"It is with great sadness that I realize that despite the fact that I did everything to maintain the unity of the Association, by remaining silent and enduring, and fighting with all my might for justice in Tempi, despite the constant "stumbling blocks" that I had from within when party criteria prevailed, in the end the division prevailed," says Maria Karystianou in a surprise announcement, who announced her resignation from the Tempi Accident Victims Association in her Facebook post.
The post then states:
Thus, just yesterday I became aware of a legally invalid, and mainly morally disappointing, decision by five out of a total of seven (7) Members of the Association, by which they decided, in violation of the law and the statutes of the Tempi Association, "among themselves" in an oxymoronic manner to request my "resignation" as President of the Board of Directors.
This decision is invalid because:
1st] the Board of Directors of the Association was never convened with the agenda item of my resignation or not, as Chairman of the Board. No decision of the Board of Directors is validly taken, if it has not been preceded by an invitation stating the issue to be discussed;
2nd] on the contrary, the above 5 members, on the occasion of another meeting, decided on my "resignation", without my knowledge and in my absence, due to my announcement to rally a Citizens' Movement for the punishment of those responsible for the Tempi tragedy and the restoration of the Rule of Law in the country;
3rd] the Board of Directors of a legal entity cannot decide on its own regarding the resignation of one of its Members, as the resignation is valid only if it is declared by the resigning member himself and certainly not by a third party;
4th] I would like to mention, in addition, that even for this meeting unrelated to the resignation of a Board Member, the five-day deadline for convening the Board meeting, as stipulated in article 5.3. item 7. of the articles of association, was not even observed.
All of the above, however, show INTENTION, which is not appropriate for a collective body, and especially for an Association, which pursues such a sacred purpose. And of course, they come to be added to all the obstacles that have long been placed before me on many issues, including the REFUSAL to publish the financial statements, which I have repeatedly requested, a reason for which I was forced to send in writing, among other things, my Mail dated 26.08.2025 to the Members of the Board of Directors of the Association, in which verbatim:
(a) I stated that it is obvious (and regrettable) that there is no disposition for loving cooperation, but rather an obsession with sterile confrontation without a true background and without substantial engagement with the issues that should be of concern, a reason for which, as I have already stated since then, there is a widespread hostile disposition, which is not appropriate for a collective spirit and leads again to harmful delays, and for this reason
(b) I called an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors by the same email for 27/08/2025, Wednesday at 20:00 with the following agenda items already announced by me:
"1st] Recording of the work of the Board of Directors and its Members from the date of establishment of the Association to the present day;
2nd] Approval and Publication of the Association's Financial Statements;
3rd] Convening of a General Assembly for the election of a new Board of Directors and for the Approval of the Association's financial statements."
Despite this, the same Board Members who invalidly decided on my "resignation" did not consent to all of the above, resulting in all the mud for the non-publication of the Association's finances continuing to fall on me and, for my part, I continuing to remain silent, so as not to expose the Association's Members.
The culmination of the aggressive attitude towards me was the questioning by the same 5 members of the Association of the extent to which my presentations in the European Parliament to highlight the violations of the Rule of Law in the Tempi tragedy and the inaction of the European Institutions in upholding European Law on railway safety were promoting the statutory purpose. As if it was not obvious that if European railway legislation had been upheld, our children would be alive today.
These are just a few of the many examples. And all this, despite the enormous struggles and the multitude of legal actions to realize the goals of the Association and to vindicate our loved ones.
Therefore, after all the above, the margins have been exhausted, I truly feel that I cannot be a Member of this Board of Directors of the Association. For this reason and due to my today's declared withdrawal from the Board of Directors of the Association, de facto, there are 6 members left instead of the 7 required by article 5 of the Statutes.
On this basis, but also for reasons of diagnosing the will of the supreme collective body of the Association, namely the General Assembly of its Members, it is imperative that the General Assembly be convened to appoint a new Board of Directors, as I had requested in my email of 26.08.2025, and that the Members of the Association decide sovereignly on all the above three critical issues, which ensure transparency, accountability, control and the appointment of persons who have the trust of the supreme body of the General Assembly of the Association.
I hope that all the relatives of the victims of Tempi, as well as the survivors, will rally together, embrace each other, even if under the auspices of the Association, and highlight the Board of Directors that, with self-denial and true action, will fight for the vindication of themselves and their loved ones.
With love and appreciation,
Maria Karystianou
Source: skai.gr
