Greece: one year after the Tempi train crash
Exactly one year ago today, on 28 February 2023, 57 people were killed in a collision between two trains on the Athens-Thessaloniki line. Several civil servants and politicians have been implicated in the investigation into the causes of the crash. More than 860,000 people have now signed a petition to lift the immunity of these members of government. What progress has been made on the issue?
Greed still putting lives at risk
Maria Apostolou, a teacher, draws a sobering conclusion in Efimerida ton Syntakton:
“One year on, we see that instead of being punished, those responsible have received plenty of votes in their constituencies. The arrogance of the people in power towards the families demanding justice for their dead is at its peak and simply beggars belief. The trains are still an unsafe mode of transport. ... One year on, we should honour our dead and do justice to their memory. How? By ensuring the safety of our railways, which must be a public asset and not the property of a private individual who sees us only in terms of profit or loss.”
Don't ignore the simmering anger
The many signatories of the very moving petition initiated by the mother of a woman who died in the accident should prompt the government to take Greek society's frustration seriously, advises Capital:
“By Greek standards, the judicial investigation into the train crash in Tempi has got off to a good start: 32 people are already under investigation, with more likely to be added. But public sentiment has not changed. The feeling that there is impunity and an attempted cover-up ... It would be a big mistake for Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his government to underestimate this emotion. ... The mobilisation of the people, the simmering anger in the text of the petition should at least give food for thought to all those who think that this case has already been forgotten.”