Greek Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn

[JackRiddler]

This topic appears in many threads and since the situation in Greece with this organization and many other developments has entered a new phase, let's give it its own thread.

Yesterday the Greek press was full of panicky rumors about a putsch or coup by the end of this week fronted by "reserve officers." More later if there's sufficient substance on it.

http://www.akny.org/

Insider Blows Open Greek Neo-Nazi Operations

Inside Golden Dawn and
Its “Model Chapter”

We translate an interview with a former member of the Greek neo-Nazi organization, published last week in ETHNOS newspaper, Athens. The insider lays bare the party command structures and tells of organized violence and racketeering activities by its local chapter in the Piraeus district of Nikaia.

UPDATE 9/25: Greek press reporting Golden Dawn has shut down and “emptied out” its offices in Nikaia and one other location, possibly the beginning of a “domino effect.”


Athens and Piraeus. District of Nikaia (pop. 93,000) is east of Salamina (Salamis) island and west of Piraeus, near Keratsini neighborhood where Pavlos Fyssas was assassinated.

INTRODUCTION:

Since the Greek elections of June 2012 a neo-Nazi party known as Golden Dawn has held 18 seats in the country’s parliament. Under its long-time leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the group has been implicated in dozens of organized acts of violence against immigrants, leftists, anarchists, artists, gays and others.

On the evening of September 17, 2013, Pavlos Fyssas, known internationally as the hip-hop artist KillahP, and six of his friends were surrounded by an estimated forty unknown assailants on a street in a neighborhood of Piraeus. Fyssas was stabbed twice, once near the heart and once in the abdomen. He died soon after police arrived to the scene. The police arrested a suspect associated with Golden Dawn, Giorgos Roupakias. Roupakias has admitted to committing the killing. The Golden Dawn leadership has denied any involvement of their party.

In the days that followed, tens of thousands took to the streets in anti-fascist marches and rallies held in Greece, but also in European and U.S. cities. The protesters adopted a defiant slogan from a song by KillahP, “You think I’m scared? As if!” For the first time the Greek government, led by the New Democracy party, opened an investigation into thirty-two cases of violence attributed to Golden Dawn. Since then, two top police officials alleged to have Golden Dawn connections have resigned suddenly due to “personal reasons,” according to the BBC.

In an earlier incident attributed to Golden Dawn in the week before the death of Fyssas, on September 12, an estimated 50 men in helmets and armed with clubs staged a surprise assault on 20 members of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) in the neighborhood of Perama, resulting in the hospitalization of nine victims. On September 20, Ethnos newspaper of Athens published the following interview with an unidentified former member of the Golden Dawn chapter in the Piraeus neighborhood of Nikaia, which is considered the “model” for all other Golden Dawn chapters. The interview is one of the first public accounts of the organization’s internal workings by a former insider. The interviewee implicates Golden Dawn’s Nikaia chapter in both the Fyssas assassination and the Perama attack.

This translation from the Greek is provided by Greece Solidarity Movement (AKNY.org), New York. Interpolations in the original text by Ethnos are in parentheses, those by the translators are in square brackets.

“You think we’re scared? As if!”
GOLDEN DAWN DID BUSINESS WITH… PAKISTANIS?

When did you become a member of Golden Dawn?
I started from the first [public] meeting held by the local chapter in Nikaia, which was called for via Facebook. They said they needed help because some Pakistanis were going to attack their offices in Nikaia. That was the first time I went. I remember it was on a Thursday and I had gone to the office asking how I could sign up. I believed in the ideology that wanted a Greece without illegal immigrants, but I didn’t believe in terrorizing violence and beatings. These are two different things. So, I went and signed up. They even issued me a membership card.
How does one become a member?

Continue reading

[JackRiddler]

http://www.occupyastorialic.org/forum/v ... p=353#p353

AKNY.org Newswire - Greece Solidarity Movement)

Here, by the author Augustine Zenakos, is the best, most detailed journalistic and historical coverage on the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party available online. Extremely well-illustrated and well-documented, it is must reading, especially for any well-intentioned Greek-Americans who might be lured in by this party's false image as simple nationalists who are just looking to help fight austerity and do good by their compatriots.

