To commemorate Oxi Day, the raising of the largest Greek flag in Kastellorizo's history occurred today.
OXI Day commemorates when on October 28, 1940 former military general and Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas said “OXI” (NO) to an ultimatum made by Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, an ally of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, to occupy Greece.
The Greeks were the victors of the Greco-Italian War that began on this day in 1940, but ultimately succumbed to a later German invasion.
None-the-less, Greece's months long resistance to the Axis invasion changed the course of the war.
Given that the island is only just a few kilometers away from the Anatolian town of Antifellos (Αντίφελλος, Turkish: Kaş), it certainly would have been noticed in Turkey.
Κρητικός ύψωσε τη μεγαλύτερη ελληνική σημαία στο Καστελλόριζο pic.twitter.com/goQ5CjuzSu
— Timeline (@Timelinegr_) October 28, 2020
The Hürriyet newspaper had the headline "Reacting to Developments: They Raised a Giant Greek Flag for a Challenge" and had an extensive article about the raising of the Greek flag that was hung in Kastellorizo.
Apparently for the Turks the hoisting of a Greek flag on a national holiday is provocative in itself.
The mayor of Antifellos believes the hoisting of the flag in Kastellorizo was done deliberately because tomorrow Turkey celebrates the 97th anniversary of the Republic. He even announced in advance that tomorrow a huge Turkish flag will be displayed with a laser on the slope of a mountain.
