US Senate Adopts Resolution on Anniversary of Greek Independence

The US Senate adopted a resolution on the 201st anniversary of Greek Independence celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States on Wednesday.

The resolution reported by Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commends the critical role Greece plays in promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans and hails the contributions of the Greek-American community to the United States and its role as a bridge between the two countries.

It also appreciates the important energy partnership that exists between the United States and Greece, and the important role that Greece plays in bolstering European energy security.

The full text of the resolution on the Anniversary of Greek Independence

Recognizing the 201st anniversary of Greek Independence and celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States.

Whereas the concept of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was vested in the people, was developed in ancient Greece;

Whereas the founding fathers of the United States were inspired by ancient Greek political philosophy, which many of them read in the original Greek language, when they formed the representative democracy of the United States;

Whereas Petros Mavromichalis, the former Commander in Chief of Greece and a founder of the modern Greek State, said to the citizens of the United States in 1821, “It is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode and … in imitating you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of them if we succeed in resembling you”;

Whereas Thomas Jefferson wrote, in an October 21, 1823, letter to Greek scholar Adamantios Koraes discussing the ongoing Greek struggle for independence, that “[n]o people sympathise more feelingly than ours with the sufferings of your countrymen, none offer more sincere and ardent prayers to heaven for their success”;

Whereas then-Congressman Daniel Webster, on January 19, 1824, in a speech in support of his resolution to send an American envoy to Greece amid its struggle for independence, recognized “the struggle of an interesting and gallant people … contending against fearful odds, for being, and for the common privilege of human nature”;

Whereas American Philhellenes, including future abolitionist Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, future abolitionist Jonathan Peckham Miller, and George Jarvis, traveled to Greece to fight alongside and provide aid to the Greek people in their struggle for independence;

Whereas the people of the United States generously sent humanitarian assistance to the people of Greece during their struggle for independence, often through Philhellene committees;

Whereas Greece heroically resisted Axis forces at a crucial moment in World War II, forcing Adolf Hitler to change his timeline and delaying the attack on Russia;

Whereas Winston Churchill said that “if there had not been the virtue and courage of the Greeks, we do not know which the outcome of World War II would have been” and “no longer will we say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks”;

Whereas the United States and Greece have been allies in major international conflicts throughout modern history;

Whereas the Greek-American community has positively contributed to American society and has helped forge strong ties between the United States and Greece;

Whereas the United States greatly contributed to the reconstruction of Greece after World War II;

Whereas NATO membership has further enhanced cooperation between the United States and Greece;

Whereas Greece is an integral part of the European Union;

Whereas Greece is a strategic partner of the United States in bringing political stability and economic development to the Balkan region, having actively contributed to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the region and having been a major investor in Southeastern Europe, including in critical infrastructure;

Whereas Greece participates in and actively promotes several formats for regional partnership in the Eastern Mediterranean;

Whereas the United States has demonstrated its support for the trilateral partnership of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus by enacting into law the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 (title II of division J of Public Law 116–94) and through joint engagement with Greece, Israel, and Cyprus in the “3+1” format;

Whereas this support was bolstered in the United States-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021 (subtitle B of title XIII of Public Law 117–81), establishing a 3+1 Interparliamentary Group to discuss the expansion of co-operation in other areas of common concern;

Whereas the United States and Greece’s commitment to security cooperation led to the conclusion of a Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was updated in 2021 in order to enhance defense ties between the two countries and promote stability in the broader region;

Whereas the ongoing United States-Greece Strategic Dialogue reflects Greece’s importance to the United States as a geostrategic partner, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans, and as an important NATO ally;

Whereas the Governments and people of Greece and the United States are at the forefront of international efforts to advance freedom, democracy, rule of law, human rights, peace, and stability;

Whereas those efforts and similar ideals have forged a close bond between the peoples of Greece and the United States; and

Whereas it is proper and desirable for the United States to celebrate March 25, 2022, Greek Independence Day, with the people of Greece and to reaffirm the democratic principles from which those two great countries were founded: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) extends warm congratulations and best wishes to the people of Greece as they celebrate the 201st anniversary of the independence of Greece;

(2) expresses support for the principles of democratic governance to which the people of the United States and Greece are committed;

(3) notes the important role that Greece has played in the wider European region and in the community of nations since gaining its independence;

(4) commends the contributions of the Greek-American community to the United States and its role as a bridge between the two countries;

(5) commends the critical role Greece plays in promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans; and

(6) appreciates the important energy partnership that exists between the United States and Greece, and the important role that Greece plays in bolstering European energy security.