The Minister of National Defense Panos Kammenos will visit the Imia Islets in the Easter Aegean, where in 1996 a Hellenic Navy helicopter crashed, killing its crew of three.
The events in the area escalated tensions with neighboring Turkey, which disputed the sovereignty of the islands and spoke of “grey zones” in the Aegean. With the situation quickly escalating, the USA requested that all armed forces and flags be removed from the area.
Mr. Kammenos will be the first Minister to visit the Islets since 1996 and will honor the three pilots who perished at sea. Earlier in the day he will also lay a wreath at the Imia memorial in down town Athens.
Meanwhile the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has arranged a demonstration at the Imia Memorial in Athens, while various antifascist groups have arranged to gather in Omonia Square.