REPORT: GOLDEN DAWN, 1980-2012.
THE NEONAZIS’ ROAD TO PARLIAMENT
OCTOBER 25, 2012 | AUGUSTINE ZENAKOS

See full article at Reports From The Edge of Borderline Democracy (http://www.borderlinereports.net).
http://borderlinereports.net/2012/10/25 ... parliament

Here is a downloadable PDF version (22 pages, 41 with comments).
http://www.akny.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... to2012.pdf

[JackRiddler]

Mass mail with summary of Greek news and call to protest at United Nations tomorrow, Friday 9/27. Too lazy to include the many hyperlinks. They're about the first 10 items on http://www.AKNY.org. But definitely see the Pavlos Fyssas international protests photo album at

http://www.akny.org/2013/09/friday-at-u ... os-fyssas/

Dear Friends,

AKNY-Greece Solidarity Movement has called an anti-fascist and anti-austerity protest for tomorrow, Friday 9/27, from 5-7 pm at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (East 47th Street and Second Avenue) near the Greek Mission to the United Nations. This will be at the same time that the Greek government's junior leader, Venizelos, is due to speak to the United Nations General Assembly.

You may be aware of the continuing developments in Greece. Since the assassination of anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fyssas (a.k.a. internationally as the hip-hop artist Killah P) during an attack on him and a few friends by a gang of 30-40 neo-Nazis last week, every day has brought stunning news. The country appears to be on the brink. Monday this week the University of Athens administration announced a total and indefinite shutdown of all university activities due to budget cuts by the government, under the "Memoranda" imposed together with the EU-led "Troika" who control Greece's international debts. We should not need to underline what this means for thousands of students who can't get their diplomas in a country with 2/3 youth unemployment!

For more information, please see our Protest Statement, which lays out the ways in which the neo-liberal "center is imposing policies and language that fuel neo-Nazi practices" and how "government and Golden Dawn have become allies in the war against the left, against democracy." (Statement also in Eλληνικα, and as PDF leaflet in English and Ελληνικα.) Please also see the Facebook invite, our Petition to stop Nazi violence, the Petition in support of striking teachers, and other important articles on the present situation at http://www.AKNY.org and on AKNY Facebook page -- including a translation of an interview with a former Golden Dawn insider who lays bare the group's organized criminality and violent workings.

Background:

Pavlos Fyssas (Killah P) was stabbed to death last week by a member of Golden Dawn during an assault on Fyssas and six of his friends by 30-40 men in helmets who appear to have been members of the Golden Dawn "attack battalion," which was headquartered in the Greater Athens district of Nikaia (again, see the interview). Tens of thousands took to the streets in anti-fascist marches in Greece, with solidarity actions internationally throughout Europe, in France, the UK, Spain, Cyprus and Sweden. (For an idea, please see the photo album.) The murder was followed by a series of huge revelations about the neo-Nazis' use of organized "attack battalions" in the killing of Fyssas and in the earlier attack on members of the Greek Communist Party KKE in the neighborhood of Perama, as well as in the dozens of cases of Golden Dawn violence against immigrants, gays, anarchists, leftists, artists, and many others.

Since then, top police officials allegedly associated in giving protection to Golden Dawn have resigned suddenly for "personal reasons." Golden Dawn is losing support and has begun to shut down offices, including the one in Nikaia, but also appears to be going underground and preparing to bring about a "nightmare," according to one of their leading figures. Yesterday, bizarre rumors of an imminent military coup d'etat circulated throughout the Greek press. This may be a hoax, or an empty boast by a group of "reserve officers" as they are calling themselves, but the media response and willingness to take it seriously are telling.

Meawhile there have been strikes against the latest and once again brutal round of austerity cuts, both by teachers and public workers. And again, shockingly, the administration of the University of Athens announced an immediate and indefinite shut-down of all academic activities, stating that they were no longer able to sustain any activity due to budget cuts by the New Democracy-PASOK government.

[JackRiddler]

Golden Dawn leadership, Nikaia management arrested in several raids.

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/0 ... -arrested/

19 arrests so far of MPs and members of the Nikaia branch where the "attack battalion" involved in Fyssas murder and assault on KKE in Perama was headquartered, including Lagos and Patelis, chief of that. 300 GDers protesting outside police HQ. Unclear how parliamentary immunity applies, see article.

House of Michaloliakos raided, police say they found:

1 pistol, 1 revolver, q hunting rifle without license (sic)

a big number of bullets and cartridges

43,100 euro in cash

[JackRiddler]

Live Blogging: Greece’s Golden Dawn Leader Michaloliakos, several MPs arrested

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

In a huge operation launched by judicial authorities and police, Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos, party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris and several other MPs have been arrested on Saturday morning. Greek media report that a total of 36 arrest warrants against MPs and local branches officials have been issued.

