Spectators watch an Ohi day parade in Thessaloniki, Greece. Demotix/Craig Wherlock. All rights reserved.In Pablo Larraín’s film No, about the 1988 Chilean referendum which asked whether General Pinochet should stay in power for another eight years or step down to allow for free elections, the central character - an advertising executive for the NO side - is faced with a conundrum: How does he turn the word ‘NO’ into something positive? Surely, it’s easier to campaign for an inherently positive word like ‘YES’ than it is to inspire people about ‘NO’?
If a film were made in the future about this Sunday’s referendum, I imagine the conundrum would be reversed. Tsipras and his party are well aware of what they are doing when they design the referendum so that NO is the answer they want the people to choose.
Every year, on October 28, Ohi day is celebrated in Greece and by Greek communities around the world. The word ‘Ohi’ means ‘No’ and commemorates the rejection of the ultimatum made by Mussolini to Greece on October 28, 1940. He had sent a message to Ioannis Metaxas, the Prime Minister of Greece, which offered this choice to Greece: either be occupied peacefully, or be invaded forcefully. Metaxas was said to have a replied with a single word: ‘Ohi’. That day, Italy invaded from Albania, while crowds gathered on the streets of Athens to euphorically chant “Ohi! Ohi! Ohi!”
