How the Specter
of Militarism was Buried in Greece
By Ahmad Faruqui, PhD
Dansville, CA
Greece,
the birthplace of democracy, was haunted for seven
years by the specter of militarism. An earlier
coup in 1935 had failed. On April 21, 1967, a
group of Greek colonels framed their seizure of
power as a “revolution to save the nation”
from an imminent communist takeover (see C. M.
Woodhouse, The Rise and Fall of the Greek Colonels,
1985).
They also succeeded in drawing the support of
the US, which was fighting the Cold War. No protests
came from Washington and many Greeks complained
of US involvement in the coup. Years later, to
clear the air, President Clinton would apologize
to them.
For its spokesmen, the junta chose two former
Marxists who proceeded to dub all “enemies
of the state” as anarcho-communists. They
discredited parliamentary democracy by equating
it with dirty party politics, and put forward
a religiously colored slogan, Greece for Christian
Greeks, to galvanize national support.
The ring leader, Colonel George Papadopoulos,
came from a poor but educated family. He publicly
expressed his contempt for the urban, western-educated
“elite” in Athens. Political oppression
and censorship was introduced. Critical films
(Kostas Gavras’s Z) and music (Mikim Theodarakis)
were banned. At the same time, tourism was actively
encouraged and discos and nightclubs were allowed
to function.
However, in the absence of any civil rights, these
socio-cultural freedoms were dispensed whimsically.
Anyone who digressed into political criticism
was courting arrest and possibly torture.
The junta found a natural ally in the farmers,
whose loans were canceled since they were “the
backbone of the people.” The simpler ideas
of rural Greece were championed and religion and
patriotism were promoted. As expected, such ideas
were not welcomed in urban Greece.
Even then, several people welcomed the junta,
since it had come into office after a period of
conflict between the monarchy and parliament.
They were just happy to see a stable government,
even a military one. The junta cleverly promised
a return to democracy once political order was
established. This, of course, was simply a ruse
to stay in power.
The junta succeeded in restoring economic growth
and lowering inflation and unemployment. Economic
growth was driven by the tourism industry and
by pro-business incentives designed to lure foreign
direct investment. In addition, the colonels embarked
on an ambitious program of public sector investment,
primarily in dams and power plants.
Because there were no checks and balances, loans
were issued without regard to their serviceability.
The construction of many hotels was abandoned
once the “loan of the sea” was secured
and a few half-built ones still dot the Greek
countryside.
The junta made policies by decree. In Orwellian
fashion, they began with the words, “We
decide and we order.” Military courts were
established and all political parties were dissolved.
Political freedoms and civil liberties, synonymous
with the Greek culture, were eliminated in a matter
of minutes. Greeks were stunned. The opponents
of the junta were imprisoned or exiled by the
thousands to remote Greek island where they faced
torture by the Security Police.
No one was allowed to assemble or engage in political
demonstrations. The lives of citizens were put
under surveillance. The colonels gave the Greeks
the very totalitarian state that they were trying
to prevent the communists from introducing. Since
there was no valid code of jurisprudence, favoritism
and nepotism became rampant in appointments and
as means of adjudicating disputes. There was no
freedom of the press.
A psychology of fear spread in the land. But within
a year, signs of a democratic opposition were
visible. Underground groups such as the Pan-Hellenic
Liberation Movement began to coalesce. A failed
assassination attempt was carried out against
Papadopoulos in August 1968.
The assassin ignited a bomb along the road where
Papadopoulos’ motorcade was designed to
pass. But the attack failed. The assassin was
captured in a nearby sea cave as his escape boat
failed to show up. He was questioned, beaten,
tortured and sentenced to death. He spent five
years in jail. Luckily, before the death sentence
could be carried out, democracy was restored.
He was elected to parliament and became an emblem
for the restoration of democracy.
In November 1968, the funeral of a major leader
turned into a massive demonstration against the
junta. In March 1969, Giorgos Seferis, recipient
of the Nobel Prize six years earlier, took a stand
against the junta. This was a tipping point in
shaping public opinion. Seferis’s funeral
a few years later also turned into a massive demonstration.
In September 1970, a geology student burned himself
to death in protest. His remains were not returned
to his home town for fourth months, since the
junta feared it would stoke another mass demonstration.
By now, conditions had worsened to the point that
there was a rebellion even within the military.
A Greek warship refused to return home after participating
in NATO exercises in May of 1973. The Captain
and his crew remained loyal to their oath to obey
the Constitution.
Despite having brought about economic growth and
temporary political stability to the country,
the junta was on the road to collapse. A series
of events precipitated the Gotterdammerung.
The junta succumbed to infighting. Papadopoulos
sought to stem the tide by liberalizing the political
order but that led to public demands for more
freedoms and political unrest. In a fatal error
of judgment, in June 1973, he abolished the monarchy
and declared himself president after a controversial
referendum.
The tradition of student protest was always strong
in Greece and it came to a head during the reign
of the colonels. Students at the Law School in
Athens led the protests. These spread to the Athens
Polytechnic in November 1973, where students went
on a strike and sit-in.
Sensing that the situation was going to get out
hand, the junta sent in the army to suppress the
students. Under cover of darkness, at 0300 hours,
tanks crashed through the rail gate of the Polytechnic
and seized the campus.
Subsequently, hardliner Brigadier Demetrious Ioannides
launched a second coup and initiated an aggressive
crackdown. He also declared martial law in Cyprus
and overthrew the popular President Archbishop
Makarios III.
Turkey responded by invading and occupying the
northern portion of the island. Facing defeat,
the junta collapsed.
Parliamentary democracy was restored and the colonels
put on trial. They were sentenced to death. Later,
the sentences were commuted to life in prison.
Papadopoulos declined amnesty on the condition
that it would require an acknowledgment of guilt.
He died in prison, aged 80. Ioannides is still
in jail. No coups have occurred since then.
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