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The European government has told Greece it is violating its human rights treaty and called on the junta to end torture, release political prisoners and hold free elections. The colonels rejected the appeal, but freed Mr. Theodorakis and sent him and his family into exile in Paris, where he was hospitalized and treated for tuberculosis.
Three months later, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in its triumphant “Spirit Walk”. The emotions of the crowd overflow. “It was as if Zorba himself was running,” Newsweek wrote at the time. “In the end, the audience didn’t let him go; prolonged applause, cheers, stamps and rhythmic cries of ‘Theodorakis! Theodorakis! Brought it back five times.
The concert kicked off Mr Theodorakis’ four-year campaign for a peaceful overthrow of the junta. Traveling the world, he gives concerts on all continents to raise funds for the cause of Greek democracy. He won the support of cultural and political leaders. In Chile, he met the country’s Marxist president, Salvador Allende, and the poet Pablo Neruda. He later composed movements on Neruda’s Canto General, his New World story from a Hispanic perspective.
He was received by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and French President François Mitterrand. Swedish leader Olof Palme, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and his old friend Melina Mercouri, the actress turned Greek Minister of Culture, have pledged their help. Artists and writers around the world have become his allies.
In 1973, in the face of international pressure and a restless civilian population, the junta’s grip was fragile. A student uprising in Athens escalated into open revolt. Hundreds of civilians were injured, some fatally, in clashes with troops. Colonel Papadopoulos was ousted and martial law was imposed by a new hard line. In 1974, the junta collapsed when senior army officers withdrew their support.
Within days, Mr. Theodorakis returned home in triumph, greeted by a large crowd, his music constantly being broadcast on the radio. “My joy now is the same as I felt while waiting to be tortured in a cell,” he said. “It was all part of the same fight. “
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