Concern and worry are being caused within the government by scenarios of protest events or even more intense reactions during the October 28 parades or in any case on the day of tomorrow’s national anniversary. The surprise attack on Makis Voridis and his family in Heraklion by unknown hooded individuals so far intensifies this concern, although there is still no concrete information about organized movements or initiatives for protest events.
“These days are sacred, these days belong to the Greeks, these days belong to those who stood upright, sacrificed for the homeland whether we’re talking about October 28 or March 25 or all the important days for our Nation and we will not allow anyone to jeopardize their celebration,” government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said. He emphasized that “2025 is neither 2008 nor 2012 nor 2015. And society has understood how dirty all these logics are. Once a part of society was ‘swept away’ by the supposed revolutionary left and justified some acts of activism as revolutionary with an ideological cloak. Now they know that all these movements are actually the other side of extremists.” He recalled the parade in Thessaloniki fifteen years ago, where a mixture of leftists and far-right indignant people of the time forced then President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias to withdraw and cancel it.
The mobilizations that signal alarm in the government
One part of the potential mobilizations on Tuesday involves farmers and livestock breeders, some of whom are considering taking advantage of the presence of government ministers and deputy ministers, as well as ordinary MPs, in central squares where the parades will pass, to express their protest about high prices and significant delays in payments from OPEKEPE. Regional MPs are receiving – and conveying to the Maximos Mansion – various signs showing intentions from simple protest to more intense demonstrations, with the Police being informed and present everywhere.
The other part concerns the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and will essentially constitute the first test for the new legislative regulation. “On October 28, the parade will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The mayor has invited all political leaders. I will be there with all the children and relatives. We will be there in disobedience to this unconstitutional amendment,” Zoe Konstantopoulou characteristically stated days ago, announcing – although she later denied it with a statement to Parapolitika 90.1 – protest events in Syntagma on October 28. In any case, even after the parade ends, it remains to be seen who and whether they will choose the space in front of the monument to express their opposition to the regulation.
The legislative regulation, which was voted last Wednesday after intense discussion and confrontation in Parliament, provides that in the area in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on Queen Amalia Avenue opposite Syntagma Square, as it is an area of particular historical and national significance, for the protection of the integrity and intended use of the Monument, the following are henceforth prohibited:
• The use or occupation of the area’s surface for any purpose beyond visiting the Monument and highlighting its significance,
• any alteration of the space,
• the holding of any public outdoor assembly, including spontaneous and emergency outdoor public gatherings.
The amendment – which the prime minister characterized as a regulation of national responsibility and democratic sensitivity – essentially shares responsibility between Nikos Dendias and Michalis Chrysochoidis, as it regulates responsibilities as follows: The Ministry of National Defense takes all necessary measures for the maintenance, care (a word which Athens Mayor Haris Doukas interpreted as including cleanliness, only to be later contradicted by Nikos Dendias) and promotion of the Monument and the space in front of it either with its own means or through awarding related contracts. For maintaining public order, the Hellenic Police is responsible.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis will watch the military parade of October 28 in Thessaloniki. “The great steps of our Nation were always made through unity and faith in our forces. This patriotism of responsibility that unites, does not divide, we need today as well,” he noted yesterday in his customary Sunday Facebook post.
