Defense of democracy requires vigilance, president says on Junta anniversary

Democracy requires citizens to remain vigilant over the protection of its institutions, the Greece's president said on Tuesday in a message marking the 53rd anniversary of the military coup that brought down democratic rule in 1967.

"Every country, every nation, has 'black pages' in its history, apart from the illustrious ones. Pages that we have an obligation to remember, to learn from the mistakes that led us to them and not repeat them," Katerina Sakellaropoulou said in a statement.

She said the Regime of the Colonels violated the Constitution, the rights of citizens, exploited the notions of country, state and religion, cultivated national division and eventually led to the "tragedy of Cyprus."

"We must not forget that nothing is a given and that defending democracy and its institutions is a continuous challenge for all…especially in times of global crisis,...