The Greek crackdown on neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, is well overdue.
Since the party’s gains in the May 2012 election, its members and leaders have been acting above the law, with alleged police collusion. But the most visible incident occurred during a televised political debate in June 2012, when Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris slapped a female left-wing politician and threw water on another. The police did nothing about the assault, which was witnessed by everyone in Greece and beyond as the footage went viral online.
Allegations have since been made about Golden Dawn setting up so-called ‘hit squads’ that have carried out attacks on ethnic minorities and leftists, to which the police are believed to have turned a blind eye. In another incident, a Golden Dawn MP tried to punch the mayor of Athens, but he missed and punched a 12-year-old girl instead. Eyewitnesses said that he even tried to pull a gun before he was restrained by the mayor’s security detail.
The violent behaviour of the Golden Dawn thugs culminated in the killing of left-wing rapper and anti-racism activist Pavlos Fyssas on 18 September. The police arrested a man in connection with the murder, who declared he is a supporter of Golden Dawn.
Arresting 20 of the party’s leaders and activists, including a female police officer, had to be carefully planned and executed due to the alleged ties with the police on many levels. It’s estimated that in some districts more than half of police officers voted for the neo-Nazi party. It is also alleged that Golden Dawn relies on support of young police recruits who have political ties and do not know much about the Nazis or Hitler – they simply consider Golden Dawn as allies during clashes with leftists. It is even alleged by some that Golden Dawn has connections with the military, making it a state within a state.
All of this is why it was important to nip it in the bud before it grew even stronger, and it’s also why any attempt to defeat such an organisation is very delicate. Before the arrests, the government moved to sack two security chiefs and two intelligence chiefs, and to re-assign eight key police commanders.
Other neo-Nazi groups should be treated in the same way. They are not only criminals, they are also terrorists who routinely use or sanction violence for political and ideological reasons. In Britain, graffiti glorifying the EDL (English Defence League) was found on a wall outside a Somali and Islamic centre damaged in an arson attack in London this year. Back in 1999, a series of bomb attacks carried out against ethnic minorities and homosexuals by a neo-Nazi resulted in the deaths of three people, including a pregnant woman, while 139 others were wounded; other far-right extremists were caught with weapons and explosives.
While it is important to tackle extremism, it is also important to deal with the roots of the problem. The Golden Dawn share of the vote never reached even one per cent since it was established in 1980 until a sudden rise in its popularity that can obviously be linked to the deteriorating economic situation. The conditions of the bailout, largely set by Germany, are harsh and have caused a lot of hardship. Given that Germany had a similar experience of economic difficulties that ultimately brought Hitler to power, one would have thought it something for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to consider when she decided the conditions of the Greek bailout.
Here in Ireland, racism is also a growing problem, but like the other bailout countries – Spain, Cyprus and Portugal – the people have largely shunned the far right. Understanding why the neo-Nazis have failed in these countries might help to tackle the scourge of racism in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.
Mohammed Samaana is a freelance writer based in Belfast.
