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Manolis Glezos once stole a Nazi flag floating over the Acropolis. Now, alongside Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, he is calling for resistance to austerity measures imposed on Greece by foreigners.

Longtime figures of left-wing politics, Glezos, 89, and Theodorakis, 87, have set up Elada (Resistance of United Democratic People) to oppose the dire conditions imposed by foreign lenders in exchange for emergency help to save Greece from potential bankrupcy.

For Glezos the first act of resistance came on the night of May 30, 1941, when German Nazi forces had occupied the country and were flying a large swastika flag over the Parthenon, the best-known landmark in Athens.

"Hitler had said in a speech that 'Europe is free'. We wanted to show him that the fight was just beginning," Glezos said, recalling how he and a friend managed to steal the flag.

After the war, "Greece conquered its freedom, but not its independence," he also said.

"On the dependency scale we are now running close to 100 percent with foreigners deciding everything," he added, speaking of conditions imposed on Athens by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank in exchange for a bailout.

The so-called troika wants Greece to lower its debt level and the government in Athens has forced drastic budget cuts through parliament despite mass public protests.

On Sunday, he and Theodorakis joined the protesters outside parliament where they were tear-gased by police and had to receive medical help.

They then attended the parliamentary debate which ended with the adoption of wide-ranging cuts, including one to the minimum wage.

After the war, Glezos joined the Communist party and he later opposed the military junta which ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.

He was twice sentenced to death and ended up serving 12 years "in nearly all of the country's prisons," he said.

"Lots of people went mad there," he added.

In prison he was forced to abandon his economic studies as "this was seen as tantamount to Marxism," he said.

Today Glezos, seen as a historic figure of the left, wants young people to "tear down all the flags of oppression".

While many Greeks blame Germany for the harsh economic measures imposed on their government, Glezos rejects any similarity between yesteryear's occupying power and today's European Union partner.

"The enemy is the G20, the union of imperialists," he said, speaking of the 20 richest countries which regularly meet to hammer out economic and financial strategy.

To overcome the present crisis, Greece must rely just on itself, he said.

It should "stop all military spending", refuse to repay its debt "which is illegitimate", fight tax-dodgers and civil servants who hold multiple jobs, while protecting health, education and research, he said.

Greece might also require Germany to repay money it was forcibly loaned during the war, "the only time Greece ever lent money rather than borrowing it," he added.

AFP