THESSALONIKI – Marking Oxi Day – the 65th anniversary of Greece refusing to surrender to Italy in World War II – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece is able to “look to the future with optimism and self-confidence.”
He said, “The truly impressive political and military parade in Thessaloniki reflects the image of a country that respects and honors the glorious moments of its past. At the same time, however, it is able to look to the future with optimism and self-confidence.”
He added that, “We live in turbulent and difficult times, but the military parade, which we watched today, makes us all feel at ease that the Armed Forces are always here to defend this freedom, for which our ancestors fought.”
Since taking office in 2019 he has been building up Greece’s arsenal as a bulwark mainly against Turkey although the countries are in a detente and trying diplomacy to settle their differences, especially over sovereignty of the seas.
But major rival PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, also in Greece’s second largest city to mark the day, said that Greeks should show national unity with “a big ‘No’ to corruption, injustice, and impunity.”
He said that, “October 28 is a day of remembrance and national pride for all Greeks,” Androulakis said, recalling the heroism of those who fought in the mountains of Pindus. He said their sacrifice showed what Greeks can achieve when united, while history also reminds of the “devastations we can suffer when discord and intolerance prevail.”
Androulakis called for a united, forward-looking Greece, advocating “a strong foreign policy and deterrent power to block Turkey’s revisionist plans” and “a strong, productive, competitive economy that creates jobs for all Greek youth.”
President Konstantinos Tasoulas said,“October 28th and the legendary ‘No’… is the greatest and ultimate lesson of the generation of ’40 to our modern era,” as he praised the “The repulsion and pushback of Fascist Italy… was the Greek response to the mighty Axis and the arrival of hope in the Allied camp,” he said, noting that “the defense of the homeland united the Greeks unimaginably, who responded with a smile on their lips.”
