Christodoulides’ apology ‘not enough’, Annita says

President Nikos Christodoulides’ televised apology for the government’s response to the wildfires which tore through the Limassol district and killed two people last week was “not enough”, House president Annita Demetriou said late on Sunday night.

In a post on social media, she described his words as “delayed and obligatory”, but stressed that “an apology in such cases is not enough”.

“There are political responsibilities which should have already been assigned and taken. Communication management cannot erase the tragic mistakes, the delay, and the lack of coordination, for which explanations are required,” she said.

Flanked by local mukhtars, Christodoulides had said in a televised address that “improvements are required to the weaknesses of the system and the relevant mechanisms to be able to respond to such critical incidents”.

Those weaknesses, he said, came about “despite the fact that, among other things, we proceeded with an increase in the number of firefighters, secured the maximum number of aircraft, tightened the penalties, and transferred the aircraft to the national guard”.

“Therefore, we need to see what did not work, why it did not work, and make any necessary corrective actions. As a state, we must identify all the gaps and omissions and acknowledge that, at a critical moment like this, we did not respond as we should have. On behalf of the state, I apologise,” he said.

He also listed 12 “support measures” the government would offer to those impacted by the fire, which include subsidies for rent payments for those displaced by it, compensation for livestock farmers, and €10,000 to every family whose house was completely destroyed by the fire.

Demetriou said Disy is “ready to support them and strengthen them when needed”, and also ready to “ensure that they are implemented immediately and do not get stuck in the gears of bureaucracy”.

“The people who have been impacted do not need words. They need support, care, and security, as well as the guarantee that they will not relive such a nightmare,” she said.

Earlier, Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou had said governmental responsibility for its response to the fire had been “left hanging”, and that the government had been “unable to understand the magnitude of its responsibility for the disaster”.

“They refused to respond to society’s demand for the resignation or dismissal of the relevant ministers,” he said, adding that his party will “closely and continuously monitor the restoration of area impacted by the catastrophe”.

“The president asks us to judge him strictly. So far, he and his government have proven that they do not want and cannot withstand criticism.”

Disy and Akel have led the charge in demanding answers from the government over its handling of the wildfire, with the former last week having said that the government had “obviously failed”.

It described the government’s handling of the fire as a “criminal failure” and said that its causes “must be investigated immediately”.

Stefanou had said last week that the fire had “pulverised the government’s statements and revealed its incompetence, which it has tried to hide under communication tricks”.

Presidential press officer Victor Papadopoulos then responded to Stefanou, saying he was “rushing to compete with Disy and Elam in populism”.

Akel then responded in kind, saying that while the government “may lack the ability to govern the country and be subpar in the circumstances”, it is “overflowing with audacity and arrogance”.

“Have some shame. What else can you say to a government which does not understand what responsibility and integrity mean?”

Meanwhile, Christodoulides’ Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis found himself the subject of some people’s ire after telling journalists on Friday that “we had absolutely no loss of life” in the wildfire, except for the two people who did die.

“Indeed, some failures, difficulties, and problems may occur, but we must also emphasise the positive aspects of this operation, which is why I publicly express my gratitude that, first of all, apart from the unfortunate incident of our two fellow human beings, while 16 whole villages were evacuated, we had absolutely no loss of life,” he said.

He also said the government got “top marks” in its handling of the fire.

Later that day, he rushed to clarify what he had said, stressing that his words were “in no way intended to diminish the value of human life”.

“My statement was in no way intended to diminish the value of human life, the safeguarding of which – as I have repeatedly stated from the first moment of the fire – was the government’s priority,” he said.