The former Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Christos Triantaopoulos, is to resign after the developments with the preliminary investigation on Tempi.
In a letter he announces his resignation at the beginning of the preliminary investigation.
Statement by the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Mr Christos Triantopoulos, regarding the submission of a proposal to the Parliament for the establishment of a Special Parliamentary Committee for the conduct of a preliminary investigation into the tragic accident in Tempe on 28 February 2023.
«Throughout my participation in the Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and my parliamentary presence as an elected Member of Parliament with New Democracy, I have chosen low tones and dedication to duty. My political and personal career has been governed by a sense of responsibility and respect for the institutions, in line with my personal and political ethos.
In response to the proposal for the establishment of a Pre-Investigation Committee, with which PASOK demonizes our presence at the scene of the accident, demonstrating its commitment to the goal of uncritical instrumentalization of the tragedy, describing unfounded accusations attributed to me, I have to counter the truth, the evidence and the facts.
With respect first and foremost to the victims of the tragedy and their relatives, as well as to the institutional processes and their representatives.
I make it clear that everything that is mentioned, as far as I am concerned, is out of all reality and logic. My presence, with a government team, at the scene of the accident, days after the tragic accident, and the arbitrary speculations about the reasons for it, are now being used for petty political reasons, as evidence of a hypothetical, and in reality non-existent, «cover-up». It is implied that the government and its officials were acting with malice in order to «cover up» unspecified illegal activities and unspecified culprits. Who, and why? Unknown.
Then, in those critical moments, when we were all overwhelmed, everyone was trying to help in his or her role. Today, with hindsight and the security of the opposition, it is presented as a certainty that the government and its officials were acting as joint plotters and with the purpose of a «cover-up».
My presence in the region was known, transparent and documented, with interviews and press releases published nationwide.
It is also known that the visit of the government team to the site took place after the first days of the incident, thus without participating in coordinated operational decisions at the site of the accident, which was the task of the operational and service actors from the very first moment, i.e. at a time when the team had not even gone there. These decisions and actions were made clear by the joint communication of the relevant officials from day one and were concerned not only with the rescue and extrication of the victims, but also with freeing the railway line.
The on-site presence of the government team, with each member having specific responsibilities, depending on their ministry's portfolio, was political. Without interfering with the work of departmental and operational actors, which had already begun from the first moment of the tragedy. The echelon should have been present, and it was. It went to assist where the need arose, responding to the demands of those difficult days.
For my part, and as I have mentioned in my public statements in Parliament, as Deputy Minister of State Aid to the Prime Minister, I have focused on two strands. Firstly, the organisation of state aid and support for the families of the victims. We therefore worked with the relevant ministries to coordinate such issues, up to and including the formulation of support measures for the relatives of the deceased and injured. These measures were announced a few days later, with the cooperation of all the Ministries involved, including a special helpline.
Secondly, as the work of the operational actors progressed, I was involved in providing information - through TV statements and press releases - on the progress of the actions in the field, in accordance with the information provided by the relevant officials who are responsible for them. In this context, information was made public from my side, including information on the identification of the deceased, the health of the hospitalised, and the progress of the restoration of the railway line.
To refer to the existence of deceit, even as an unproven hypothesis not based on facts, not supported by evidence, and not consistent with logic, but which supposedly led to «cover-up» actions, is extremely offensive.
I am actively involved in the restoration of the truth, based on logic, evidence and facts.
And, of course, with the decision to set up the Commission, I will resign as Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection to facilitate the process and the work of the Government.»
