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Achilleas Beos on the Names of the Tempi Victims in Syntagma: ‘From Where to Where Did You Put the Names of the Dead The
🇬🇷 Greece /Culture & Society

Achilleas Beos on the Names of the Tempi Victims in Syntagma: ‘From Where to Where Did You Put the Names of the Dead There?’

From Ta Nea · (5h ago) Greek Critical tone

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Volos Mayor Achilleas Beos sparked outrage with his comments regarding the memorial for victims of the Tempi train tragedy.
  • Beos controversially suggested removing the names from Syntagma Square, stating the memorial belongs at the site of the disaster.
  • His remarks, which included a direct address to Prime Minister Mitsotakis, have been widely condemned as extreme and provocative.

The mayor of Volos, Achilleas Beos, has ignited a firestorm of controversy with his deeply offensive remarks concerning the memorial for the victims of the devastating Tempi train disaster. His statements, broadcast on NEO 103.3 FM, not only trivialized the tragedy but also displayed a shocking lack of empathy for the grieving families and the nation's collective mourning.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis, take a bulldozer and a cleaner and erase them.

— Achilleas BeosMayor Beos's aggressive demand to remove the victims' names from Syntagma Square.

Beos audaciously suggested that the names of the victims, displayed in Syntagma Square, should be removed, even going so far as to tell Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to "take a bulldozer and a cleaner and erase them." He argued that the memorial should exclusively be at the site of the accident, ignoring the symbolic significance of the Syntagma Square display as a national acknowledgment of the loss.

The memorial is in Tempi. Let the relatives go there to cry and grieve.

— Achilleas BeosBeos's assertion that the memorial's location is inappropriate.

These remarks have been met with widespread condemnation, with many labeling them as extreme and provocative, particularly given the profound trauma the Tempi disaster inflicted upon Greece. Beos's comments are not just insensitive; they are seen as an affront to the memory of the victims and an attempt to politicize a moment of national grief. From the perspective of Ta Nea, such statements are unacceptable and reflect a disturbing disregard for public sentiment and the gravity of the event. The mayor's call for a "real monument" to be erected by the parents, while seemingly constructive, is overshadowed by the aggressive and disrespectful manner in which he addressed the existing memorial and the Prime Minister, further alienating himself and demonstrating a profound disconnect from the national mood.

As a Greek citizen, I do not accept millions of tourists seeing this mess. We were saddened, we cried, those responsible must be punished, because there are responsible people.

— Achilleas BeosBeos's justification for his stance, citing tourism and accountability.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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