Zur Vorstellung: Einige charakteristische Artikel von Greek Reporter und einer von ansamed, einer italienischen Agentur für den Mittelmeerraum und den Nahen Osten.
Special Forces Reservists Want Government Out Andy Dabilis on September 26, 2013
With the Greek government already probing possible ties between the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and whether military forces are training its members, a prosecutor has ordered an investigation into a blog post on the special forces reservists’ website demanding the government and President resign and an interim government be appointed under the “guarantee” of the armed forces.
The call raised the eerie specter of the military junta overthrow of the government in 1967, which Golden Dawn worships and came as a psychiatrist at a state hospital was being investigated after he was said to be an official of the party and was giving mental patients statements they were certified to carry guns and that he wanted the government to fall.
Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said he wants to find out if any members of the military are aiding Golden Dawn in training its members to fight after another report the party had a 3,000-man army and wanted to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy Conservative leader and his coalition partner, the PASOK Socialists.
The misdemeanor court prosecutor ordered the investigation of the reservists blog posting, which appeared on the website of the Special Forces Reserve Union (KEED).
Apart from the government’s resignation, the posting calls for Greece to withdraw from its bailout obligations with international lenders who insisted on harsh austerity measures in return for $325 billion in two rescue packages, special courts be set up to prosecute those responsible for Greece’s financial crisis and all property held by German companies, individuals or the state seized to pay off German World War II debts, among other things.
Referring to list of claims of negligence against the government, the forces posting said the “institution guaranteeing all of the above could be the country’s armed forces,” in effect calling for a military coup to overthrow the government because the reservists claimed that the government has failed in its duty to provide “health, education, justice and security” as required by the Constitution. They also want President Karolos Papoulias, a Nazi fighter during WWII to step down.
The reservists said they would hold a demonstration later on Sept. 26 in Syntagma Square across from the Parliament, the usual gathering spots for hundreds of failed protests and strikes over the last three years.
The group says that a new “government of national unity” should take power, to be chaired by the President of the Supreme Court and to include “proven personalities with no political links,” and members of the Academy of Athens. Those terms would, however, also seem to exclude Golden Dawn as it has 18 Members of Parliament.
Sounding like the Third Reich that Golden Dawn admires, the reservists said they were protecting the “motherland” from its “enemies”, the group calls on “all Greeks regardless of their political beliefs to show up with a Greek flag at Syntagma Square to demand the restoration of our national sovereignty”.
The group said it wanted the immediate suspension of Greece’s deal with the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) and the bailouts that are all keeping Greece from totally collapsing, and for a ban on all politicians now in office from staying in offfice.
The reservists also want all illegal immigrants shipped out of the country, one of the main tenets of Golden Dawn and said that the armed forces along with “security forces” would take over Greece.
The reservists appeared in uniform last October to protest the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country fits most of the bill to save Greece but who has insisted on big pay cuts, tax hikes, slashed pensions and public worker firings in return.
Greek Reporter
What Golden Dawn Believes In
By Maria Arkouli on September 26, 2013 in Media, News, Politics, Racism, Society
The statute of the Golden Dawn adopts military hierarchy and a secret separate structure for hit squads, referring to the respective features of Adolf Hitler’s NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party).
The statute, which was revealed by the Greek journal “Efimerida ton Syntakton”, shows the military hierarchy of the organization, as well as the fact that all decisions are taken by a rigidly centralized model, with the leader being on top.
The “Bible” of Golden Dawn was written in 1987, it is small-sized and stamped with the organization’s emblem, in red color.
Golden Dawn’s principles are similar to those of the NSDAP, and its concept of racial purity. The uncompromising ideology is National Socialism and its historic examples, with Hitler’s Germany being the “most brilliant.”
The indisputable leader is the National Socialist Leader, who is the “Normative Authority, the interpreter of our blood’s secret voice.”
The People’s Association is the “political expression” of the organization, responsible for ensuring its domination.