The operation started in the early morning hours of Saturday with the arrest of Michaloliakos, the arrest of Kasidiaris followed. Operation is continuing.

The recent investigation against the extreme-right party has reportedly found “solid evidence for the establishment of a criminal organization”, which is a felony.

In case of a felony the parliamentary immunity of MPs is automatically lifted and there is not reason for a voting in the Parliament.

11:02 am

Arrested so far:

Nikos Michaloliakos GD general secretary (leader)

Ilias kasidiaris GD spokesman

MP Giannis Lagos

MPs Ilias Panagiotaros, Giorgos Germenis surrender to police headquarters and were arrested.

Head of GD Nikaia branch Giorgos Patelis (the area where leftist rapper Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed to death on September 17, 2013.

11:09 am

GD website called its supporters to react in solidarity with the members’ arrest.

GD website was apparently down some minutes ago.

Unconfirmed information claims that GD members are heading to Greek police headquarters (GADA) in Alexandras Avenue (Ambelokipoi district of Athens) to express solidarity.

11:20 am

So far there have been 14 arrests (MPs and other GD members).

Authorities still seek MPs Pappas and Michos.

Golden Dawn has 18 MPs in the Parliament.

There is information that two active policemen are among the GD arrested members.

11:25 am

The charges as of prosecutor of Greece’s Supreme Court:

establishment of criminal organization

still to be investigated:

- whether the GD leadership and MPs were involved in the murder of Pavlos Fyssas.

- money laundering

Supreme Court prosecutor has reportedly collected “incriminating information and evidence” from phone calls, testimonies and through the surveillance bugs of Greece’s Intelligence Service EYP.

11:30 am

On Friday morning the department director in charge of Golden Dawn surveillance within the EYP was suspended from his duty.

It was found out that he was a cousin of a GD MP. He was assigned to this post a year ago. (Golden Dawn entered the Parliament with June 2012 elections)

The man, whose name was not published, was allegedly also involved in the operation of “abduction” of several Pakistani men in 2005 in connection with terror attacks in London.

The state never admitted there was such incident.

12:03 am

Some 300 Golden Dawn members outside police headquarters chanting slogans.

12: 07

fugitive GD MP Christos Pappas on Real FM: ” I ​​move freely. I did not see anyone. The occupation government makes unprecedented criminal charges against deputies and time will come where it will have to answer in front of the people . This government is a criminal organization that in cooperation with the troika destroys the homeland. Antonis Samaras is trying to plunge the country into chaos and civil war . This will not happen . ”

12:39

so far arrested: 4 GD MPs, GD leader Michaloliakos, 9 GD members from Nikaia branch

13:10

17 arrested so far. All accused of involvement in a criminal organization. Still on the run MPs Pappas and Michos.

A growing number of GD members have gathered outside the police HQ in solidarity with the arrested after several Golden Dawn websites called them to do so.

13:15

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due to leave Athens for USA today. Not clear if he will make a statement on the Golden Dawn crack down.

13:20

The arrest of GD leader Nikos Michaloliakos occurred at 6:30 am at his home.

The arrest was followed by an extensive home research by the counter-terrorism department.

Media report that three pistols were allegedly found in the home of GD leader, with Michaloliakos being unable to justify whether he was in legitimate possession of the pistols and when he got them from.

13:30

Investigation Findings

Offenses against Golden Dawn members, according to the 9-page findings of Supreme Court prosecutor:

- establishment of criminal organization

- money laundering

- bribery

The 9-page findings report refers back to the course of a criminal organization consisting of members of Golden Dawn.

Testimonies and lifting the telephone privacy apparently give solid evidence for the offenses.

“Chief of the organization is Nikos Michaloliakos, Christos Pappas is deputy chief,” says the findings report.

GD members apparently refered to Michaloliakos with “Führer Prinzip” ( “Führer” German attribute to Hitler; “Führer Prinzip” English “Leader principle” according to which the whole organization has only one leader).

MPs Kasidiaris and Lagos belonged to the “hard core” of the organization.

Strong evidence is being reportedly given by the phone surveillance of GD politicians and members who allegedly spoke on the phone of specific facts, persons, things and situations.

There are apparently also other people – not GD members- involved in the organization.

Private Skai TV reported of “upcoming arrests of businessmen who supported Golden Dawn with money.”

Yesterday, Greek media had claimed that “businessmen who were supporting GD with money were members of the entertainment sector.”

