Athens, 30 March. Today Manolis Glezos passed away at the age of 98. Physically disappears one of the legends of Greece's political history. Receive the deepest condolences for his family and friends, and the people of Greece. Manolis had an intense life. He was partisan against the Germans Nazis , was imprisoned and exiled during the dictatorial governments that marked Greece for much of the decades after World War II, was sentenced to death, served as a parliamentarian and euro parliamentarian in several occasions, he was mayor of his hometown, writer, journalist, tireless fighter for the rights of his people. Born on September 9, 1922 in Apiranthos, a small town on the Aegean island of Naxos, his figure was present in many of the key moments of the last 100 years of Greece's history, but the history of the Nazi flag in the Acropolis is the most remembered passage and admired of his biography. The anecdote as the BBC account notes: The Nazi army raised the flag over the Acropolis of Athens in 1941. At 19 and 18, Glezos and his friend Apostolos Santas climbed to remove it. Santas skirted the Acropolis on one side and Glezos on the other and they found the foot of the flag mast. They cut the rope holding it, but the fabric didn't fall. It was tied to the stick, about 15 meters high. In turn, they took over until they managed to unhook the cable that held it. From the flag, about two meters wide by four metres long, they barely cut two remnants, one for each, as proof of their feat. The rest threw him into a nearby dry well and left there. The operation had lasted more than three hours. What for many Greeks was a manifestation of pride, the Germans perceived it as a provocation and a great repression broke out. Manolis was always a great friend of Cuba, where he visited and met Fidel and Che. Always he makes the anecdote when Che gave him his AKM rifle which he could not take on the plane, and his conversations and admiration for the great heroes of Cuba. His defense of the Cuban revolution was permanent. On the first anniversary of the physical departure of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, in tribute to Athens, he said emotional words that we will never forget. As we written in letter to his wife, Men like Manolis are the ones that the world needs. Jose Marti, national hero of Cuba used to say: "There are men who live happily even if they live without decorum. There are others who suffer as in agony when they see that men live without decorum around them. In the world there must be a certain amount of decorum, as there must be a certain amount of light. When there are many men without decorum, there are always others who have in themselves the decorum of many men. These are those who rebel with terrible force against those who rob peoples of their freedom, which is to rob men of their decorum. In these men go thousands of men, there goes an entire people, there is human dignity. These men are sacred.” Manolis was part of that light, and carried in itself the decorum of many men to fight for freedom and justice. The people of Cuba don't forget their heroes and they don't forget their friends either. Eternal glory for Manolis Glezos. We will always remember in our hearts your friendship and militant solidarity with Cuba. Embacuba Grecia Images: Conmemorative symbol remembering what Glezos and Santas made in Acropolis. 
Manolis fighting against the police in 2010.