Golden Dawn’s structure is extremely complex, with six directories divided into sections, according to the established activities of the party:
– Department of Racial Research
– Department of Training of the Members
– Department of Defense Core Organization Golden Dawn’s “administrative” hierarchy coincides with the military structure required for the action of the People’s Association, while the organizational hierarchy is limited to the simple propagandist activities of Golden Dawn.
GR
Golden Dawn Recruiting Young Greek Students By Margarita Papantoniou on September 26, 2013 in Education, News, Politics, Society
It seems that the Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has invaded Greek schools, as it is attempting to recruit young students, while several teachers talk about groups of out-of-school individuals who try to recruit minor boys and girls in order to staff the organization’s hit squads.
The situation at schools seems to be out of control, as teachers reveal that they are receiving threats by older students, who even want to have higher grades, as reported in the Greek newspaper To Ethnos.
The students that are recruited by the neo-Nazi party usually target foreign or anti-fascist classmates of theirs and in many cases beat them up. For example, a student at a Lyceum in Rethymno, on the island of Crete, was attacked and beaten up by his classmates who are supporters of Golden Dawn, because he went to an anti-fascist rally, while the teachers’ intervention was necessary to put an end to the beating.
Golden Dawn members usually choose children from lower social classes, who manifest an aggressive attitude and brainwash them, telling them that they can become masters of the school, while they use as an example Golden Dawn MP’s and major officials who are well-known for their activity.
Golden Dawn members have the best chances to recruit minor students when their parents are unemployed, because they can easily turn them against immigrants.
The way that Golden Dawn members prefer to recruit students is by distributing leaflets outside schools or through the social media frequently used by students, such as Facebook.
Teachers on their side, are afraid to denounce certain incidents, because they are afraid of reprisals, while there are individual cases of teachers who support Golden Dawn.
GR
Papoulias to Award DIAS Group Policewoman By Nicky Mariam Onti on September 25, 2013 in News
The President of the Greek Republic, Karolos Papoulias, is going to award the young policewoman from the DIAS group who arrested the alleged killer of Pavlos Fyssas in Keratsini, Giorgos Roupakias, the 45-year-old Golden Dawn, neo-Nazi member.
Papoulias, made an official announcement on September 24 that next week he will invite 24-year-old Aggeliki, in order to honor her “because such good examples should be highlighted.”
People were touched by her courageous and instantaneous reaction. The young woman, despite her little experience in the DIAS group and her colleagues’ delayed intervention, immobilized Roupakias by placing her gun on his back and then handcuffed him. Shortly after this incident, she returned to 34-year-old Pavlos, and remained by his side till he passed away.
Golden Dawn Support Plummets After Killing By Andy Dabilis on September 23, 2013 in Crime, News, Politics
After soaring as high as 12 percent and more in polls, support for the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party dropped 2.5 percent in the immediate aftermath of the killing of an anti-fascist on Sept. 18, for which a party member was charged Golden Dawn, which rose from an obscure 0.29 percent showing in 2009 to get 6.97 percent in the 2012 elections on the back of its anti-immigrant stance and opposition to austerity measures the government is imposing on the orders of international lenders, is now at only 5.8 percent, down from 8.3 percent on Sept. 15, according to a survey taken by the agency Rass for the Eleftheros Typos newspaper, Most Greeks – 77.8 percent – said they believe Golden Dawn was involved in the killing, while only 13.5 percent said no and 57.6 percent said the party threatens democracy.
Golden Dawn rose from being a fringe party with 0.29 percent of the vote in 2009 to win 18 seats in the assembly in the June 2012 elections with 6.97 percent.
It had been soaring in polls before a rampage of violence blamed on the party, including assaults on immigrants and Communists and rants against Capitalists, bankers, Jews, gays, foreigners and anyone else deemed an enemy of the party or not 100 percent Greek with a lineage to prove it.
Asked to describe the party, 47.5 of respondents called it a “fascist organization,” 30.7 percent called it a “criminal organization under the guise of a political party,” and 16.9 percent described it as a “populist nationalist movement”.
