Greek People Have Given Everything, Says President

Greek President Carolos Papoulias said Sunday the nation's people have given all they have to drag the country out of its crippling economic crisis, and voiced hope it would end soon.

Papoulias said recovery from the crisis, which has made the heavily indebted country dependent on international aid for two years, has to come "soon, because you cannot ask more from these people who have given everything."

The president nonetheless expressed his optimism that "despite the hardships, Greek people will exit the crisis."

Papoulias was speaking at the end of an annual military parade in the northern city of Thessaloniki to celebrate Greek resistance to the Axis powers during World War II. This year's event also marked the end of a three-day celebration commemorating the Balkan Wars of 1912-1914 that restored Thessaloniki to Greek control.

Underlining Greece's contribution in World War II, Papoulias said many people outside Greece want to "forget" about it, because they don't want to "recognize what Europe owes to this small Greece."

The Thessaloniki parade and an annual student parade in Athens both took place under increased security measures to avoid potential trouble.

In addition to a heavy police presence, special traffic regulations were imposed in the northern city, while the Athens city center was sealed off from early in the morning.

There was also tight security around the platforms where officials were sitting.

Anti-austerity protests organized around Greece by members of radical leftist party Syriza and communist-affiliated group Pame mostly took place without incident.

Tension flared briefly in Thessaloniki when protesters tried to break the police blockade, but demonstrators then moved to another part of the city and held an uneventful march there, state broadcaster Net reported.

"We have a historical duty to pass down to future generations a country rid of the past's mistakes," said Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos after the Athens parade, where one of the students protested by walking barefoot, according to the Athens News Agency.

Last year, thousands of anti-austerity protesters had blocked the Thessaloniki parade, forcing the president to walk away minutes before the start of the event.

Tension had also run high at many of the student parades around the country and minor scuffles had broken out between protesters and police in various cities.