The "cigarette butt" that burned the Limassol Mountains: Experts who saw the trees and not the forest.

The cigarette butt that burned Limassol: a tragedy made in Cyprus

A cigarette butt. This is the “conclusion”. This is the enemy that killed two people, burned thousands of animals alive, destroyed dozens of villages and forever blackened the mountains of Limassol Mountain in July 2025.

A cigarette butt. A very, very cigarette butt. This, say American experts, burned half of Limassol Mountain, left two dead, destroyed homes, villages, animals and memories of generations. A forgotten cigarette, carelessly thrown on the ground. So simple, so “Cypriot”. The classic phrase “human negligence” has come again to dress in a scientific cloak the acquittal of state incompetence.

And suddenly, the whole of Cyprus is called upon to believe that the greatest ecological and social tragedy of recent decades came from a smoker. Not from the absence of prevention. Not from the fact that communities did not have firefighting equipment. Not from the perennial indifference of governments. A cigarette butt.

The US experts, who came to shed light on the case, concluded that the deadly fire of July 2025 was caused by… human carelessness. No organized plan, no arsonists with targets, no suspicious movements. A cigarette butt. Not even a “big” one — so to speak. A small, everyday, almost insignificant one.

And somewhere here begins the theater of the absurd. Because an entire society, which counted ashes and tears, is now called upon to accept that the greatest ecological and social disaster of recent decades occurred because someone did not put out their cigarette. Not because there were no fire protection zones. Not because the villages were not careful. Not because the helicopters arrived late. But because… “the smoker was careless”.

If we believe them, Cyprus is a country that does not need terrorists, does not need enemies, does not even need natural disasters. One absent-minded smoker is enough to burn down an entire province. And this is perhaps the most cynical, ironic proof of the nakedness of a state: when a cigarette butt can kill, is it the cigarette butt or the state that left the mountains in its thrall?

The experts who looked at the trees, not the forest

The American experts presented their “finding”: cigarette butts. But that’s where their work ended. Why didn’t they come up with a second finding? Why bother: the “cigarette butt” is a multi-tool — it lights fires and extinguishes responsibilities. The research went to a depth of about three centimeters, the size of a cigarette butt; the forest will be examined in the next… burning.

When you have a cigarette butt-narrative, what do you do with the difficult questions of prevention, fire zones, evacuations, and aerial means? They stuck to the cigarette butt, because reality smokes but responsibilities burn — and a cigarette butt is enough to save them headaches.

They didn't even ask themselves:

• Who was ultimately responsible for giving the order, since the person in charge

• from the ministry was away in Australia?

• Why were our mountains so vulnerable that a cigarette could swallow them?

  Why were there no fire zones?

  Why aren't there more firefighting and prevention equipment in the mountains?

  Why did the aerial equipment arrive late?

  Why was there no evacuation plan for the villages?

Their investigation completely ignored the state's negligence. Not a word about the responsibilities of those responsible. Not even half a sentence about the lack of preparation. As if the only goal was to find an "easy culprit." And they found it: the cigarette butt.

So, instead of talking about the incompetence of the state, we talk about the “careless smoker.” A ghost smoker who will never be found, so that real responsibilities never need to be assigned. In a word, responsibility has been limited to a ghost smoker.

The "official version": the smoker as a convenient ....

The story is well known:

• Someone threw a cigarette.

• The fire started.

• The weather conditions made it bigger.

• The state "did everything it could."

The recipe for impunity is repeated. A tragedy turns into a "bad moment". The Cypriot people are forced to believe that everything was a matter of luck. And the State is once again in trouble.

The "heretical version": Longinus and the persistence of arson

Chief Fire Chief Nikos Logginos, before the joint meeting of the three parliamentary committees — Interior, Environment and Agriculture — is not convinced. “How is it possible to find so many cigarette butts?” he asks. For him, the explanation of arson is more logical. He talks about fires that broke out in different places, almost simultaneously. He talks about scenarios of organized action.

And here's the irony: even if we accept the arson version, the state is still exposed. Because if someone was able to set fire and wipe out half a province, then who is responsible for the lack of protection?

The irony: whichever version you believe, Cyprus loses

• If it's the cigarette butt's fault: we live in a country so unfortified that a spark is enough to destroy it.

• If it's the arsonist's fault: we live in a country so unfortified that arsonists act unmolested.

• In both cases, the common denominator is the state itself.

A state that protects neither its citizens, nor its nature, nor its history.

And the question: who will investigate the oliguria?

The experts found the cigarette butt. Very well. But who will investigate the State?

• Who will demonstrate why the communities had no means of defense?

• Who will seek responsibility for the delay in air support?

• Who will write the report on the lives lost due to the lack of an evacuation plan?

If these investigations are not conducted, then "cigarette butt" is simply the perfect excuse. A keyword that eliminates responsibilities, covers up negligence, and washes away governments and consciences.

THE RESAULTS OF CYPRUS:

This story is not new. Cyprus has a rich tradition of findings that were written in ink, announced in heavy words and ended up in the drawer. Who was punished? Nobody. Who resigned? Nobody. Who took responsibility? Nobody.

Let us remember:

• Mari (2011): 13 dead, dozens injured, half of Cyprus in the dark. The Polyviou report spoke of criminal negligence. Who was held accountable? Virtually no one. The memory of the dead became simply an Anniversary.

