The absence of Cyprus’ general wildfire coordinator, Andreas Grigoriou, during last month’s deadly fires has ignited political controversy, with lawmakers questioning why he was in Australia as the island faced one of its worst emergencies in years.
Mr Grigoriou was in Cyprus to mark the 51st anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus with the local diaspora.
The fires, which swept through mountainous areas of Limassol, killed two people, destroyed 130 sq km of land, damaged 700 homes, and left 157 families in urgent need of long-term housing. Officials have called it a major environmental disaster.
During a recent tense joint parliamentary session, MPs grilled ministers over delayed aerial response, coordination failures, and confusion on the ground. Several questioned, “Where was the backup?” and demanded to know who authorised Grigoriou’s trip.
Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou defended Grigoriou, saying he was on a “business mission” and did not require special permission to travel, stressing he had no “operational role” in firefighting. Grigoriou claimed his absence made no difference to the outcome.
But critics pointed to a 2023 Council of Ministers decision outlining the coordinator’s sweeping powers, including mobilising aircraft, commanding firefighting forces, and overseeing evacuations. President Christodoulides had previously praised Grigoriou’s role during a 2023 Limassol wildfire.
Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou promised “nothing will be swept under the rug” and said US wildfire experts had been invited to review Cyprus’ response system.
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis apologised for calling the deaths an “accident” and outlined recent improvements to firefighting capacity, while acknowledging gaps in prevention and coordination.
Reports from government departments highlighted serious shortcomings: outdated evacuation plans, insufficient rural firefighting staff, lack of fire shelters, and poor prevention measures around communities.
Despite public anger, no resignations have been offered. One MP summed up the frustration: “We keep calling ourselves ready until the fire comes.”
Source: knews
