Editorial Ta Nea: A state insult to the memory of Mati wildfire victims

Nearly four years have passed since the deadly wildfire in the seaside community of Mati in Attica, in which 102 of our fellow citizens lost their lives and many more were injured or saw their homes go up in flames.

Yet, state services and municipalities that have been sued by the families of the deceased and by victims who seek compensation claimed they were not ready to go to court for the trial, which thus was postponed until November.

The Fire Service and municipalities, consequently, are subjecting the people who lived through that tragic day to more suffering.

Legal sources say that it is standard practice for the state when it is the defendant in a lawsuit not to submit its case to the court in a timely manner so as to delay adjudication.

This case, however, is not a routine legal battle between the state and some random group of citizens.

It involves the victims of the negligence of the state and of its failure to effectively manage one of the biggest natural disasters in our recent history.

The least that the state could do is to be cognizant of its weighty responsibilities and to appear in court through its representatives fully prepared.

The state’s behaviour is an insult to the memory of the victims and greatly mars its own image, because it leads us all to conclude that it is completely indifferent to the needs and rights of its citizens.