The rise of Golden Dawn and the threat they pose

The rise of fascist or semi fascist and racist ideas is on the rise right across Europe and something all on the left should take note of and wake up to in my view. With the likes of UKIP on the rise in Britain who are not out and out fascists but are certainly unpredictable and leaning more and more right by the week dragging political discourse in this country with it it would seem we should all start to wake up to a real threat of collapsing traditional political parties and emergences of new reactionary often racist but verging on the very real threat of openly fascist organisations and politically motivated groups too right across Europe today. Below I republish a excellent article about a recent murder in Greece by the Golden Dawn who are out and out neo Nazi’s in most peoples books now and are actively on the streets attacking political opponents and much much worse and must be confronted head on with the utmost urgency too. With thanks to Yiannis Baboulias "The other night, 34-year-old anti-fascist and left-wing rapper Pavlos Fissas was stabbed to death in Athens while he was surrounded by a group of 30 thugs in Golden Dawn shirts and military trousers. The victim, whose stage name is MC Killah P, had been watching a football match with his girlfriend. The Greek media is reporting that the murder came about after fighting between the fascists and anti-fascists, but according to eyewitnesses there were no clashes. The source – a local woman with no stated political allegiance – said that while Fissas was surrounded by the fascist mob, the murderer pulled up in a car, parked in a hurry, jumped out and attacked him straight away – details that point towards a premeditated attack. Fissas was stabbed twice in the heart, and once in his stomach. He died later in hospital. The murderer was arrested later and confessed to both the murder and the political nature of his act. The same sources allege that a group of police officers at the scene did nothing to stop what was happening – according to the left-wing Athens-based website Left.gr, police told onlookers that they could not intervene because the assailants were “too numerous”. The attacker was eventually arrested by an officer and his car was taken away. Two hundred anti-fascists gathered at the scene later, and calls for protest marches all around Greece were put out. The Golden Dawn claims that the perpetrator isn't a member of their organisation and is threatening anyone who implicates them in the murder with lawsuits. However, police sources have confirmed to Kathimerini newspaper reporter Jean Souliotis that his party membership card was found in the rubbish bin outside his house. According to sources, he is associated with the Piraeus branch of the Golden Dawn. As far as Golden Dawn violence goes, this was an extreme incident but not an isolated one. There seems to have been resurgence in Golden Dawn attacks of late, to the extent that you wonder if this is a calculated strategy to escalate tensions between the far-right party and its political opponents. Late last Thursday night, 30 Greek Communist Party (KKE) members were putting up posters in the streets of Perama, when a group of 50 masked individuals wearing Golden Dawn insignia attacked them with iron bars and wooden sticks with nails through them. Nine KKE members were hospitalised. When I spoke to Sotiris Poulikoyiannis, President of the metalworkers union and one of those attacked, he told me that, “When they came for us, they were shouting, ‘We’re running this place, this harbour is ours.’ They were well prepared and equipped, they had sticks with nails in the end – this wasn’t a random attack. The two people in charge of the group even identified themselves.” It doesn't look like a coincidence that the attack came after a speech by two Golden Dawn MPs in the area. One of them, Yiannis Lagos, told his activist branch, “You choose how you want to move forward, and we’ll back you up." This had echoes of a speech he made last year, after which an attack was unleashed upon some Egyptian fishermen. On both occasions, no charges of incitement to violence were brought against him, and it's unlikely that any will brought against Golden Dawn after Fissas' murder. Curiously, while the Golden Dawn has been ramping up the violence it has also been flirting with relative respectability, by courting New Democracy – the large centre-right party that is in the government at the moment. New Democracy kept schtum about the attack on the communists in the domestic media, only condemning it in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine. Last week, high-profile Greek journalist Babis Papadimitriou asked, “If SYRIZA [a left party] can work with KKE, why can’t a more serious Golden Dawn support a conservative alliance, like what happened in Norway?” Several MPs and advisors have hinted at the possibility of a potential alliance between the centre-right party and the neo-Nazi gang – if only the second would “shape-up”. Though Golden Dawn has attempted, in its own, ham-fisted way, to engage with mainstream political processes – bringing leftists to court for slander, standing in the Athens mayoral election – it seems their idea of “shaping up” doesn't extend to not murdering political opponents in bars. The brother of Nikos Mihaloliakos (leader of the GD) is rumoured to be recruiting heavily from circles of lawyers, businessmen and academics – supposedly upstanding professionals who are a little bit too fond of the Greek Junta and the colonels who overthrew the Greek government in 1967. However, with this latest murder, the Golden Dawn’s dual tactic of shaking the hand of the respectable political classes at the same time as they’re using the other hand to plunge knives into their enemies may finally have come unstuck. The Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Dendias has said the government will look to change the law around criminal organisations, hinting at a ban of the far right-party. Unfortunately, such a change could have implications for radical leftist organisations as well, meaning that the Golden Dawn could drag their foes down with them and mortally wound Greece’s democracy. Which means that, ultimately, they would kind of get things their way after all. " All very worrying indeed I’m sure you would agree. Many of this kind of event is not being covered in the news in Britain but as I’ve said before Britain is a few years behind Greece in terms of the crisis and we should not look on in fascination in what is happening in Greece itch the rapid growth of the far right but with absolute concern and look to learn the lessons. With thanks and extracts from http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/the-golden-dawn-murdered-an-antifascist-rapper-last-night

This weekend don’t let the racist far right EDL shut down Luton!

This Saturday the English Defence League come back to Luton where they claim they were founded but in reality they have been going for years in some form or another be that the national front or the BNP or anything.

It is vital as many anti racists and anti fascists turn out for this counter demonstration as possible to say no to the EDL and to not let them shut down Luton.

Last year was a bit of a farce with the whole town turning into a lock down with all shops and houses in the town centre being bordered up and a complete police shut down you couldn’t get anywhere near the EDL and they couldn’t get to you a huge police cordon was in place. This year we are hoping we can march to St Georges Square which is the main square in the centre of Luton.

The counter demonstration for anyone interested in coming to protest against the EDL will be meeting and assembling at 11 am at the meeting point on Westbourne Road in Luton opposite the mosque there.

We will not be holding a stall or selling papers as this is not the sort of demonstration for tat we need to be proactive and mobile incase anything does kick off. It probably wont do but we need to be ready to move quickly.

It is important we oppose the racist vile EDL with their divisive tactics of dividing the working class. We as socialists take a strong line against racism and have always had a proud strong record on tackling racism. We will confront it wherever it is.

Those new members entering our ranks who may not have pure views to start with are to be educated and brought along not put down at the end of the day we are all workers and need to be trying to unite as a class to take on the ruling class. Whatever race, gender, religion or sexuality you happen to bewe are all workers and we are stronger united. We need to be making the case for a opposition to to austerity bolder and louder in the absense of a mass workers party anda labour movement unwilling to oppose all the cuts and take up the fight against austerity in a big concerted way.

It is left to individual activists to fill the void and offer that alternative. Which must place a emphasis on a mass house building programme of affordable homes and a campaign for decent socailly useful jobs for people. Uniting workers on those lines and fighting for common goals such as jobs and housing is a clear way of cutting across the racist views of the likes of the EDL.

We cannot let far right organisations portray themselves as pro working class or in opposition to what is going on by putting a racist tinge on things. Its not acceptable and this Saturday the local labour movement is going to mobilise the best it can with others joining us from across te regionand beyond to oppose the vicious lies and views of the EDL. We need to send a strong clear message the EDL are not welcome in Luton or any of our towns and their sick racist views are anti working class rather than pro working class they only wish to divide us for their own ends. They will not succeed!