ESCAPE FROM AMORGOS

by George Mylonas ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1974

A member of the Centre Union and an ardent democrat, Mylonas was Minister of Education under George Papandreou following his party's electoral triumph in 1964. In 1968 after the revolt of the colonels and the establishment of the junta, Mylonas along with hundreds of other political prisoners was sent into exile. On the lonely island of Amorgos though under constant surveillance he began to plan his escape almost at once. With the tacit sympathy of the villagers, letters were smuggled, code words passed, the local gendarmerie lulled into a sense of false security. . . until one night in October an Italian ""tourist boat"" lifted him off the island. Mylonas denounces the dictatorship at every opportunity, scores the monarchy for its complicity in reaction, and charges the CIA with directly aiding and abetting the military coup. He adds that ""the withdrawal of American support would bring about the fall of the regime"" in no time. He gives understandably sketchy details of various resistance organizations and describes at length the censorship, harassment, imprisonment and torture experienced by all ""progressives."" Unlike the Hitler or Mussolini regime, Mylonas asserts that ""the Greek dictatorship is a unique one in the sense that it has no following whatsoever."" A heartfelt if rather naive call to all good and true men in exile or at home to restore democracy and oust the usurping tyrants.

Pub Date: June 1, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION