The dullness, the lack of political experience and basic knowledge of the issues they were dealing with is revealed in the most vivid way in the way the April coup plotters spoke publicly. Both in the speech of their leader, Giorgos Papadopoulos (mainly) and in that of Stylianos Pattakos, the influences from totalitarian ideologies and also from the anti-communist propaganda in which especially high-ranking army officers were exposed since the years of of their studies at the school of Evelpides.
Below, we list just a few characteristic examples, on the occasion of the sad anniversary of 53 years since the imposition of the dictatorship in Greece.
From the tone of voice (mainly Papadopoulos's), it becomes clear that the coup plotters had the impression that they were addressing the soldiers of a certain regiment, rather than citizens or journalists, which is why the imperative inflection often appears. You will read well-known and relatively unknown statements that have not been expanded upon in the 46 years that have passed since the post-colonization and the restoration of the Republic.
1. Papadopoulos' weakness in...hospital terminology
George Papadopoulos (in his speech after the violent assumption of power):Greeks cannot believe in communism. We are in front of a patient who is on the surgical bed.
2. Papadopoulos' definition of wealth
George Papadopoulos (in Parliament at the end of 1972 speaking about the "achievements" of his government):Greeks enjoy the good of peaceful social coexistence. We consume 300,000 tons of meat a year compared to 250,000 previously.
3. Gypsum, the return
George Papadopoulos (to foreign correspondents): Let's pray that no cast is needed again. If necessary, however, we will put him back. All I can promise you is to call you to see the leg without a cast.
4. Long live the imperative
George Papadopoulos (to university professors during the first student uprisings):Go in front of the mirror, look at your head, reflect on your struggles to date. Is it possible that you can't control your students? I will set fire to anyone's head, but I will not allow anyone to set fire to Greek society. I know who directed the energy, and if necessary, I will crush them. Aren't you ashamed to betray your colleagues?
5. The Pattakos that doesn't count
Stylianos Pattakos (to a foreign correspondent's question about how many people have been arrested):We are not counting them, we have answered.
6. "Not even a mosquito moves..."
Giorgos Papadopoulos (radio statement a few days after the coup): Full order prevails throughout the territory. Not a mosquito, according to the popular expression, has moved. That is why today we have the power to be completely free. A fasting bear does not dance and a man who has no solution to his livelihood problem is restless. We don't need to worry.
7. Neither role models nor teachers are needed in Ph.Ds
George Papadopoulos (at a gathering of his followers in Crete):We are moving towards the goals we have set, without needing teachers, role models, or advice. The fact that you have welcomed us as suitable to have the helm of the country, is a great contribution of yours to the nation. Be lenient when you judge others and you will be if you judge them no more severely than yourself. The almighty god is with us.
8. What is NATO George Papadopoule?
George Papadopoulos (after a NATO exercise in Alexandroupolis in which the Greek army also took part) NATO is a purely defensive military alliance. Its member states have no aggressive or expansionist ambitions. They only desire peace and work for it.
9. Free journalism courses during a dictatorship
George Papadopoulos (to journalists in Agios Nikolaos, Crete) I want to underline the importance of your role for the life of our societies. You must clearly perceive the seriousness of your role and by giving the world the objective elements of the facts, you should also allow them to appreciate your judgments as well as to develop their own judgments under them. The period in which we live, as humanity, is critical.
Because civilization helped to free man from the toil of the hard struggle for survival. Well, man has a lot of time to look for activities... This has caused phenomena of society's detachment from the feeling of responsibility towards fellow human beings as it is manifested by the feeling of submission that everyone must have to the social, written or unwritten, morals but also more broadly social laws that must govern the life of a society, with the result that today's societies are starting over.
10. Are not you Greek; You don't understand!
Dialogue of Stylianos Pattakos with a foreign journalist on the maintenance of martial law in the three largest cities of the country. The brigadier replies in not very good English...
Journalist: What is the reason for maintaining martial law?
Pattakos: Psychological.
Journalist: But what exactly do you mean?
Pattakos: You had to be Greek to understand what Greeks understand...
11. And the conclusion...
George Papadopoulos:The ideal exists. And the ideal is one. Greece, Greeks, Christians
Bonus:The dictator's speech after the Polytechnic events in November 1973:"Conspiracy of the enemies of democracy"