Meanwhile, authorities are intensifying their investigation and attempts to rein in the extremists and said they’ve identified 10 more party members as part of their probe into the stabbing death of Pavlos Fyssas on Sept. 18 after an altercation at a taverna where people were watching a Greek team play a European league soccer match.
Giorgos Roupakias, who authorities said belongs to Golden Dawn, was remanded in custody over the weekend while waiting a further court appearance. He said he regretted the killing.
The names of the Golden Dawn members’ linked to the killing of Fyssas were discovered following a probe of the suspect’s phone records.
A Piraeus prosecutor also authorized an investigation into the phone records of several more Golden Dawn members, including the head of the party’s Nikaia branch in southeastern Attica.
A decision regarding Roupakias’ transfer to a local prison was expected on Sept. 22, after the chief of Korydallos Prison refused to accept him after he was remanded in custody over the weekend, citing security reasons.
Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias also proposed legislation that could block state funding for Golden Dawn if authorities find connections to the murder.
Dendias proposed a law that would not allow funding to parties if their leader or more than a tenth of their lawmakers are charged with a felony carrying a 10-year jail term. Golden Dawn, which remains Greece’s third most popular party, has denied involvement.
GR
Confidential Report on German War Reparations By Maria Korologou on September 22, 2013 in Economy, History, News, Politics
The Sept 22 front page of the newspaper Realnews reveals a secret report issued by the General Accounting Office of Greece concerning Berlin’s debts to Greece and the occupation loan under the title “Miss Merkel, here is the proof.”
According to the outcome, the claim for war reparations for World War I and II has remained pending by the Greek state for many decades.
Until today, Germany hasn’t paid reparations to individuals whose properties were destroyed during World War II.
In addition, according to what Realnews reveals, no sum has been given by Germany for the performance of Greece’s claims regarding the repayment of the occupation loan.
In particular, it occurs that for the requirements of World War II the following have been paid:
-115,000,000 DM for provisions in favor of Greeks harmed by National Socialist prosecution measures.
-4,800,000 DM of reparations for removed tobacco.
-A percentage of at least 0.93 percent for reparations which fall in category I (Paris Agreement of 1946-Part A).
In total from the beginning of the occupation until the end of it, the Bank of Greece gave the occupation authorities 1,618,001,572,837,299 drachmas in form of occupancy costs and credits.
This sum does not include the value of reserve assets “ripped” from the Bank of Greece by the German army during their departure with a total value of 634,962,891,995,162 drachmas
GR
Golden Dawn’s Percentages Drop after Fyssas’ Killing By Maria Korologou on September 22, 2013 in News, Politics
A new Metron-Analysis poll for the newspaper Ethnos tis Kiriakis records a marginal difference in favor of SYRIZA which gathers a 19.8 percent in voting intention against the 19.6 percent of Samaras’s New Democracy.
In voting intention, PASOK gets 4.8 percent, Independent Greeks 3.6 percent, Golden Dawn 7.8 percent, the Communist Party 4.6 percent and Democratic Left 3.2 percent.
SYRIZA comes first in voting assessment, too, with 28.7 percent in comparison with the 28.3 of ND. Golden Dawn follows with 11.2 percent, PASOK with 7 percent, Independent Greece with 5.2 percent, the Communist party with 6.7 percent and Democratic Left with 4.7 percent.
To the question concerning the most suitable Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras (ND) came first with 32 percent followed by Alexis Tsipras (SYRIZA) with 15 percent. Evangelos Venizelos gathered 3 percent, Panos Kammenos (Independent Greeks) 2 percent, Nikos Michaloliakos (Golden Dawn) also 2 percent and Fotis Kouvelis (Democratic Left) 3 percent
GR
Informants Reveal Golden Dawn’s Hit Squads By Andy Dabilis on September 22, 2013 in Crime, Economy, News, Politics
As a member of Golden Dawn charged with stabbing to death a 34-year-old anti-fascist after a taverna altercation was telling a court he regretted what he did, it was reported that three former members of the neo-Nazis have told authorities the party’s leader personally oversaw hit squads given free rein to attack immigrants and other targets.
