Opposition Calls for ‘Objective’ Probe into Deadly Blast at Base
| Soldiers checking a vehicle at the control post of the Krtsanisi military training center outside Tbilisi on January 11, where three soldiers were killed and 13 others injured in an accidental blast. Photo: InterPressNews |
Expressing condolences over death of three soldiers in a blast at a training base outside Tbilisi, the opposition parties in their separate statements also called on the authorities to carry out “objective” and transparent investigation into the incident.
“We demand to find the truth in full and to fully inform the society” about the investigation, the National Forum party said. “The state should answer all the questions which arise over this tragedy.”
“We will follow the investigation process closely and we hope that the investigation files will become publicly available. For this purpose, the parliamentary mechanism can also be used, depending on its expediency,” the Christian-Democratic Movement, the leading party in the parliamentary minority group said.
“We call on the authorities to investigate this case timely and objectively so that to prevent tragedies of this type in the future,” Our Georgia-Free Democrats party said.
“In order to prevent incidents of this kind in the future, the relevant agencies should promptly investigate circumstances of [the explosion]… reveal and hold responsible those officials whose unprofessionalism or negligence caused the death [of three soldiers],” the New Rights Party said.
The Conservative Party and the Georgian Party said in the statements that the blast “must be investigated objectively and those responsible – punished.”
The Georgian Defense Ministry said that three corporals from the artillery brigade were killed when a 120mm mortar shell exploded during the exercises at the Krtsanisi training center.
MoD said that the explosion was “supposedly caused by the technical mistake during the exercises.”
“These kinds of trainings are held in the army almost on daily basis,” Bacho Akhalaia, the Georgian defense minister said. “The Military Police is investigating the case… If the investigation reveals that someone was responsible, [the suspect] will be punished strictly.”
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
