Genti Koule: Alexis Tsipras defends historical site against commercialization

Alexis Tsipras, president of the Hellenic Left Symmachia, visited the Genti Koule (White Tower) prison in Thessaloniki to address the preservation of historical sites. The visit follows a unanimous resolution by the Neapoli-Sykies Municipal Council requesting the immediate removal of the historic monument from the list of spaces managed by ODAP for private events.

Tsipras characterized the exclusion of Genti Koule from a government plan to allow private gastronomic and commercial events as a ‘collective victory’ for local government, the Association of Imprisoned and Exiled Resistance Fighters (SFEA), and civil society. He emphasized that cultural heritage is a ‘public good, historical memory, and collective property’ rather than a commodity.

The site holds significant symbolic weight as a place of imprisonment and execution during various historical periods in Greece, including the Metaxas regime, the Occupation, the Civil War, and the Junta. During the visit, Tsipras was briefed on the discovery of mass graves near the White Tower and a municipal initiative involving DNA testing, to which approximately 87 families have responded.