The newspaper Kathimerini said that according to sources it didn’t name that one of the three has already spoken to the media anonymously and described the strict chain of command within the party and the paramilitary nature of its activities, which included attacks on migrants and leftists.
According to his allegations, party MPs and Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos approved any raids carried out by the group’s roaming gangs, which usually attacked only when it had huge adds in their favor, 30 or 40 of them against one or a few victims.
Revelations of the party’s infrastructure are being revealed in the aftermath of the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, 34, for which Giorgos Roupakias has been charged.
Conflicting stories about the incident continued to emerge. Police said Roupakis was called to the scene of the confrontation by Golden Dawn members at the cafe who wanted superior numbers to go after Fyssas and several of his friends and that the alleged killer pulled a knife after being unable to get the advantage of the victim physically.
Now, however, Roupakias insisted that he was not part of a group that attacked Fyssas and his friends in the neighborhood of Amfiali, near Piraeus. He claimed that he had been leaving a cafe in the area and was attacked as he attempted to get into his car. He said he used a knife to defend himself.
Witness statements contradict this claim, saying that Roupakias saw Fyssas being attacked, stopped his car, got out and stabbed him. Witnesses also report that another man was in the car with Roupakias but that he ran away as police arrived.
Roupakias also claimed that he had a “loose” association with Golden Dawn, which contradicts evidence given by his wife and photos of him at party events, which have been published since the murder.
Police are also examining his phone records, which show he was contacted several times shortly before the stabbing.“I’ve destroyed two households,” Roupakias, a father of two, is reported to have told the magistrate.
The government has decided to increase the legal pressure on Golden Dawn and is set to make adjustments to two articles of the criminal code. Article 187, which relates to criminal organizations, is likely to be made stricter so offenses carry a 10- to 20-year jail sentence. Article 195, relating to armed gangs, will carry jail terms of two to five years under the government’s plans.
GR
Clashes Between Riot Police and LARKO Workers By Christina Flora on September 20, 2013
The rally of the Larco General Mining and Metallurgical Company workers ended with seven arrests and three injured protesters. The protest took place at the interchange of Martino on the National Road Athens –Lamia, when there were clashes between the riot police and the protesters.
The workers’ rally was in process and there was a few-minute disruption of the traffic in order for the MP’s and the trade unionists to give their speeches, when some of the protesters attempted to block both sides of the road breaking the cordon put up by the police, who responded with chemicals and flash- bang grenades
The standoff lasted 15 minutes and ended with stone throwing . Three protesters were injured and taken to Larco’s treatment room.
Both roads of the highway were freed up shortly before 2 p.m., but the atmosphere in the region remained tense for a long time.
According to information, a meeting has been organized for tonight, where except for the employees, residents of the villages around the factory are also invited to participate
Greece: poll,Golden Dawn popularity down after rapper murder
25 September, 14:44
(ANSAmed) – ATHENS, SEPTEMBER 25 – The popularity of extremist Golden Dawn has fallen following the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old rapper Pavlos Fyssas by a one of the party’s members on September 17, a new opinion poll shows. The survey, as Kathimerini online reports, was conducted by Alco on behalf of www.newsit.gr during the September 20-23 period. Golden Dawn garnered 6.8% in the Alco poll, compared to 10.8% recorded in a previous poll conducted by the company last June. Eighty-one percent of participants believed Golden Dawn was not a democratic party, 69% felt it carried Nazi ideology while 74% thought that a series of violent incidents that took place across the country in the last few weeks were part of an organized plan. According to the Alco survey, 39% of Golden Dawn voters said their ballot choice had been a reaction toward the country’s established political system, while 21% stated they considered Golden Dawn a Nazi party and their vote reflected this. (ANSAmed).