AKEL on the anniversary of 28 October 1940

27 October 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

AKEL commemorates the anniversary of 28 October 1940 and the Greek people’s NO to Italian fascism and the halting of the Italian attack on Greece. 28 October is a milestone in modern Greek and European history, a universal symbol of struggle, patriotism and anti-fascism.

We honor the epoch of 1940, which was the first defeat of the forces of the Hitler-Fascist Axis during the Second World War, raising the morale of the peoples of enslaved Europe and influencing substantially the development of the war. A war that ended with the crushing of Nazism and human civilisation, nations and peoples of the world rescued from the ravages of fascism. We honor the sacrifice of thousands of Greek men and women in the massacres committed by the Nazis, those who died of hunger and hardship during the years of the German occupation.

On the occasion of the anti-fascist anniversary, we commemorate and honor the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives during the Second World War to crush Hitler’s fascism, the leading contribution of the Soviet Union, the fighters of the resistance movements throughout Europe and the world.

At the same time, we also commemorate the contribution of small Cyprus to the great Anti-Fascist Victory of the Peoples, part of which was the appeal issued by the Central Committee of AKEL on 16 June 1943 for the voluntary enlisting of people into the army.

This year’s anniversary of 28th October finds Europe and humanity facing a new war in Europe that threatens to turn into an open generalised conflict or even nuclear annihilation. At the same time, fascism continues to gain ground throughout Europe and internationally, with the tolerance or even the support of the system and the institutional Right. It is a sign of the times that a far-right coalition has recently come to power in Italy, which even includes those nostalgic of Mussolini. Humanity cannot turn its back on the great dangers facing human civilisation and the peoples of the world.

AKEL commemorates 28 October by issuing a call for vigilance and mobilisation against fascism and war. At the same time AKEL addresses a greeting to the people and political leadership of Greece, which has been and continues to remain an irreplaceable bastion of support in the struggle of the Cypriot people for freedom and vindication.

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