Greek main opposition rejects responsibility for train accident

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - The main Greek opposition party rejected responsibility Friday for last week’s train accident that killed dozens and caused a strong public uproar.

In response to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who said not only his government but the PASOK and SYRIZA parties that previously ruled the country are responsible, SYRIZA leader, Alexis Tsipras, said: “This tragedy should not have happened. There is no excuse,” during a meeting with a delegation of railway workers.

Mitsotakis's comments aim to deny responsibility by diffusing it, he said.

Tsipras emphasized that the tragedy is not a matter of party confrontation.

But he said Greek society demands truth and justice and hence we all should work to reveal the truth.

Mitsotakis reiterated that everything will be done with absolute transparency and with maximum speed to render justice, according to the state-run AMNA news agency.

“In this effort, I will not hesitate to use any European aid that may be available,” he added.

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said: “To eradicate the maladies, to definitively leave behind us the aspects of a Greece that repel and expose us. This is a debt to the lives that were unfairly lost, but also to our country.”