ATHENS: Greece on Thursday celebrated 200 years since the start of its independence war with the Ottoman Empire with parades and ceremonies attended by foreign dignitaries, though the pandemic forced officials to scale back events.
“Today the nation celebrates,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said as the Greek flag was solemnly raised over the Acropolis in Athens.
“Two centuries ago, a handful of determined fighters in and outside Greece raised the banner of independence... with the help of their allies, they fought heroically and won their freedom,” he said, ahead of events planned all over Greece and among diaspora communities overseas.
Security was tight, with 4,000 police, drones and snipers set to be deployed in Athens, a police source said. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, no spectators are allowed to attend aside from a small number of reporters.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Britain’s Prince Charles and French Defence Minister Florence Parly placed wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greece’s foremost military monument, ahead of the national parade.
Britain, France and Russia were instrumental in helping Greece attain its independence in 1830 after nearly a decade of warfare against overwhelming odds.
At the time, the Ottoman Empire extended through the Balkans and modern-day Turkey to North Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the Caucasus.
“As the wellspring of Western civilisation, Greece’s spirit runs through our societies and our democracies,” Prince Charles said at a dinner at the presidential mansion on Wednesday.
“Without her, our laws, our art, our way of life, would never have flourished as they have.” — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
