ATHENS — "Democracy is not a regime of freedom alone, but also of responsibility. Overcoming our individualism for the common good, public health and solidarity is today the struggle of all of us," the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou said on Tuesday, after laying a wreath at the Polytechnic for the 47th anniversary of the student uprising in 1973 against the military junta then ruling Greece.

She stressed that this year's celebration takes place in unprecedented conditions due to the pandemic and added that the Polytechnic teaches us that democracy requires virtue and sacrifice.

In particular, Sakellaropoulou stated:

"The uprising of the Polytechnic is the starting point of our democracy. A foremost act of resistance, a symbol of political freedom and self-determination, which defined not only a generation and its fighters, to whom we owe the highest honour today, but the most progressive period of our modern history.

The Polytechnic teaches us that democracy requires virtue and sacrifice. It reminds us that young people are the most vibrant tissue of our society.

"This year's celebration takes place in unprecedented conditions due to the pandemic. The message, however, conveyed in these critical circumstances is universal:

"Democracy is not only a regime of freedom but also of responsibility. Overcoming our individualism for the common good, public health and solidarity is today the struggle of all of us."