Athens, March 30 (RHC)-- The Cuban Embassy in Greece paid tribute to a historical friend, the legendary revolutionary and anti-fascist fighter Manolis Glezos, who died Monday at the age of 98.

In a message of condolence to his family, friends, and the people of Greece, Cuban Ambassador Zelmys Maria Dominguez Cortina wrote to his wife that men like him are those the world needs.

She added that Manolis was always a great friend of Cuba. He visited the island several times and met with the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and with the heroic guerrilla, Ernesto Che Guevara. 

He often spoke with admiration of the talks he had with the Cuban leaders and of the anecdote of the moment when Che presented him with his AKM rifle.

Dominguez Cortina recalled that on the first anniversary of the physical disappearance of Fidel Castro, he was one of the speakers at the tribute held in Athens. With moving words, he spoke about Cuba, its leader, and its Revolution.

A collaborator of the resistance during the occupation of his country by German troops during World War II, he was imprisoned for his activities. When he left prison, he joined the People's National Liberation Army, the anti-Nazi guerrilla movement.

In the post-war period and during the military dictatorships in his country he continued his intense political life, was sentenced to death, elected as a Member of Parliament and MEP for several terms and became the mayor of his native Apiranthos, a small town on the Aegean island of Naxos.

He stood out as a writer, journalist and, above all, a permanent fighter for the rights of his people, who admired him so much since he and his friend Apostolos Santas climbed on the night of May 30 1941 to the top of the Acropolis and tore down the flag that the German occupiers had placed there as a symbol of their power.