Greek president issues call for unity after parade for Greek Independence Day

President of the Hellenic Republic Constantine Tassoulas conveyed a message of unity and national and social cohesion, in statements following the conclusion of the military parade on Tuesday, for Greek Independence Day (25 March 1821).

Tassoulas described the day considered the start of the Greek Revolution as “a great uprising that lasted nine years, with immeasurable sacrifices.” But the promise our ancestors gave themselves for a political existence and independence was finally achieved in 1830, he added.

“We must reflect again, to remember again where its borders were, so we may understand how we started out, how oppressive it was when we began, how hard it  when we began. To appreciate the progress it had in 204 years until the present. The borders of the first Greek state in the start of 1830 reached up to Central Greece. They reached the dividing line formed by the estuary of Sperchios River in Maliakos Gulf, and of Acheloos River at the Ionian Sea. We also held Evia, the Cyclades, and the Sporades islands,” Tassoulas said.

Based on this start, the president said, Greeks formed “the first nation-state, in an era dominated by absolutist, multinational empires.” Despite that, the small state became a model that spread elsewhere. In the two centuries that followed, despite the ups and downs, Greece became a pillar of peace, stability, and a state that wants to emulate advanced European countries in its formulation, he added.

“Let us then remember how tough it was to start, how oppressed we were in terms of our limits, to appreciate where we got to, and to believe that what we wish to claim, including our prosperity, are achievable,” Tassoulas said, adding that they will require national and social cohesion and unity.
 

Source: AMNA