Greece: Neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn” Supporters Attack More Immigrants

A gang of 15-20 young supporters of Golden Dawn, the startlingly successful Greek neo-nazi political party, attacked an approximately 30-year-old Pakistani man on May 29, 2012 in Athens, in the metro station of Agios Nikolaos, a neighborhood known for its large immigrant population.

Golden Dawn supporters hold flares in Thessaloniki, Greece on election day (May 6) when the party won 7% of the vote. Photo by Alexandros Michailidis © Copyright Demotix

The gang entered the station shouting fascist slogans like “You will never become Greek!” They targeted the man, threw him on the ground and beat him, as shocked passengers looked on.

In a TVXS news report, an eyewitness narrates the story [gr] and explains what happened when he reacted to the brutality of the group:

Την ώρα της επίθεσης, βγήκα στην πόρτα του συρμού και άρχισα να φωνάζω εναντίον τους και να τους βρίζω, απειλώντας ότι θα τηλεφωνήσω στην Αστυνομία. (…) «Προδότη φύγε από τη χώρα», «κομμούνι θα σε μαχαιρώσουμε»

As the attack was going on, I started shouting at them swearing and threatening that I would call the police (…) The gang answered by approaching me shouting abuse, like “You traitor, leave the country” and “Communist, we will stab you.”

He concludes by saying:

Μικρός μέσος όρος ηλικίας για τη φασιστική αυτή ομάδα, μεγάλος δυστυχώς ο φόβος των επιβατών. Αν είχαμε μιλήσει όλοι μαζί θα τα είχαν μαζέψει και θα είχαν φύγει σίγουρα…».

The average age of the fascist group was low, unfortunately the fear of the passengers was great. If we had all reacted together, they would have disappeared for sure.

Blogger, Fragkiska Megaloudi, comments beneath the news article on the absence of the police during the incident:

Δεν μου κανει εντύπωση πως οι ψυχοπαθεις φασιστες της Χρυσής Αυγής κανουν αυτα που κανουν με ατιμωρησία διοτι δεν περιμενω και προστασια απο την ελληνική αστυνομία που κατα το ήμισυ τους εχει ψηφίσει…

I am not impressed that psycho fascists do whatever they want without any punishment. I don't expect any protection from Greek Police as [probably] half of them have voted for Golden Dawn.

Other attacks were reported in Athens on May 29, the same day that a Golden Dawn rally was held at noon in Syntagma Square in memory of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 after an Ottoman attack. The leader of Golden Dawn, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, announced in writing four days before:

Συναγωνιστές και Συναγωνίστριες, ψηλά τις Σημαίες. Έρχονται ημέρες δύσκολες, στις οποίους και θα κριθεί ποιοι είναι οι αληθινοί Έλληνες, ποιοι είναι οι Εθνικιστές και ποιοι οι προδότες.

Fellow Comrades raise your flags (…) Difficult times are ahead and then it will be proven who are real Greeks, who are ethnicists and who are traitors.

After Golden Dawn was voted into Greece's parliament on May 6 receiving 7% of the votes, random attacks on immigrants, especially in the center of Athens, have increased significantly. However, the party itself has never taken responsibility for such racist attacks.

June rallies and demonstrations are being organized in Athens and Thessaloniki against racially motivated attacks and the extreme right wing.

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