The Deputy Minister of National Defence Alkiviadis Stefanis, today, Monday 19 April 2021, addressed the attendants of the Blue Shield Greek Committee Conference, titled “Two Centuries of Protection of the Greek Cultural Heritage: From the Revolution of 1821 to Modern Greece”.
The conference was hosted in the framework of the celebration of the 200 years Anniversary since the commencement of the Greek Revolution and of the 25 years since the founding of Blue Shield International, in cooperation with the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The Blue Shield International is an international network of bodies aiming to protect the cultural heritage in case of armed conflicts and natural disasters. In collaboration with local authorities, it schedules strategic interventions for the prevention or countering of attacks and damages to cultural goods, in emergencies.
In his address, the Deputy Minister of National Defence mentioned the following:
“It is a given that the monuments of cultural heritage compose a people’s identity, they offer a multifaceted characterisation of a civilization and they testify the greatness of human expression, as it manifests through architecture, sculpture and the arts which complement the monumental character of a work.
Our cultural monuments did not remain unharmed through the passage of time and they were up against: the wear caused by weather phenomena, the complacence of the various state entities, the despoilment by cunning people, the desecration, but also the complete destruction during war conflicts. However, history did not lack all those Greeks and philhellenes, more or less known, who stood spiritually proud and intervened to save an essential part of the monuments, which stand before us as a testament of the pan-European civilization.
As a nation we have unfortunately experienced the whole spectrum of destruction of cultural heritage monuments, however I am certain that we have been facing the issue with particular sensitivity, undertaking substantial initiatives. At this point, I would like to mention the constant interest of the Ministry of National Defence to that direction, on one hand for the restoration and promotion of our monuments and on the other in the field of training and the shaping of a wider culture of respect for our heritage, as a denotation of devotion and love for the Homeland.
In this context, we recently completed, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the full restoration and projection of the historic house of the fighter for the liberation of Macedonia Pavlos Melas, an Officer who, making the ultimate sacrifice, constituted a paradigm of bravery and inspiration for the future generations of Greeks.
We are restoring, with our own means, holy churches of the 18th and 19th century throughout the territory. Apart from the religious importance, the particular artistic style as well as the elaborate religious heirlooms they contain are brought into prominence. We have adopted a holistic programme of management regarding all types of sea cultural heritage, in order to project the unbroken bond of the Greeks with the sea, aiming to deliver an integrated body of collective memory to the public.
At the same time, in the field of training, the Armed Forces innovate with the organisation of training programmes at the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Centre, aiming to protect the cultural heritage monuments in environments of conflict. The international character of these schools gave a unique opportunity to members of the allied and friendly countries, to familiarise themselves with our approach and contribute to the dissemination of our principles, simultaneously enhancing the profile of mild power which we have established internationally.
We wish to found an International Centre of Excellence specialised in the protection of cultural heritage monuments in environments of conflicts.
With these thoughts and with the certainty that this organisation, which coincides with the completion of 200 years since the National Rebirth, will contribute to the further sensitisation of citizens and institutional bodies for the protection of cultural heritage monuments, I salute today’s event and I wish that the estimation of the eminent American professor of Harvard, Samuel Huntington, that the conflicts of tomorrow will be conducted for cultural reasons, will not be affirmed in the far future.
My sincerest congratulations to the organisers for this initiative which is absolutely supported by the Ministry of National Defence.
I bear a message of optimism and security from the Ministry of National Defence, assuring you that we provide the strong framework for the progress and prosperity of our Homeland”.
