Greek Govt Faces Censure Motion Over Train Tragedy

Athens, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Mar, 2024) Greece's conservative government faces a censure motion in parliament on Thursday over claims it had sought to manipulate an ongoing investigation into the nation's worst train tragedy.

After a three-day debate, the no-confidence motion will be put to an evening vote that the government majority is expected to win.

The motion lodged by the socialist PASOK party on Tuesday came after a newspaper report claimed that a key sound recording from the night of the accident, extensively played by media at the time, had been misleadingly edited.

Opposition parties have accused the government of being behind the alleged subterfuge, as part of efforts to reinforce its chosen narrative that human error was to blame for the collision that claimed 57 lives in February 2023.

"Public opinion has reached an irrevocable conclusion -- that you are geared towards a cover-up" of the train tragedy, Nikos Pappas, parliament speaker for the main opposition Syriza party, told the chamber Wednesday.

"You are summoned to give answers," he said.

Opposition parties say the government handed out the spliced recording to friendly media.