13:42

Leaving his office to head to the Athens airport, Prime minister Antonis Samaras did not make any statement but briefly told reporters “Justice, stabilization, no elections.” (Skai TV)

13:44

Skai TV reported that the lawyer of Fyssas’ murderer visited police headquarters in order to speak with one of the arrested. Not clear if the lawyer of Giorgos Roupakias will speak with someone from GD leadership or Nikaia branch members.

When Roupakias was arrested immediately after stabbing Fyssas to death, Greek media reported that local GD officials pretended they had nothing to do with him and that Roupakias was just simple member.

14:02

Media report that Roupakias’s lawyer will defend arrested MP Panagiotaros.

14:13

Police seized in Nikos Michaloliakos home:

1 pistol, 1 revolver, q hunting rifle without license

a big number of bullets and cartridges

43,100 euro in cash

Personal Computers, USBs.

15:00

MPs arrests: Parliamentary issues, elections

Arrested Members of the Parliament are not automatically deprived of their parliamentary mandate, even if are charged with felony offenses.

According to the definition given by Parliament statute and the Constitution, the MPs of Golden Dawn retain his parliamentary status even after their arrest .

The MPs lose their mandate only if there is a Justice decision to deprive them of their civil rights, a decision that normally follows a court sentence.

Speaking to news portal zougla.gr, lawyers explained that when it comes to a criminal organization , especially the leader but also the members face prison terms of 10 to 20 years.

“When it comes to felony, parliamentary immunity is being bypassed. Participation in a criminal organization is a felony. However, what evidence the prosecutor has and how the prosecutor will proceed, we do not know. We must be cautious,” a legal adviser said.

Two days ago, Golden Dawn had threatened to resign from Parliament in order to trigger early elections. Should the 18 GD MPs resign repetition elections will be held only in 15 constituencies.

However, before the repetition elections also those GD politicians on ‘second-best” election lists should not accept the Parliamentary mandate.

15:02

Golden Dawn MP Nikos Michos surrender to police short before 3 o’ clock. Michos first joined the GD members who had gathered outside police HQ in solidarity with the arrested GD leadership, greeted them and then entered the police building.

A warrant has been issued also for GD MP, Christos Pappas. He has not been caught yet.

15:30

Some media claim of “upcoming search in the Parliament offices of Golden Dawn” due to suspicion MP Pappas might have sought refugee there.

15:50

Embedded image permalink

Solidarity without Golden Dawn symbols: 400-500 GD members still outside the headquarters of Greek police where the political leadership of the party and officers of local branches are held.

The cadres, much fewer than thought, carry Greek flags instead of Golden Dawn symbols. Neither do they wear the famous GD t-shirts.

16:08

Police investigation in the Golden Dawn offices at the first floor of the Greek Parliament was launched some minutes ago.

16:31

So far 19 people arrested, arrest warrants for another 13 Golden Dawn members not fulfilled yet.

Unconfirmed information claim MP Christos Pappas has contacted anti-terror police in order to surrender. He is allegedly expect to surrender in soon.

16:35

“”I’m proud of my father, as any child whose father is a victim of political persecution, should be. Nothing scares us,” daughter of GD leader Michaloliakos, Ourania, told the media after visiting police headquarters in Athens.

A couple of days ago and right after the judicial authorities started to move against Golden Dawn, Ourania Michaloliakos uploaded a message on social media calling “Golden Dawn members to die for the cause.”

16:40

Greek police issued a statement (16:33) saying that GD MP Giorgos Germenis is currently in police headquarters but that he was not arrested.

16:57

Nikos Michaloliakos and the rest of Golden Dawn MPs and members are expected to be soon transferred from police headquarters to Evelpidon court.

18:15

The transfer of the arrested Golden Dawn leader, several MPs and local branch members from police headquarters to Evelpidon court is expected to start soon.

Among the 19 arrested is also an active policeman of the motorcycled DIAS units.

13 more warrant orders have been issued, MP Christos Pappas, alleged deputy chief of the ‘criminal organization’ has not surrender yet.

None of the arrested had apparently any contact to lawyers but they were informed about the offenses.

Media report that six squads of riot police have taken place outside the police HQ in order to safeguard the transfer of the 19 arrested.

18:55

Transfer to court to start within seconds…

Minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection is expected to make a statement around 8 p.m. tonight.

+++++ END OF LIVE BLOGGING +++++
- See more at: http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/0 ... NV2K4.dpuf

[cptmarginal]

In a huge operation launched by judicial authorities and police, Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos, party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris and several other MPs have been arrested on Saturday morning. Greek media report that a total of 36 arrest warrants against MPs and local branches officials have been issued.

