President Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos marked the 28 October anniversary and the Greek entry into World War II in Thessaloniki. During the parade, he had the opportunity to communicate with F16 fighter jet pilot Lieutenant Colonel Dimitris Volakakis as he flew overhead, giving an impressive demonstration of precision fighting and manoeuvres.
“Turkey is brutally violating international legality in the Middle East and its illegal actions will not be tolerated,” President Pavlopoulos said on Monday, adding that Turkey must understand that Greeks will stand in unity, defending their national rights.
“The ‘No’ of October 28, the ‘No’ of the Greeks, was a supreme act of resistance against fascism in recent history and an equally supreme stand in defence of peace, democracy and humanity,” he said.
“We, the Greeks, broadcast this same ‘No’ today, from here in Thessaloniki, from our Macedonia, against all those that seek to strike at the universal human ideals. This ‘No’ is especially directed to neighbouring Turkey, which does not hesitate to brutally violate international legality in the Middle East.”
READ MORE: Road to Remembrance (Part 1): The WWII Liberation of Greece
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the school parade at the town of Kisamos, Crete. He broadcast a message of unity and a “vision for a better Greece”.
He said he was especially glad to celebrate the anniversary in a regional part of Greece rather than the capital.
“28 October is not just another opportunity to honour our glorious past; it is an opportunity to demonstrate our current understanding of the unity of Hellenism,” he said. “For this reason, I attach great importance to the work we have undertaken so as to give Greeks who are permanently resident abroad the right to vote [from their place of residence]. This is an active demonstration of how we view the unity of Greeks today and, while I am well aware that the solution agreed is not the best possible, it is nevertheless the first concrete evidence of the consensus that politics is demonstrating in order to solve this problem, which has lingered for decades,” he added.
Mr Mitsotakis referred to the symbolism of the holiday, which he said was noting more than the unity of the nation and the vision for a better Greece and how the country can achieve its goals: “I am certain that all Greeks will participate in this effort so that a better day can finally dawn.”
He also expressed his satisfaction at the return of the privilege for the best students to carry the flag in the parade in junior schools.
READ MORE: Road to Remembrance (Part 2): A failed chance at early liberation
Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras
Memory becomes a decision to also resist today, with all our strength, fascism, racism and xenophobia,” main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Monday, in a message on Facebook marking the holiday.
“A day of memory and pride for all Greeks today. We remember the struggle of little Greece against Italian fascism and German nazism. The Albanian epic. The National Resistance, EAM, ELAS, EPON, all those that gave even their lives in the struggle against a heavily armed conqueror,” Tsipras said.
SYRIZA’s leader stressed that “nothing and nobody was forgotten” and that the memory strengthened the resolve to fight the forces of fascism, racism and xenophobia in the present day “with whatever excuse, name, costume or suit they might appear in Greece and Europe.”
READ MORE: Road to Remembrance (Part 3): Operation Manna