The Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection, Christos Triandopoulos, categorically denied the claims that he had any involvement in shaping the site of the Tempe accident, calling them “completely unfounded”. He emphasized that his presence in the area had only a coordinating role, while the officials who participated in the coordination decided on the interventions that were made.

At the same time, he characterized the motion of no confidence against the government for the Tempe case as “an extended attempt to politically exploit a tragedy without a trace of measure or limit”.

In his intervention, during the discussion of the motion of no confidence in the Parliament, Mr. Triandopoulos rejected the accusations of an attempt to cover up the tragic accident by the government, speaking of “misleading, reproduction of fake news and lies, with unproven scenarios and mud with a political face with the sole aim of party benefits”.

As Mr. Triandopoulos said, “the night of the train accident was one of the most difficult moments for those who were there and every mention of it is made with absolute respect for the victims, their relatives and society.”

“Without a doubt, we cannot feel in the slightest the pain of the relatives of the victims who expressed themselves with anger and reasonable questions which want answers and of course justice.

We must all stand in the face of pain with modesty, humility and bowed head, but not in the face of those third parties who use this tragic accident for political benefits, but not in the face of deception, lies, unproven scenarios and mud with a political face” emphasized Mr. Triandopoulos and added:

“The motion of no confidence culminates in an expanded attempt to politically exploit a tragedy without a trace of measure or limit. A methodical effort aimed at the government to shake the smooth course followed by our country.

You’re trying to build a cover-up narrative when all is fair and moving forward with times far removed from your past, when all we care about is the full light on everything and everyone. Your concern is collusion, baseless story-telling, fake news, lies to target the government.”

And the Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection continued: “For those who rushed to say that I am hiding, either on purpose or because they did not know, let me say that from the beginning it was my personal choice to respond institutionally and I have very consciously chosen not to continuously feed the endless paraphilology the baseless scenario of some who instrumentalize pain.

The claims made about the configuration of the space have no relation to reality. They are contradictory claims that even those third-party politicians or colleagues who utter them, call themselves among themselves. And in the face of baseless claims is the truth.

Actions were determined on the basis of the specific human casualty plan by the relevant business actors. The details have been answered by those who had official responsibility in the field, so that the investigations can proceed, the victims can be identified, and all the prescribed actions can be taken. And they were there under the competent prosecutor, the police, the fire brigade, the rescuers, the railway companies and organizations, and all the relevant operational actors to respond to the shocking distress of the relatives and to respond as quickly as possible to this shocking agony”, pointed out Mr. Triandopoulos.

He also spoke of “someone who traffics or reproduces various scenarios which are far from reality”.

“Yes, I was in Larissa a few days after the tragic accident as a deputy minister under the prime minister, with responsibility for state aid, for the coordination of state aid and support for the families of the victims.

I was there as a member of the government echelon with other relevant general secretaries, in cooperation with other ministers and deputy ministers, and I was visiting Larissa in the next few days to coordinate state aid. We dealt with various management issues of those tragic days, such as hosting the families, their cooperation with structures and services, their support from specialists, monitoring the progress of the crossings and identifications and other difficult issues, unknown to me.

We dealt with everything from the coordination of such issues to the formulation of measures to support the relatives of the victims and injured. Measures announced and enacted for state aid and support. This was and is my portfolio. And then and now. State aid is one thing, Civil Protection is another,” said Mr. Triandopoulos.

The Deputy Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection insisted that his political presence there “was aimed at coordinating state aid and informing public opinion whenever necessary about the progress of this collective effort, as he did with interviews and statements in those days in order to provide information and inform about basic data through the difficult effort of the authorities and to inform wherever and whenever it was necessary”.

“Nothing less nothing more,” he said and attacked those who dispute the evidence.

“I want to emphasize again that there were no orders, there were protocols and prescribed procedures. I did not participate in the coordination meetings. You know it but you don’t mention it. I did not see the clear positions of those involved being reproduced. I am not referring to the ex-district governor’s out-of-court response, you know that too, but I do not see the existing document being reproduced.

Is there any mention of my name or anywhere else? No. And you know this but you overlook all this. In front of your political expediency you shape and reproduce fake news. You do it in the scenarios for the spatial configuration, and you do it in the scenarios for the audio elements you invoke in the motion of disbelief. It is your fixed and fixed tactic.

Dear colleagues who are peddling or reproducing these scenarios, I cannot confirm your alleged truth. But I want to assure you of the following:

The search for the so-called truth through scenarios, conspiracies and unsubstantiated speculations, which on the altar of temporary political gain are transformed into communicative certainties, does not constitute respect for the magnitude of the tragedy. Against logic and the truth, against the same relatives of the victims, against justice itself and of course against the institutions and democracy”, he underlined while continuing in the same accusatory style, attributing political expediency aimed at the seat of power.

“For me the chair is not a profession, it is not an end in itself. For those of you who traffic and reproduce these scenarios, the chair is the target. To you the unrepentant category is just a means to get to the chair. It recruits that you can without measure, morality, limits, as long as you get there. This is what you are doing now with a clear political targeting of me, the ND, the government and the prime minister.

Despite all the political targeting, I will continue to walk with the same ethos, the same code of values, with absolute respect for justice, which is the one that will shed light on everything, as we all want it, with the prime minister’s slogan never again, to become a reality”, he said.

In his intervention, the parliamentary representative of SYRIZA, Dionysis Kalamatianosinsisted that adequate and clear answers were not given regarding his responsibility regarding the issue of the configuration of the space.

“The officials who participated in the coordination decided on the interventions and configurations of the space. Did I participate in the coordination? No. You know it but you don’t mention it. They shaped the space as they saw fit according to the provisions and the needs that existed. They took action to be able to complete their truly difficult operational task. You don’t believe that and think that the operatives who were there were working all day to hide something. To hide what? to disguise what exactly. You still haven’t explained this to us, you haven’t revealed it to us. There is nothing certain. The only thing that is certain is that you do not agree with logic, so let’s wait for all the justice to complete its work” answered Mr. Triandopoulos.

Mr. Kalamatian he insisted on clarifying who he means operatives, claiming that “the head of the fire department has refuted him and said that he never gave an order to excavate the site and transport 300 cubic meters where the complaint exists”.

“So who do you mean? And when you talk about justice, are you ready to go straight to justice? Do you accept it?’ said Mr. Kalamatianos

“Is there any evidence of any mention of my name? You mentioned the coordinate. Do you know who participated? The truths may not fit your narrative but the truths must be heard. In the coordination, they participated, specifically, as planned, business executives who decided on the configuration of the space. No one is foreseen either by procedures or protocols, we cannot change it because it does not serve your narrative”, answered Mr. Triandopoulos.