Greek neofascist MP slaps leftist MP in the face live on TV



"Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris was apparently provoked when his alleged involvement in an armed robbery was mentioned"

[cptmarginal]

My point was really just that Crowley's ideas probably have zero to do with this Greek political party (although I find the choice of name suggestive as well) and that I don't think Crowley's estate has anything to do with the 19th century group's legacy.

I do think that a violent fascist MP who's been involved in armed robberies is probably hooked into a Gladio-style underground organized crime network hidden in the secret services of Greece and also the surrounding region. And that there may very well be a sinister esoteric-styled organization in Greece that his Golden Dawn party is the public face of (like, say, Italy's Ordine Nuovo and how such a group compares to a later official neo-fascist political party such as Tricolour Flame.) But personally, I doubt that any secret order (or whatever) might be underneath the ugly official veneer of the Golden Dawn party would be too interested in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn or Thelema. No, I'd bet they've got some freaky Nazi-influenced pseudo-chivalric shit going on instead.

A free copy of NATO's Secret Armies by Daniel Ganser can easily be found via Google, and includes a chapter titled "The secret war in Greece"

http://is.gd/eMc7b9

[seemslikeadream]

The Golden Dawn Murder Case, Larry Summers and the New Fascism
Monday, 07 October 2013 09:03
By Greg Palast, Truthout | News Analysis

