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Mikis Theodorakis: “I spent my best years in the ranks of the KKE”

The CC of the KKE on the evening of 3rd of June 2015 honoured the 90 years life and creativity of the great Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis in the Petras Theatre in the municipality of Petroupoli (a popular neighbourhood in the west of Athens).

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, spoke on its behalf. The composer himself attended the event and addressed a message of greetings.

 

Mikis has made an enormous contribution to the people’s culture

 

The GS, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, in his speech stated amongst other things that the songs of M. Theodorakis spoke to the hearts of all the peoples, all the oppressed and persecuted the world over. “The musical genius of Mikis Theodorakis made a decisive contribution to the cultural renaissance of postwar Greece. However, his cultural contribution was always entwined with the struggles and concerns of our people, (…) melodies, songs that were constructed around the important poetry of leading Greek poets.

In difficult times, in periods of our people’s tough struggles against fascism, capitalism, imperialist wars and interventions and military coups.

In periods of the heroic upsurge of the movement, the flowering of revolutionary ideals, as well as in periods of defeat, persecutions, executions, anti-democratic measures, dismissals, sacrifices and the endless heroism of the children of our people in their struggle for a better future, for socialism-communism, for a society without the exploitation of man by man.”

D. Koutsoumpas made detailed reference to the cultural and political activity of the great composer, noting that he had recently supported the KKE’s demonstration in Syntagma Sq.  for the abolition of all the memoranda and their anti-worker application laws, based on the draft law of the KKE, which the SYRIZA-ANEL government refuses to bring to parliament and he concluded by saying that: “we celebrate today 90 creative years, which included Mikis’ enormous contribution to our people’s culture, and also his participation in the historical struggles of the people.”

 

M. Theodorakis: “My “Curriculum Vitae” is filled with the struggles I waged from inside the ranks of the KKE”

 

Mikis Theodorakis addressed the concert immediately after the speech of the GS of the CC of the KKE.

 

“Comrade Dimitris Koutsoumpas,

 

Comrades,

 

I thank the General Secretary, as well as the CC of the KKE, for this great honour and for the joy they are giving me.

I am very moved to be here in front of you today, because I lived my most intense and beautiful years in the ranks of the KKE. National Resistance, Civil War, the persecutions that followed the defeat of the Democratic Army, the deep illegality with the armed struggle in 1944 inside Athens, which was drowned in blood, the attempted rebirth through EDA and the Lamprakides. The illegal activity with the setting up of the Patriotic Front, ten days after the imposition of the Junta. Later as the mayoral candidate of the KKE in Athens and finally my election as an MP of the Party in 1981 and 1985.

As you see, my “Curriculum Vitae” is filled with the struggles I waged from inside the ranks of the KKE, struggles that were combined with the musical compositions of that period, with the most important works being ‘Romiosyni” and “Geitonies tou Kosmou” both based on the poetry of Giannis Ritsos and the second dedicated to me dear comrade Harilaos Florakis.

Our great friendship, which began in prison, remained strong and unaltered until the last days of his life. And when I was an MP, he wanted my office to be opposite his on the 6th floor of the building in Perissos. We both emerged, you see, from the furnace of the National Resistance and the Civil War, while in the period of the Junta they bound us both in handcuffs together, hand in hand, for the various transfers from prisons to hospitals and this fact bound us together forever.

A loyal communist and great leader, open-minded, serious, wise and steeled, I miss him and I believe that we all miss him. Now I feel that he is present in this great gathering of ours, something that feels me with deep emotion.

So, as the conclusion to this message of greetings, allow me to dedicate today’s event to Harilaos Florakis, a symbol of the real communist and to thank you once again for the honour you are bestowing on me, which is in some sense the vindication of a lifetime.”

 

A special moment

 

It was a special and particularly moving moment at the event when Dimitris Koutsoumpas, on behalf of the CC of the KKE, gave Mikis Theodorakis a copy from the party’s archives of Mikis’ Christmas message which he wrote in December 1969 when he was imprisoned in the Oropos prison.

There followed a great concert with over 30 of M. Theodorakis’ well-known songs, which were performed by-well known musicians.

 

You can follow the video of the concert here:

Concert - Part one

Concert - Part two

 

04.06.2015