45 years since the Colonels’ Junta

45 years have passed since the morning of April 21, 1967, when a group of disloyal military officers decided to "save" Greece, putting the country and its people "in a plaster cast” for 7 years.

Four governments were formed during the military regime. The last one, under Androutsopoulos, could not handle the weight of the betrayal of Cyprus, and handed power over to the politicians who formed the National Rescue government under Konstantinos Karamanlis.

The coup d'etat occurred on the morning of April 21, hours after the completion of the cabinet meeting of the Kanellopoulos government, which was literally caught sleeping.

The success of the triumvirate (Papadopoulos, Pattakos and Makarezos), did not come about only because of the conspiratorial plan they implemented, but also because they had managed to place insiders in key positions in the army, and also because at that time large combat units were based in Athens.

It came as a surprise and at 3:30 in the morning of April 21, the military movement achieved its full purpose. Tanks roared in the centre of Athens and the radio played marches along with the first proclamation by George Papadopoulos.

Shortly after sunrise, the junta leadership visited the then King Constantine in Tatoi, asking him to swear in their government. He allegedly refused initially, but compromised with them "to avoid Greek bloodshed," as he later said. The first prime minister was the prosecutor of the Supreme, Court Konstantinos Kollias, who had more of a decorative role, since George Papadopoulos was the actual leader.

Apart from politicians, the same day the junta also arrested people of mostly leftist tendencies, and again opened the prisons on remote islands, sending there thousands of political prisoners.

"You must remember, gentlemen, that we stand before a patient, whom we have on the surgical bed. Ιf the surgeon does not pin him down on the surgical bed by anaesthesia during surgery, there is a probability that instead of surgery for the restoration of the patient's health, the doctor might lead the patient to hisdeath", "surgeon" George Papadopoulos declared in his first interview with journalists of the Greek and foreign press on April 27, 1967.

Greece will be "in the operating room" for 7 years, 3 months and 3 days until the tragedy of Cyprus, with its murderous coup d'etat and the Turkish invasion, put an end to the "nation-saving revolution." Despite the climb of economic indicators during those seven years, the elimination of elementary freedoms, imprisonment, exile, torture, political assassinations and occupation of 37% of Cyprus, all render the Junta of the Colonels as one of the darkest moments in Modern Greek history.