On September 18, hip-hop artist Pavlos Fyssas, aka Killah P, was stabbed outside a bar in Keratsini, Greece.
Larry Summers has an airtight alibi. But I don't believe it.
Larry didn't hold the knife: The confessed killer is some twisted little fuckwit member of Golden Dawn, a political party made up of skinhead freaks, anti-immigrant fearmongers, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Albanian sociopaths and ultra-patriot crazies. Think of it as the Tea Party goes Greek.
Following Fyssas' killing, other groups of dangerous psychopathic misfits, namely the European Union and Greece's governing coalition, moved to ban Golden Dawn.
Over the weekend, Greece's rulers arrested six members of Parliament who belong to Golden Dawn. Apparently, Greece's political leaders prefer democracy as defined by Egypt's General Sisi.
To my friends on the Greek left: It's sickening to watch you cheer the arrest of Golden Dawn parliamentarians. Mark my words: You are next.
Listen up:
My investigation reveals that behind the banning of Golden Dawn, besides the usual European distaste for democracy, is something far more sinister: The ruling parties are distracting the public from their own involvement in the crime.
The rise in violence and hate crimes is no surprise. The official unemployment rate in Greece is 28 percent, and over 60 percent among young men. No wonder desperate youths are wrapping batons in Greek flags and beating immigrants: When people are pressed to the wall, they hunt for their tormentors - and too often find their fellow victims to blame.
Economic devastation breeds fascism. In the 1930s, the hungry and angry sought relief in hyper-patriotism, racism and pogroms. In the 1980s Reagan recession in the United States, when factories shut down in the Midwest, the hopeless unemployed joined right-wing skinhead cults and went on a killing rampage - beginning with the murder of Jewish journalist Alan Berg and ending with the bombing of a government building in Oklahoma, killing 168.
Vultures Over Athens
Golden Dawn is a symptom of the nation's illness, not its cause. Unfortunately, the brown-shirts go after easy targets - Pakistanis, Gypsies, Africans, whoever is different and easy to whack. It's a lot easier to stab a hip-hop artist than it is to go after a hedge-fund shark.
The real culprits behind the suffering are well camouflaged. So let me name some: In Greece, we begin with billionaires Kenneth Dart and Paul "The Vulture" Singer.
Dart and Singer bought up Greek government bonds for pennies on the dollar. While the holders of 97 percent of Greek bonds agreed to accept a loss of 75 percent of their value, Dart and Singer demanded several hundred percent more than they paid. Then Dart and Singer threatened the dead-broke Greek government. If Greece did not pay this ransom, Dart and Singer would declare Greek bonds in default. Every bank in Europe holding these government debts as reserve funds would face technical bankruptcy; the value of government bonds worldwide would implode in value; and the entire hemisphere would face a new financial collapse.
It was financial terrorism, and the Greek government gave in. It paid the full ransom demanded. Dart grabbed over half a billion dollars ($513 million) from the Greek treasury - and only the gods know how much Singer has pocketed.
How was this vulture food paid for? With "austerity" - tightening a belt that's already not much bigger than its buckle. To pay Singer and Dart, the Greek government announced it would fire 15,000 workers.
What's sick is that the ruling coalition (or misruling coalition) does not say this is to cover the payoffs to the vultures. Rather than stand up to these financial terrorists, the government blames their victims, pointing to its own citizens as lazy and greedy who must be punished. The victims' punishment is called "austerity."
The Austerity Fairy Tale
My children often ask me, "Daddy, where does 'austerity' come from?" And I tell them:
Once upon a time, there was a good fairy named John Maynard Keynes. He wanted to stop depressions, financial crises and suffering, so he conceived of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He said, 'When a nation's foreign exchange earnings drop (say, if the price of oil rises or Greek tourism falls because its currency is overvalued), the countries taking the poor nations' money, rich countries like Germany and the United State, would lend it back via the IMF.
By this rule, the rich lending to the poor, the world prospered and lived happily ever after . . . until the 1980s, when a wicked witch, known as the Iron Lady, and America's gaga grandpa, Reagan of the Rich, insisted that the IMF and the World Bank beat poor nations with a stick called, "structural adjustment."
Nations facing destitution because of higher oil costs, currency imbalance or predatory interest rate demands were "structurally adjusted." Structural adjustment is a cruel and debilitating potion of mass firings of public employees, cheap sell-offs of national assets and deregulation of corporate profiteering. This ripping the wings off the better angels of government is called, "austerity."
The good fairy Keynes had warned about this evil potion, this snake oil called "austerity." Cutting government spending during a recession, he said, will only make things worse.
And that's what happened: In every single case, the "adjusted" nations' economies were devastated.
Structural adjustment reached its cruel apotheosis in the early 1990s under the guidance of the World Bank's chief economist, one Larry Summers.
But then, in 1997, Summers' post was taken by Professor Joseph Stiglitz.
In 2001, I met Stiglitz whom I'd heard was quietly expressing grave doubts about austerity and structural adjustment à la Summers. He agreed to go public. Over several hours of discussion, which I recorded for BBC TV, Stiglitz charged that IMF-imposed austerity was " a little like the Middle Ages. When the patient died, they would say, well, we stopped the bloodletting too soon; he still had a little blood in him."
Stiglitz detailed for me the ill effects of the "structural adjustment" demands, including "free" trade, which he likened to the Opium Wars; bank deregulation, which he found ludicrously dangerous; privatization, which Stiglitz called "briberization"; and budget-cutting austerity.
The budget cuts and free-market nostrums, Stiglitz told me, were as cruel as they were stupid. And he said of those who profited off these IMF diktats, "They don't care if people live or die."
Stiglitz went on to win the Nobel Prize in economics for his skepticism of Markets über Alles.
So how, a decade after austerity, briberization and all their cruelties were exposed and discredited, did Greece (and Spain, and Portugal and too many others) end up under austerity's bloody grip?
To begin with, in 2000, Larry Summers, as US treasury secretary, successfully demanded the World Bank fire Stiglitz and purged the bank and IMF of austerity apostasy.
Why? Austerity may fail the public, but it's damn profitable for those on the inside.
All you need is a riot and a few dead bodies.
The IMF Riots
Among Stiglitz's stunning revelations to me was his description of "the IMF riot." I showed him confidential World Bank and IMF plans for the nation of Ecuador. These included what seemed to be a warning to that nation's finance minister that austerity could lead to violence in the streets, "social unrest"- which the World Bank recommended be crushed with "resolve." In Ecuador, "resolve" meant tanks.
Did the IMF really write the riots into the plans?
Yes, Stiglitz said, matter-of-factly. "We had a name for it: 'The IMF Riot.' "
When a nation is "down and out, [the IMF] takes advantage and squeezes the last pound of blood out of them. They turn up the heat until, finally, the whole caldron blows up."
And that's what we're seeing in Greece. It began in May 2010, when some sick, misguided berserker set fire to a bank in Athens and killed four bank employees. The killings did the trick: The left's protests against insane austerity and banker gangsterism came to a halt.
Still, people could see that the austerity medicine was making Greece ill. So, they put their hopes in a new party, Syriza, which, from nowhere, became the second highest vote-getter in Greece by promising to oppose austerity. Once in office, the faux-left Syriza completely sold out its positions.
That leaves Golden Dawn, although diseased by racism and violently bent, as the only one of Greece's top four parties to stand firm against rabid austerity and the economy being chained like a beaten dog to Germany's currency.
In 2010, the bank burning was used to discredit protests by the left. Today, once again, the Greek government, dancing on its hind legs, begging for a biscuit from German bankers, has used a murder as an excuse to outlaw the only major party dissenting from the austerity suicide pact.
I wish I could say that the reason Golden Dawn is being banned is because of the violent bend of its racist followers. But that's just not what's going on here.
Dimitris Kazakis, the leader of Greece's true progressive party, the United People's Front (EPAM), has spoken out against Golden Dawn's racist violence - and the greater danger of the bogus charges created to arrest members of Parliament. He scolds Greeks, reminding them that this is how the military dictatorship seized power in 1967.
So, who are the real fascists?
Fascism, as defined since the days of Il Duce, is the official combination of government and big business. By that definition, Golden Dawn is the only non-fascist party among Greece's top four. And that is why Golden Dawn has been targeted for elimination.
I hope my fellow progressives will excuse me for not applauding.

