FDC European Parliament 12-1969 "Military coup d'état - WITHDRAWAL of GREECE from the Council of Europe" (AP81)

December 12, 1969

Greece withdraws from the Council of Europe

In April 1967 a group of army officers seized power in Greece in a coup d’état, setting up a military government commonly know as the Regime of the Colonels, lasting seven years. The generals oversaw a system of military courts, practised torture and effectively banned democratic parties and elections.

Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden lodged a case before the Human Rights Commission, which was then the first stage in the process of bringing a case to the Court, complaining that Greece was violating the rights protected by the Convention. In January 1968 the Parliamentary Assembly agreed “that if Greece intends to remain a Member of the Council of Europe, she will have to return without delay to a regime which is democratic and parliamentary and respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Greece opted to leave in December 1969, returning after democracy had been restored in 1974. (Source : Council of Europe)

A philatelic envelope, designed by Historiaphil© (Philately Kiosk of the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France) commemorates the highlights of the Strasbourg session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was produced as a continuation of the collection of philatelic envelopes bearing witness since 1949 to the history of Europe and its institutions.