The Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos addressed tonight the presentation of the books written by the Lieutenant General (rtd) Kostas Padouvas “Tracing the Russian presence in Greece – Crete 1897-1909” and “Sacred Historic Arkadi Monastery from a mechanic’s and a military’s point of view”.
The event, which took place in the War Museum under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defence, was also addressed by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Greece Vladimir Chkhikvishvili, the former Chairman of the Academy of Athens Professor-Academic Konstantinos Svolopoulos and the Chairman of the Army Retired Officers Association, Lieutenant General (rtd) Pandelis Mavrodopoulos.
The event will also be attended by the Minister of State Dimitris Stamatis, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanassis Davakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General Athanassios Tselios and the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Evaggelos Apostolakis.
The Minister of National Defence addressed the event with the following speech:
“It is a special joy for me to be here among you, despite the fact that, as you know, our schedule is currently heavy due to many critical ongoing issues.
I responded to the invitation by Lieutenant General Padouvas, and the one by the Army Retired Officers Association, in order for us to honour and celebrate together the historic fact of Crete’s reunion with Greece, through two important and very useful books, a concrete proof of the writer’s consideration and patriotism that not only confine to words, but also to the persistent, profound and laborious study of archives relating to his glorious homeland.
The much desired reunion with Greece would have not been realised without the gory sacrifice of Arkadi Monastery in the prefecture of Rethimnon, which was lauded by the great philhellene Victor Hugo, as the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, defying death.
Almost thirty years after the legendary sacrifice in Arkadi, the independence of Crete is achieved, a circumstance which led to the reunion of Crete with Greece –and we should remember that– to the contribution and presence of Russia, as guarantee force, with the assignment of an expeditionary corps to the same prefecture in 1898.
These two events that marked Crete’s reunion with liberated Greece, are the axis around which rotate the two important projects of Lieutenant General Kostas Padouvas.
The writer describes in their pages the long and hard course of the Cretans against the ottoman oppressor, outlining the sanctified characters of his heroes and bringing forward our historic relations with the coreligionist people of Russia, contributing in this way to the climate of cooperation and solidarity which is constantly warmed over the past years.
The two books, besides the special contribution to the supreme moment of the Cretan struggle and to the Greek-Russian relations, are a testimony of the alertness and active participation of retired officers to the speculations concerning the past, the present and the future of this country.
At this point, I would like to add something, since the invitation did not only come from Lieutenant General Padouvas, but also by the Retired Officers Association.
It is worth reminding that, after decades of successful service, the term ‘retirement’ may often be deceiving. In our first meeting, I believe you remember it Mr. Mavrodopoulos, I had told you that we should one day get over with terms that degrade great values. The term ‘retired’ could someday be replaced by something that truly reflects all those who invested ideologically their course and integration through the Armed Forces. I would rather say that until the end of his life, a military is at constant reserve and not in retirement, which usually means retraction from active life. Those who have invested ideologically in their relations with the country can never retire, but they are at constant and permanent availability. Sometimes the concepts and terms should be corrected, when they do not depict reality.
A military, a diplomat, a public servant, who handled and was charged with several critical issues of the country during his service, cannot be retired, put off active duty, neither psychologically, nor mentally.
The State is responsible to all those who have served the country by means of their institutional bodies, since it never saw into creating the institutional framework so as to exploit their experience, knowledge, instruction that currently emerges as voluntary writing contribution.
I would like to point out that, if for the active personnel in the Armed Forces it is true that they will be given top priority when it will come to compensating and retrieving -as far as possible- their affected income, when the circumstances will be favourable, this will also, and majorly, apply to retired personnel who completed decades of a successful, but also particular and constantly demanding, career.
The two books presented today are a distinctive example of patriotism characterised by composed and rational thinking and judgment.
For the reason that, without love for the country and an emotional approach, one can hardly choose the tough profession of being permanent personnel in the Armed Forces.
Moreover, without self-control, sobriety and rationalism, one cannot effectively serve the country.
The writer, and you who have come to honour him, and all of us present here today, know it better that anyone else.
Through the pages of this book, it is proved that the sacrifice in Arkadi is more than a confirmation of the Greeks’ will to never resign their rights, never betray their religious and national values at any cost; it is also a sacrifice that, not only was not a waste, but – as a burning, live historic memory, decisively affected the progress of the Cretan issue.
When the Great Powers were forced in 1898 to end the presence of Turkish army in Crete and to declare the island an autonomous hegemony under their protection, among all protecting powers, Russia was standing out, whose military forces were responsible for the current prefecture of Rethimnon.
Even though the rest Great Powers politically aimed, with their presence in the island of Crete, at hindering its reunion with Greece, in the name of a wrongly perceived European stability, Russia demonstrated understanding, real support and sympathy for the Cretans’ desire for national integration. A position that created a close relation with the people of Crete and that is still recalled by the inhabitants of the island with emotion.
The reunion of Crete with Greece that we honour today, thanks to the invitation by Lieutenant General Padouvas, is not the reunion of Crete with mother Greece, but the reunion of Greece with its most ancient historic root, as depicted in the myth of the sacrifice to Minotaur, and the abduction of Europa, until the legend of the self-sacrifice in Arkadi Monastery, by Abbot Gabriel, on the Day of the Archangels in 1866.
Once more, I would like to express my thanks to Lieutenant General Padouvas and the Retired Officers Association, but also the public praise for his long contribution through his invaluable project.
I thank him and I also thank you for your attention”.