NICOSIA, Cyprus ? Cyprus' president is mainly to blame for events that led to the explosion of seized Iranian munitions that killed 13 people and caused a political and economic crisis on the island, the head of an official inquiry said Monday.
Polys Polyviou says President Dimitris Christofias was primarily responsible for the "inadequacy, negligence and carelessness" that led to the July 11 blast at a naval base. But Polyviou said two government ministers also share some responsibility for the disaster.
The explosion wrecked Cyprus' main power station and sapped public trust in Christofias' presidency amid calls for him to resign. The blast's impact on the economy also stoked fears that the island could be forced to seek a bailout from its European Union partners.
"My conclusion is that the main responsibility for the tragedy weighs on the president of the republic," Polyviou, a legal expert, told a nationally televised news conference to present the public inquiry's nonbinding findings.
The president did not immediately commend on the inquiry's findings.
Christofias had testified at the inquiry hearings that he was never told by subordinates just how dangerous the munitions were. He also denied any personal responsibility and blamed the disaster on "a failure of the system." He said that although he consented to destroying any material thought to pose a danger, nothing ever happened.
But Polyviou said Christofias had "very serious personal responsibilities," adding that he should have known about the dangers involved with the munitions and showed "inexcusable negligence which resulted in the death of 13 people."
The munitions ? mostly gunpowder and some nitroglycerine stored in 85 containers ? were seized in February 2009 from a Cypriot-flagged ship suspected of transporting it from Iran to Palestinian militants in Gaza through Syria. The United Nations ruled that the ship had breached a ban on Iranian arms exports.
The containers had been left piled in an open field inside the base for 2 1/2 years, exposed to wide temperature swings on the Mediterranean island. Military officials had warned five months before the explosion about the possibility that the munitions could spontaneously ignite as a result of their exposure to the elements.
Polyviou called the munitions "a ticking time-bomb waiting to go off" and that it was incumbent on the president to take measures that would ensure the munitions' safe storage.
Polyviou said Crprus' ministers of foreign affairs and defense ? both of whom resigned because of the explosion ? also shouldered plenty of blame for the handling of the matter that was "left to the mercy of the usual bureaucratic procedures."
A Foreign Ministry official had served as the main liaison between Christofias and the two ministers regarding the stockpile.
"The essence of the matter is that the president of the republic, in this instance, failed in his duty to implement the necessary measures for the safety of the citizens of the Cyprus republic and especially its military and fire department personnel," said Polyviou.
A separate, police-led probe is also expected to conclude soon.
Polyviou said he had no doubt that serious crimes ? including manslaughter ? have been committed as a result of the blast, but that was a matter for the attorney general to pursue.
Relatives of the victims who had attended the hearings praised Polyviou for his report.
"I always believed that Polyviou wouldn't let us down," said Popi Christoforou, the mother of twins who were killed while serving their compulsory military duty at the naval base.
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