Monday is the anniversary of the 1973 student uprising that was ruthlessly crushed by dictator George Papadopoulos in which dozens of students were killed or injured. It was a tragedy and a dark day to be sure. Every year, the extreme left in Greece gathers outside the American embassy for loud and aggressive demonstrations.
This is their anniversary. The anniversary of the Greek left. They do not commemorate national days such as Greek Independence day or OHI Day. They do not not commemorate the twin anniversaries of September in which Smyrna was burned to the ground by the Turks and the days of the anti Greek pogroms in Turkey in 1955. They commemorate a day they associate with their own ideology.
The Greek Colonels are long gone. Papadopoulos fell from power in November 1973 and the regime from which he was displaced collapsed in July 1974 following the anti Makarios coup and the first Turkish invasion in Cyprus. The junta issue ceased to be an issue and there is no need for the fanatical behavior of Greek leftists who act as if the junta is still ruling Greece.
There are other issues to be dealt with. Notably, the Turkish aggression in the Aegean against Greece. Also, the current meddling in the affairs of the Orthodox Church by Washington. These mass gatherings that take place every November 17 are a manifestation of cultism that do not make any sort of sense in today’s political realities .
In the last national elections, Greece liberated itself from the extreme right when Golden Dawn failed to win enough seats to enter the Greek Parliament. Just as the extreme right has been repudiated, Greece must also rise to the occasion to tame the extreme left as well.