• Cooperative Bank (2018): The biggest financial scandal in the modern history of Cyprus. The report revealed political and institutional responsibilities. What happened? Nothing. The citizens paid, those responsible are smiling.

• Golden Passports (2020): The Nikolatos report spoke of illegalities, unfair practices, "abuse of procedures". And yet, no politician went to prison. On the contrary, those involved reclaimed their seats.

• Pharmaceuticals: From overpaid commissions to lost millions. What happened: The state spent approximately €850,000 to replace medicines that were destroyed in a Ministry of Health warehouse. This involved hundreds of pharmaceutical preparations that became unusable. The building itself that serves as a warehouse had been leased for €6,600 per year, only to be subleased back to the state—through backdoors—for 20 times more (at €135,000). Despite promises of an investigation, to this day there has been silence and no accountability.

• Garbage (Landfill): Tens of millions in bribes. The contractors were convicted, but political responsibilities disappeared in the cloud of corruption.

• Bank collapses (Laiki, Bank of Cyprus): Thousands of citizens were ruined. The findings spoke of the responsibilities of politicians and bankers. And? Today, some of them are back in key positions.

  Scandals and Negligence: The Cyprus of Waiting and Silence

  In recent years, Cyprus has been plunged again and again into ghost projects, lost investments, criminal negligence and promises that were never fulfilled. The common denominator? The negligence and inaction of the authorities that left society unprotected.

• Larnaca Marina

  A €1.2 billion project that would change the face of the city, bogged down in postponements and cancellations. Instead of ensuring transparency and progress, the state let the biggest investment vision collapse.

  Paphos - Polis Chrysochous Road

  Decades of announcements and nothing tangible. A ghost road that keeps Paphos isolated, a victim of permanent state indifference.

  Vasilikos Terminal

  The country's energy security depends on this key project, which has been mired in delays, overruns and missed opportunities. Citizens are paying the price for procrastination.

  Airbags Takata

  Two dead and thousands of car bombs on the roads of Cyprus. The state knew, but blew the whistle indifferently, leaving citizens exposed to mortal danger.

  And the list doesn't end here...

  These are just some of the scandals and sloppiness that have marked Cyprus. There are others: wasted funds, opaque contracts, disasters that could have been avoided. The country seems trapped in a vicious circle of inertia, where the state is slow, silent or simply looks elsewhere.

Every time the same pattern: findings without consequences. Announcements without actions. Headlines for show — without substance, as long as the spotlight on the case lasts. Words without actions. Impunity without end.

And now, with the Limassol fire, another finding is added to the list.

The tradition of impunity

So now, the report on the fire in Limassol does not speak about the obvious: the negligence of the State. It does not speak about the state structures that collapsed. It does not speak about the lack of prevention. Why should it speak? So that we can see the same work again?

Cyprus has educated its citizens not to expect justice. They know that findings are written to be buried. They know that scandals are forgotten in the next news story. They know that impunity is the rule, not the exception.

The international picture: others prevent, we bury

In Spain, fire zone networks are being created. In Portugal, local government is being strengthened. In Australia, citizen education is ongoing.

In Cyprus? The citizen only knows how to run for his life. The equipment is non-existent. The funds are being lost. The volunteers are helpless. And we will all be waiting for the next cigarette butt.

The health effects: the smoke that stays inside us

The residents who returned to the burned villages live in toxic air. Ash particles, dioxins, heavy metals enter their lungs every day.

Doctors warn: increased cases of asthma, chronic bronchitis, cardiac complications. Children grow up with respiratory damage. The elderly cannot stand it.

And yet, the State did not send mobile health units. It did not set up monitoring centers. It did not conduct any systematic atmospheric measurements. Citizens are once again on their own.

The social dimension: from mourning to mockery

The victims are told that everything happened out of “carelessness.” The memory of the dead is turned into a joke. Lost property into “collateral damage.” And anger into silence.

This is not just a tragedy. It is a mockery. It is an insult to intelligence. It is a vicious cycle where the state burns and burns its own people again.

Political responsibility: a country without a strategy

The governments of Cyprus have a firm position: fire protection is always "in the next plan." They always promise zones, they always talk about funds, they always promise reforestation. Until the next fire comes. Then the same story again. And we again with candles at the memorials.

Fire protection in Cyprus is always “in the planning stages”. Always something that will be done “from September”. They always promise further firefighting equipment, more fire stations, fire zones, aerial means, etc. And always, until they are implemented, the next fire comes. And we are back at the memorial services. Back in the ashes. Again with the same words: “We didn’t have time”.

Conclusion — the next cigarette butt awaits

The tragedy of Limassol Mountain is not an accident. It is the result of political negligence. Whether it was a cigarette butt or arson, the essence is the same: Cyprus has no prevention system.

The Limassol fire is another act in the same Cypriot theater of the absurd: tragedy - conclusion - silence - oblivion.

The Americans found the cigarette butt. But who will find the negligence?

Who will punish the State?

Who will prevent the next fire?

Because in Cyprus it is not only the forests that are burning. Justice itself is burning. And the more we accept being told stories about cigarettes burning mountains, the more we will count new ashes, new losses, new tragedies.

At the end of the day, the real cause is not the cigarette butt. It is the incompetence of a state that is burning within its own excuses.

Let's not let this happen again.

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