrastructure,” he said.

The Mari explosion occurred on June 11, 2011, and was caused by munitions which had been haphazardly stored in 98 containers at the naval base for over two years. It also severely damaged the nearby Vasiliko power station, causing rolling power cuts.

The munitions had been confiscated in 2009 from a Cyprus-flagged ship en route to Syria and were then stacked in an open space at the base and left exposed to the elements for two years until the explosion occurred, despite repeated warnings about risks.

Following the disaster, the cabinet of the day, under late President Demetris Chrisfotias declared the deceased as heroes who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Meanwhile, lawyer Polys Polyviou was appointed, as a one-man committee, to carry out an investigation into the circumstances that led to the blast and establish who was politically responsible.

Polyviou found Christofias to be mainly responsible, while the foreign and defence ministers of the day, Marcos Kyprianou and the late Costas Papacostas, were also found culpable.

However, Christofias rejected the findings and accused Polyviou of overstepping his mandate.

A three-judge panel ruled that then Defence Minister Costas Papacostas had been responsible for safeguarding the containers and was aware of the danger posed by the manner of their storage but failed to take any action.

Papacostas was sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter in 2013, with the Larnaca court saying he had “closed his eyes to the danger”. He died in hospital in 2015.