The Panhellenic Liberation Movement (), also known by its

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

by the exiled

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

History

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

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. 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. Its campaign in Sweden was particularly successful. PAK was also highly critical of the alleged dependence of Greece on foreign powers, namely the USA. 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 was a Right-wing politics, right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing 1967 Greek coup d'état, overthrew the caretaker gove ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931June 16, 2023) was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released th ...

, Melina Merkouri, 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, Independent Left (Italy), independent leftist politician, and doctor. He is best known for his book ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (novel), Cristo si è fe ...

, senator

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

and Vassos Lyssarides were read.

Barbara Dane Barbara Jean Spillman (May 12, 1927 – October 20, 2024), known professionally as Barbara Dane, was an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silbe ...

performed songs by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

. 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 (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was one of the two major parties in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political r ...

(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 Political organizations established in 1968 Andreas Papandreou PASOK