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Tuesday, 19 November 2024
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-03-25Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Greek Independence Day celebrated throughout Greece, abroadGreek Independence Day was celebrated Sunday with parades and memorial services throughout the country, as events marking the 186th anniversary of the March 25, 1821 commencement of the Greek revolution against Ottoman rule was also celebrated by ethnic Greek communities in many countries around the world.President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias officiated at a traditional military Independence Day parade in central Athens, the main event of the celebrations, which was also attended by representatives of the country's political, state, military and religious leadership. A pupils' parade took place on Saturday in central Athens. The military parade in Athens was preceded by a service at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral and a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the president laid a wreath. "Today, we celebrate the most glorious page of our history. A people virtually unarmed, but with a passion for freedom, a passion for national independence, rose up against the Ottoman empire. Despite the adverse will of a then reactionary Europe, this people fought and won, and today we live in freedom," Papoulias said. The President added that "the historic messages bequeathed to us by the 1821 freedom fighters are love of country, passion for freedom and the passion, and if required, sacrifices in order to preserve our national independence". "We all bow our heads devoutly before this heroism, the unique human heroism manifested by those fighters," Papoulias said. National Defence Minister Evangelos Meimarakis, representing the government, congratulated the chiefs of the armed forces. "I believe that this day is a day of memory and circumspection," Meimarakis said, adding that "it also offers the opportunity for drawing many conclusions on how we can carry on". "Investment in the armed forces is an investment in peace, an investment in the individual because, when there is security, than indeed investments can be made to open up jobs. And this is precisely why the armed forces are forces of peace and prevention, which wish to make every Greek and every visitor to our country feel safe," the defence minister added. Parliament vice-president Ioannis Trigakis said that Greece's "conscripted youth filled us with pride today". He also noted the overwhelming turnout of people in downtown Athens for the parade. "We fell that the credibility and readiness of the armed forces paraded before us today, and thus tomorrow we will feel greater certainty," he added. PASOK leader on Aghios Efstratios Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou, who attended a parade on the northern Aegean islet of Aghios Efstratios, which recently came under scrutiny after the Turkish military pleaded with NATO to declare the territory as "demilitarised", said the isle "does not require certification " no one can dispute our sovereign rights". He also praised local residents for their patriotism, adding that they gave a lesson of life by staying on the outlying island, "which makes us proud". "The goal is a strong and free Greece and a just society, and that is the volition of the island's citizens," he said. Earlier, Papandreou attended a memorial service at the island's main cathedral. He also laid a wreath at a monument to World War I and World War II war dead. After the parade, the PASOK leader visited the museum of the exiled and the Marasleios Academy. Returning to the nearby larger island of Limnos, Papandreou paid tribute to the memory of 1st Lt. Nikos Sialmas, who fell in the line of duty in 1992 during a midair collision between Greek and Turkish jetfighters while intercepting the Turkish warplane. Thessaloniki, Kavala, Crete A military parade was held along the coastal Megalou Alexandrou Boulevard in downtown Thessaloniki with Deputy Development Minister Yannis Papathanassiou representing the government and PASOK parliamentary spokesman Haris Kastanidis representing the main opposition party. The parade was also attended by a number of MPs, Thessaloniki prefect Panayotis Psomiadis, Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos and representatives of the city's military and religious authorities. Macedonia-Thrace minister George Kalantzis attended the traditional pupils' and military parade in Kavala, after which he congratulated the parading pupils and students and the armed forces leadership. He stressed the need for all Greeks to remain devoted to the principles and values of our ancestors for national unity and national dignity. A Te Deum service was held earlier at the Aghia (St.) Sophia church, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial at the 3rd Army Corps headquarters. In Hania, Crete, a military parade also included coastguard units, pupils, students, volunteers, boy scouts and girl scouts, folklore organisations and a vintage car club, with Employment Minister Savvas Tsitouridis representing the government. The parade was preceded by a Church service and a wreath-laying ceremony at the city's war memorial. Similar events were held in other cities throughout Crete. SAE President in Alexandria The March 25th anniversary was celebrated with pomp and spectacle in Alexandria, Egypt, attended by the new president of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) Stefanos Tamvakis. Tamvakos also attended a memorial service officiated by Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa. The event was also attended by representatives of the Greek state and government, including vice-chairman of the Greek parliament's inter-party committee on overseas Greeks. Other overseas celebrations Ruling New Democracy (ND) deputy Dimitris Christofiloyannis and PASOK deputy Apostolos Fotiadis represented Greece at the Greek Independence Day parade in Melbourne, while deputy culture minister for sport George Orfanos, currently on a US visit, served as the grand Marshall of the Greek Independence Day parade in Chicago. An annual Greek Independence Day parade will also be held along Fifth Avenue in New York. White House Meanwhile in Washington, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis attended a special event at the White House marking Greek Impendence Day, during which US President George W. Bush officially proclaimed March 25, 2007 as "Greek Independence Day: National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy". President Bush and Archbishop Demetrios of America addressed the White House event. Caption: Greek army special forces parade in Athens on Sunday, March 25, 2007. ANA-MPA / P. Saitas. [02] Karamanlis praises Declaration of BerlinPrime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Sunday congratulated the German EU presidency for its high-profile efforts towards European integration, in statements ahead of a special summit session of the EU 27 member-states' heads of state and government, where the Declaration of Berlin was formally adopted during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Community's founding Treaty of Rome. Karamanlis described the text of the Declaration of Berlin as "mature and balanced", expressing optimism on the prospects of the European Union and the reforms still outstanding. Earlier in the day, Karamanlis had a private meeting with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, while on Saturday night, he attended a dinner hosted by German President of the Republic Horst Koehler for the EU leaders, after which he visited the renowned Pergamon Museum, where he was given a tour of an exhibition of Byzantine icons from the Velimezis Collection, entitled "The Splendour of Heaven", organised in cooperation with Athens' Benaki Museum and the Greek Foundation of Culture. Karamanlis and his entourage are due to return to Athens shortly after a luncheon hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during which the EU leaders will bid farewell to French President Jacques Chirac, given that this was his last participation in an EU summit as he has announced that he will not be standing for office in the imminent presidential elections in France. The signing of the Declaration of Berlin -- which, although just short of three pages long, aspires to opening up a new chapter for the prospects of the venture called the European Union, and chiefly to help overcome the alienation between the existing structure and the citizens of the member states -- coincides with the 186th anniversary of Greek Independence Day, celebrating the start of the Greek revolution against tour Ottoman rule on March 25, 1821.Karamanlis statement "Today is a double celebration for Hellenism. Together with the Annunciation of the Virgin, we also have the anniversary of the 1821 great struggle of the Greeks for freedom and national dignity. It is also, however, a very special day for Europe, too. For all of us who believe in the European Idea and the vision of European integration, this anniversary has a distinct symbolic meaning. In this half century, Europe, the European Union, has proved historically to be the most successful model of peace, cooperation and prosperity. Cooperation and consensus have taken the place of war as a method of resolving differences. The strength and size (of the member countries) is not so significant as the participation and devotion to the European principles and values, and, naturally, we must not forget that Europe is a protagonist in adopting and advancing pioneering policies directly concerning the citizens on crucial issues such as unemployment, education and climate change. "I wish to congratulate the German presidency on the great effort it has made and for the Declaration of Berlin, which is a mature and balanced text, which is primarily addressed to the European citizens. It is true, and we all know, that the European Union today finds itself at a critical juncture in time, at a crucial turning point. It is equally a fact that, many times in the past as well, Europe had difficulties which it confronted and successfully overcame. I want to believe, and I do believe that Europe has the strength and the political volition to move ahead with determination in the future". Caption: Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. ANA-MPA file photo. [03] Pupils parade in Athens on nat'l anniversaryThe annual pupils' parade marking the anniversary of the March 25, 1821 Greek War of Independence against dour Ottoman rule was held in central Athens on Saturday morning in the presence of Education Minister Marietta Yiannakou and representatives of Parliament, political parties, local governments and law enforcement authorities.The parade began shortly after 11 a.m. and after the minister had laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Pupils from 13 elementary schools, nine junior high schools and 12 senior high schools participated in the parade, that was headed by the high school of Kalavryta, in the northwest Peloponnese, with the school's flag-bearer carrying the banner of Aghia Lavra, considered the rallying point for the commencement of the revolution in Greece proper. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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