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Roundup: Greeks celebrate Ohi Day, call for unity to tackle challenges

Xinhua, October 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Greeks celebrated on Friday the "Ohi Day" (No Day), which commemorates the day the country entered the WWII, with military and pupils' parades and messages of unity to tackle current challenges.

The national "Ohi" holiday commemorates Oct. 28, 1940, when the then Greek government rejected Italy's ultimatum to allow Italian forces to invade Greece.

Thousands of Greek people took to the streets to celebrate the day in the northern city port of Thessaloniki where a customary military parade was held.

The parade was attended by a number of officials, including Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, and Leader of the Opposition Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In his statement, Pavlopoulos expressed hope that the country would soon exit its prolonged period of crisis and flourish as a leading global force.

"We have to defend our people and our country. We have to exit this great crisis, this great decline. By the power of our heritage we must defend our national sovereignty. By the power of our heritage we must assume a leading role in the global scene and in the European Union," Pavlopoulos said.

Enthusiastic crowds cheered as the military paraded in a number of vehicles, including armored vehicles, tanks and propelled artillery.

As customary, a F-16 military aircraft took off from the city of Larissa and performed a number of spectacular maneuvers, drawing cheers from the onlookers.

Across Greece students paraded sending a similar message of determination to fight modern challenges.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attended the student parade on the tiny island of Agios Efstratios in the southern Aegean Sea.

"The best way to honor the 28th October is by saying our own Ohi everyday against fascism and social injustice, by responding to hatred with solidarity, to nazism with democracy," he said.

The Greek premier urged Greeks to put aside differences to resolve the debt crisis and called on other European Union countries to offer more aid to deal with the refugee crisis. Endit