[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 42 (Monday, March 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2834-S2835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I would like to join with my colleagues, 
and with so many Americans--both of Greek and non-Greek descent--in 
celebrating March 25, Greek Independence Day. I am pleased to have been 
an original cosponsor of Senate Resolution 219, a bipartisan resolution 
that designated today ``Greek Independence

[[Page S2835]]

Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.'' 
That resolution was submitted by our distinguished colleague from 
Pennsylvania, Senator Specter, and it was agreed to by the Senate 
unanimously on March 6.
  Today commemorates the 175th anniversary of the beginning of Greece's 
struggle for independence from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. After 400 
years of foreign domination, and after 11 years of struggle against the 
despotic rule of the Ottoman Turks, Greece's independence was a 
cataclysmic event in European Affairs. At that time, outside of Britain 
and France, Europe was composed mainly of autocratic empires and states 
whose borders had little relation to their composite nationalities.
  The astounding accomplishment of the Greek people in achieving their 
independence from the vast Ottoman Empire acted as a catalyst in 
transforming the aspirations of Europeans across the continent. 
Greece's independence from the Turks was, in many ways, even a greater 
feat than the other great struggle for national independence 45 years 
earlier: the American Revolutionary War. Although the Greek people 
received support from many other countries, particularly from the 
United States, they enjoyed no advantage similar to a protective ocean 
or the active assistance of an ally such as France.
  During the last 175 years, the ideals of national independence and 
democracy, which were first expounded by the ancient Greeks, have 
spread widely throughout Europe and so much of the rest of the world. 
Greece's achievement of independence helped to spread not only the 
belief in the inherent right of national independence, but the belief 
that it is possible for a nation to assert its rights, despite 
seemingly impossible odds.
  Mr. President, it is appropriate to remember the meaning of March 25, 
which remains a powerful symbol of the ideals that America holds dear 
and upon which our own Nation was founded. But this is a symbol not 
only for the Greek and American people to celebrate. It should also be 
a day of commemoration for the many young, struggling democracies 
around the globe, as well as for the numerous nations and peoples still 
yearning to be free.

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