[JackRiddler]

deleted because of next post.

[JackRiddler]

Greg Palast is full of shit. That is an incredibly stupid column. I was motivated to write this response and post it in the comments. I will get this out elsewhere today. Thanks for drawing my attention to this pro-Nazi bilge, SLAD.

.

Greg Palast has done great work as a reporter. So it's sad to see his very ill-informed column today, which criticizes the Greek left for "cheering" the Golden Dawn arrests. Palast begins with a serious error. The Greek government has not issued a ban on the Golden Dawn party, as he claims. Furthermore, it's doubtful most of the left would support a party-wide ban, since they are aware it would set a dangerous precedent.

Here are the details of what actually happened, which Palast mangles: Leading members of Golden Dawn have been arrested for organizing a racketeering ring alleged to be responsible for 32 criminal cases. These include 10 homicides and attempted murders. In the case of Pavlos Fyssas, the evidence is compelling that he was assassinated on orders from the party leadership, during an assault on him and six friends by an "attack battalion" of 30-40 men organized out of the G.D. chapter in Nikaia.

After the Fyssas murder, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in anti-fascist marches against the already unstable N.D.-led government. The story of the G.D. "attack battalions" and their history of bloody assaults was exposed extensively in the Greek press, and attention turned to connections between Golden Dawn and the Greek police. The government also came under significant international pressure to act. This forced them to finally arrest the G.D. leadership. But until then this government had tolerated and tacitly sanctioned Golden Dawn's violent activities against immigrants, members of subcultures, and the political opposition.

Of course the government is now seeking to exploit the situation for maximum political gain. They have been highly authoritarian and it is possible, as Palast says all too smugly, that they will escalate their already repressive measures against the left. That is something they appear liable to do in any case. The Golden Dawn arrests are not needed as a prelude for a crackdown on the left. Greek governments have a long history of that.

Palast concludes with the assertion that Golden Dawn is the "only non-fascist" party in Greece because of its nominal opposition to the austerity measures imposed by the government and big business. This shows an incredible ignorance of what the openly neo-Nazi party actually does and how they have served and been tolerated by the austerity coalition.

Greg Palast's career has shown he should investigate more and pontificate less. He might begin to make up for this terrible column by turning his investigative powers on the subject of who actually backs and finances Golden Dawn.

[Wombaticus Rex]

...and how can Palast be so naive as to overlook the business connections Golden Dawn has?

That shit has been documented for over a year now!

Palast & Hedges both shit the bed this year. Thanks for the memories, but go eat some mushrooms and take a year off, guys.

[JackRiddler]

...and how can Palast be so naive as to overlook the business connections Golden Dawn has?

Right. The "attack battalion" action in Perama, a working class district with shipyards, is instructive. G.D. has been trying to worm their way into the docks for a couple of years. The union there has always been dominated by KKE and has been demanding higher wages. The shippers threaten layoffs, so there are workers who dislike the KKE. G.D. parliamentarians (including a couple who were arrested) met with some of these anti-KKE workers and promised to "uproot" and "eliminate" the KKE from Perama. G.D. put a video of this up on their main site. The week before the Fyssas murder, 30 or 40 guys from the Nikaia "attack battalion" wearing helmets and wielding bats studded with nails show up in Perama and assault 20 KKE members who were distributing leaflets for their annual youth festival, hospitalizing nine victims, including the head of the KKE union group. Classic Nazi union-breaking gangster shit!

[seemslikeadream]

edit...waiting for approval of my post by a mod before I post it

[American Dream]

http://threewayfight.blogspot.com/2013/ ... roads.html

Monday, October 07, 2013

Greek fascism at a crossroads

About a week ago -- following the recent murder of antifascist musician Pavlos Fyssas -- Greek police arrested eighteen leading members of the neonazi Golden Dawn party, including party head Nikolaos Michaloliakos, on charges of participating in a criminal gang. A new law was passed cutting off government funding from parties whose parliamentary deputies are being prosecuted. The crackdown also targeted Golden Dawn's allies in the security services, as several high-ranking police officials either resigned or were fired or suspended.


