[Cyprus Times] 29 November 1964: tragedy at Gorgopotamos

On November 29, 1964, thousands of people gathered at Gorgopotamos to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the blowing up of the bridge of the same name, which was one of the top resistance acts of World War II. It was the first time that a celebration was organized by the official Greek state. The political climate had been heavy since the resignation of Deputy Minister of Coordination Andreas Papandreou a few days earlier. The pro-government newspaper "Eleftheria", close to Finance Minister Kostas Mitsotakis, had accused him of giving away studies and projects to his friends ("Skiadaresis Scandal") and Andreas Papandreou had submitted his resignation "to defend his innocence and political honesty".[/P]

The ceremony at Gorgopotamos went smoothly, to the point that many of the attendees began to protest because the resistance organisations were not allowed to lay wreaths. The crowd, mainly from the left, then booed the government delegation led by National Defence Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou. A pandemonium ensued, the ceremony was interrupted and the officials left.

It was 1:22 p.m. when a powerful explosion was heard among the assembled crowd, scattering death and panic. Someone had stepped on a landmine against personnel, resulting in 13 people losing their lives (Georgios Giannakoulis, Nikolaos Dasopoulos, Konstantinos Kaniouras, Christos Kestinis, Konstantinos Lebesis, Kiki Liakopoulou, Konstantina Botis, Dimitrios Mylonas, Herodias Papazachariou, Apostolos Polymeros, Asimoula Rahiotis, Konstantinos Tsarouxas, Dimos Tsintikidis) and more than 45 were injured.

At first there was confusion and some in the crowd thought that shots had been fired. They turned wildly against the gendarmerie men, thinking that they had fired. In the end, caution prevailed and the worst was avoided.

The tragic event was immediately attributed by the left to sabotage by far-right circles or an operation organised by the US services. In the following days there was great tension. The official conclusion of the investigations that followed adopted the version of the accident caused by an old mine placed there in 1947 and not recovered when the site was cleared ten years later. The conclusion was disputed by the Left, which, however, preferred to tone it down in order not to further exacerbate the situation.

The riots against police officers that followed the explosion resulted in the arrest of 18 people, including General Avgeropoulos of ELAS and General Kosintas of EDES. Several of the accused were remanded in custody until the start of the trial, which began in Lamia on 26 May 1965. The court delivered its verdict on 17 June and sentenced 12 to prison terms of up to three years and acquitted six. The convicts appealed and were released.

Source: sansimera.gr

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