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GreekReporter.comGreece37th Anniversary of Athens Polytechnic Events Commence

37th Anniversary of Athens Polytechnic Events Commence

Events commemorating the 37th anniversary of a students’ uprising at the Athens Polytechnic that led to the collapse off the seven-year dictatorship in Greece, began on Monday with the opening to the public of the Polytechnic’s gates in downtown Athens.
Three-day events continued on Tuesday with the laying of wreaths and flowers at the Polytechnic monument by the public and officials.  This included President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias and political party representatives, while statements were issued by parties.
In a statement issued earlier, Papoulias said that this year’s anniversary comes in a very difficult year for the country in which many things are at stake.
The President pondered: “how many will the ‘stone years’ be for the Greek society, which is being tested, but also when and how will politics regain their reign over the markets, when and how will the political system find the way to meet the needs of the times.
“The Polytechnic uprising reminds us that the young generation is always on the front lines of the social reversals. Reversals are made with participation and struggle, with devotion to the collective, with faith in something that may seem unreachable, and with distancing from the path of individualism,” his statement said.
“The Polytechnic anniversary also reminds us that the slogan of then remains, in a way, what is being is being sought today: We want bread for all, education that produces social culture and active citizens, freedom that is not restricted by fiscal necessity,” he added.
“Looking at the Polytechnic, we see the horizon more clearly and hope more vividly,” the President concluded.
The secretary of the PASOK National Council Michalis Karchimakis, along with representatives of youth, also paid tribute.
The President of the Renovative Radical Left F. Kouvelis, refered to the messages of the uprising, stating that: “our struggle today is to deal with the problems of our country”.
Events will climax on Wednesday with an annual street march through Athens that will conclude in front of the American Embassy.
Until Wednesday the Polytechnic’s gates will be open from 9.30 a.m. to 9 p.m. for the laying of wreaths by organisations and individuals. The Polytechnic Senate will be on constant session through Thursday.
Approximately 7,000 police officers will be patrolling the city of Athens to prevent violent incidents.
Message from the President of SAE Mr. Stefanos P. Tamvakis On the Polytechnic Uprising Anniversary:
Thirty-seven years following the Polytechnic uprising, the memory remains alive. On November 17th Greeks around the world honor those people who struggled against dictatorship and contributed with their struggles to the evolution of the political history of Modern Greece.
The main slogan of the Polytechnic uprising “Bread – Education – Liberty” was the expression of the agony and will of an entire nation, to live free, having lived for seven entire years under the colonel’s junta regime, which brutally violated human rights.
Today, at a time when Greece, but also Europe more broadly, are experiencing crises, not only on the economy, but also with respect to values, the new generation is being called to lead the way towards a new era.
Young Greeks worldwide are being called to fight, refraining from fanaticism and monolithic addressing of the problems, for consensus, pluralism and the synthesis of ideas and policies, for a more stable, a brighter future, worthy of the generation of the uprising in November 1973.

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