Pavlos Fyssas, antifascist Rapper and left activist was killed by fascists in Piräus - Athens. 19.09.2013.
This photo shows the Red Stuff Antifa store mural in Berlin Kreuzberg.
Photo by Seven Resist.

Fyssas's murder followed years of physical attacks by Golden Dawn members and supporters against immigrants, refugees, leftists, LGBT people, and others -- attacks carried out largely with the state's acquiescence or active support. As I have discussed before, GD has enjoyed a close relationship with the police and has helped create political space for more "moderate" parties to implement their own anti-immigrant policies. A recently reported Financial Crime Unit investigation shows that GD has been funded largely by members of the ruling class, including several ship-owners (in Greece's most successful industry), other businessmen, and Orthodox bishops (major landowners). In return, despite its anti-establishment rhetoric and occasional support for militant workers, Golden Dawn has threatened and attacked labor unions, voted for government subsidies to big business, and, of course, helped deflect popular anger away from the capitalist system and onto dark-skinned immigrants.

So why a state crackdown against Golden Dawn now? Thrasybulus, writing on libcom.org, identifies several factors: massive popular protests at Fyssas's murder, a desire by New Democracy (the conservative party that leads Greece's coalition government) to curb a political rival, and concerns about a potential coup d'etat by GD's friends in the military (as proposed recently by a group of special forces reservists). One commenter suggested that pressure from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (which are pondering a third debt bailout for Greece) may also have been a factor.

Leftist observers disagree on how serious the government's moves are or how severely they will affect Golden Dawn. Jerome Roos of ROAR Magazine writes that "arresting its leaders will undoubtedly cripple Golden Dawn's hierarchical organization and may temporarily paralyze the party's official actions," but Christoph Dreier on the World Socialist Web Site argues that "The court's decision to release leading Golden Dawn officials makes clear that the government's aim was to curb, but not to end Golden Dawn's criminal activities." Both agree that the crackdown is much too limited to uproot the extensive network of Golden Dawn supporters in the state apparatus, including both the police and armed forces.

Even an effective crackdown may have negative consequences. Thrasybulus notes, "If the party is banned out right its anti-systematic standing will only increase with its leader urging supporters to fight on from behind bars. Freed from the pretence of being a respectable party GD hit squads may be given license to increase the violence." And Dreier warns, "the state will seize upon the precedent set by measures against Golden Dawn, including a possible ban on the party, to prepare stepped-up attacks on the democratic rights of the entire population, above all, the working class."

In any case, fascism in Greece extends beyond Golden Dawn alone. In recent weeks, English-language reports have emerged about another Greek neonazi organization, known as Black Lily, which claims to have "a whole platoon of volunteers" fighting in Syria for the Assad government. Brian Whelan on Vice.com reports that Black Lily is part of the European Solidarity Front for Syria (ESFS), an international network of far-right groups that has organized protests in support of the Assad regime. Claiming that "a massive part of the [Syrian] population is of Greek extraction," a Black Lily spokesperson praised the pro-Assad fighters of "heroic Hezbollah" while denouncing "the intoxicated addicts of the mercenary Salafists of Al-Qaeda" and "the expanding global dictatorship of the American-Zionist war machine."

Like other groups in the ESFS network, Black Lily embraces a third positionist version of fascism, emphasizing anti-capitalism and direct action. The Black Lily website features work by national-anarchist Troy Southgate and European New Right theorist Aleksandr Dugin, as well as photos of mystical and "left" fascist forefathers such as Julius Evola, Gregor Strasser, Corneliu Codreanu, and Francis Parker Yockey. The group has also expressed solidarity with the North Korean government and Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez. These affinities set Black Lily apart from Golden Dawn, which upholds a more traditional brand of fascist politics. Black Lily condemns the crackdown against Michaloliakos and his followers but also criticizes Golden Dawn as a "right wing nationalist" effort to "invade [the] Nationalist/National Socialist movement to change the course and to impose its own views."

[JackRiddler]

Published response to Greg Palast on AKNY.org.

Visit the site and check out other stuff, people. Have a look at "Features" in right column, those are the more in-depth articles.

http://www.akny.org/2013/10/greg-palast ... -apologia/