Protests continue as Cyprus appoints one-man inquiry into blast

Crowds continued to gather outside the Presidential Palace in Nicosia for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, expressing their grief and anger over the circumstances that led to Monday’s deadly blast at the “Evangelos Florakis” naval base near Limassol that killed 12 people and knocked out the island’s main power station.
A number of speakers of all ages condemned the government’s handling of the incident and many demanded that President Christofias apologises for the victims of the tragedy, something he stopped short of doing in his televised address to the nation.
Also present at the peaceful demonstration was a representative of the families of the “Helios” airplane crash victims, expressing his sympathy and also frustration that their grief has not rested and those responsible for the crash that killed 121 people in 2005 have not yet been punished.
Another gathering is expected to take place again on Friday night.
At the site of the blast, people from nearby communities gathered at Governor’s Beach, in Zygi, and marched towards the naval base “Evangelos Florakis”, holding candles, flowers and banners that demanded the punishment of those responsible. The event was peaceful and it was attended by people of various age groups, as well as British expats, who took part to express their condolences to the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, President Christofias has appointed leading lawyer Polys Polyviou to investigate the causes of the disaster and apportion blame, but not prosecute. The Attorney General is expected to take over when the inquiry is concluded, probably after August.