The Panhellenic Liberation Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Απελευθερωτικό Κίνημα), also known by its

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

PAK (ΠΑΚ), was one of the many anti-dictatorial movement organisations that campaigned against the 1967–1974 military regime of Greece. It was established in 1968 in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

by the exiled

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, wh ...

History

PAK toured the world rallying opposition to the military regime and aiming to create awareness about the political situation in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Its campaign in Sweden was particularly successful. On February 28, 1968, Papandreou gave a famous speech at the Club of Greek Immigrants (Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Μεταναστών). Later on, a manifesto was published, entitled “A text-book and the Internal Political Net.” The leader of the PAK in Greece was

Giannis Alevras Ioannis Alevras ( el, Ιωάννης Αλευράς; 1912 – 6 April 1995), sometimes spelled Yannis Alevras, was a Greek Panhellenic Socialist Movement politician and Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, who served as acting President of Greece i ...

. Its campaign in Sweden was particularly successful. PAK was also highly critical of the alleged dependence of Greece on foreign powers, namely the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Its stated aim was the realization of “radical changes” with the aim of the “socialist transformation of Greece”. PAK issued the monthly newsletter "PAK News", the purpose of which was informing the readers about its political actions, giving updates about the trial of the PAK members and reproducing speeches and articles by Andreas Papandreou. It was issued in both Greek and English. In May 1971, 8 young men who were alleged to be members of PAK were arrested for making and planting bombs in Athens. On February 24, 1972 Andreas Papandreou spoke at the "Symposium on Imperialism" about the future PAK is fighting for, he stated

"I am committed to the Panhellenic Liberation Movement until freedom comes to Greece. When it does we will build a socialist society in which human rights are respected and citizens have the right to participate in key decisions"

. On April 23, 1972 the 5th anniversary of the

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

, Papandreou and other members of PAK participated in a large rally/protest in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

protesting the regime, among the speakers at the rally was economist and political activist

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...

Melina Merkouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination a ...

, Eleni Kazantzaki and Giorgos Vournas. Statements of solidarity by

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, communist, and doctor. He is best known for his book '' Cristo si è fermato a Eboli'' (''Christ Stopped at Eboli''), published in 1945, a memoir of h ...

, senator

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

and

Vassos Lyssarides Vassos Lyssarides ( el, Βάσος Λυσσαρίδης; 13 May 1920 – 26 April 2021) was a Cypriot politician and physician who was a central figure in the politics of Cyprus after the island's independence. Biography Lyssarides was born in ...

were read.

Barbara Dane Barbara Dane (born Barbara Jean Spillman; May 12, 1927) is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silber. "Bessie Smith in stereo," wrote jazz cri ...

performed songs by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...

. Furthermore, PAK’ s stated aim was to become the centre of democratic resistance in Greece. It not only wished for the withdrawal of the Colonel dictatorship, but it also supported a “free, progressive and nationally free” Greece. It claimed that “it would not accept any compromise in any phase of its struggle and that it would fight for a total democratic victory.” After the fall of the junta, many PAK members became prominent members in Papandreou's

Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

(PASOK) party.

References

External links

Objectives and Organizational Scheme of the Panhellenic Liberation Movement

containing valuable information about PAK's history (in Greek) {{DEFAULTSORT:Panhellenic Liberation Movement Defunct political parties in Greece Resistance to the Greek junta Organizations established in 1968 Andreas Papandreou