The Alternate Minister of National Defence Fotis Kouvelis in an interview he gave on ANT1 TV station to journalists Nikos Rogkakos and Baya Antonopoulou stated, among other things, while answering relevant questions:
To the question whether the state operated as it should do and whether errors or omissions occurred:
There were no strategic errors regarding the tragic disaster from the wildfires which caused the death of many people. I cannot exclude the possibility of errors having occurred in communication or other specific procedures. But this is something we should address in a moment of sobriety.
Regarding this tragedy which caused a huge sorrow, but showed enormous deficiencies and problems as well, what matters now is the government to proceed with a comprehensive plan in order to address all those factors which caused or augmented the tragic result taking into consideration the weather conditions which caused this inferno.
The government plan on illegal building has already been forwarded and implemented. There have been immediate measures to accelerate the procedures for the demolition of two and a half thousand illegal buildings in forest areas and seven hundred on coast areas in Attica. Forest maps will be completed by 2019 and the land and property register by 2020, regarding the entire country. The construction plan must also be drafted, voted and implemented based on a specific building design, particularly in the area of Mati.
When asked to comment that “nobody from the government apologized”, he stressed:
What Prime Minister Mr. Tsipras said about assuming political responsibility obviously regards an expression of apology and sorrow on what has happened. The lack of an apology and assumption of responsibility, as it was defined by the Prime Minister himself, does not mean an exemption from all the responsibilities for all the mistakes and other factors which lead to this disaster. I wish to be absolutely clear and I reiterate that there were no strategy mistakes. A whole area of twenty five thousand people was evacuated in Mati.
The question is whether it could be fully evacuated without any casualties. Probably, if all the factors which constituted the major problem in the area had not existed, these people might have been saved. But I do not want to ignore the reality. This does not mean that specific errors or omissions will not be inquired, and potential negligence will be investigated as well. But this is a totally different issue from the one referred to as the top priority and the substantial assumption of responsibility. What is that? It is to promote all those measures which may end a terrifying situation.
When asked whether he “apologizes” through his statements, he answered:
As far as I am concerned, I apologize, but I wish to assure you that the Ministry of National Defence, the Armed Forces did their best. With an Operations Centre working 24 hours per day, with their assets, ships, firefighting aircraft and helicopters, with our military personnel who have been and still are, from the very first moment until today, on the front fighting all these problems.
But I explained you, the apology and sorrow were expressed exactly as I mentioned shortly before. I would like to add one more thing: What is next? Is it possible to address all these issues which every side, government and opposition, points out as the key reasons that caused this result?
This is the question and I would like to say that the measures which were immediately taken are substantially positive. Without having any intent to shadow issues which must be raised, discussed and addressed, I would like to stress that the measures that were decided and their immediate implementation, will also face problems caused by private interests, illegal or arbitrary behaviour. Every political side, as well as the entire society must realize that it is the collective interest that matters.
To the question whether competent officials should resign:
I should tell you clearly that there is a critical issue which we should not underestimate; hasty resignations and hasty investigation of responsibilities, whether they regard general or specific responsibilities, is not what we should seek for. Our cause is to deal with the condition that came up.
These conditions should be addressed today and there are many problems. I was telling you before that the measures taken by initiative of the government will be faced with reaction by some people. Because nobody would like to be affected. That is everyone agrees on construction arrangements, restoring the environment, opening streets and the beach, but not to the detriment of their own private interest.
What we should record, not in order to justify the government’s policy, but in order to see what we should do, is that we should examine and evaluate the previous situation and how it has been shaped.
