AHEPA condemns attack on Truman statue in Athens

The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the largest Greek-American organization in the United States, has condemned an attack by left-wing protesters on a statue of former US president Harry Truman in central Athens.

“AHEPA respects and encourages freedom of speech and the rights of individuals to gather and demonstrate peacefully,” the association’s Supreme President Carl R. Hollister said in a statement.

“However, there are certainly more productive and effective ways to express dissent or opposition than to resort to senseless acts of vandalism,” he said.

Hollister praised police efforts to prevent the vandalism of the statue, adding that the association intends to work with city authorities to explore measures to protect the statue “which has quite often been the target of vandals.”