The bell has tolled

The bell has tolled. There can be no more excuses. No more false illusions. No more sitting on the fence. No more complicit silence.

Pavlos Fyssas, an outspoken anti-fascist,  has been murdered in an organised, premeditated attack.

As if I would cry
As if I would get scared
(from the lyrics of one of Fyssas' songs)



The neo-Nazis have shown their true face, the extent of their organisation, the consequences of their messages of division and hate.

The14% who voted for them and brought them into the Greek Parliament; the majority of the Greek population who have remained silent; the rest of Europe that has been pretending that this was not happening; the complicit Greek coalition government that has nurtured and helped the growth of this malignancy. All those who ignored the all too clear signs:

• the Nazi salutes
• the swastika tattoos
• the torch-lit marches at night
• the persecution and hounding of, and violence against unprotected immigrants
• the nightly gang rides on motorbikes looking for victims
• the stabbings
• the proclamations of 'Greece for Greeks only', the giving out of food to Greeks only, the 'Greeks only' blood transfusions
• the xenophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynist, anti-gay messages they have been disseminating
• the disruption of the workings of the Greek Parliament
• the assault of Greek Members of Parliament on Greek television
• the attack on members of the Communist Party last week

The signs have all been here, but it was easier to ignore them, to pretend that they did not exist until a Greek person is murdered.

The government, the police, the legal system have been turning a blind eye to the persecution of the immigrant population considering them third class citizens. They thought they could contain the rise of fascism, hoping to be able to use the fascists against the rise of Syriza and the left. They have been proclaiming that there is no difference between the fascists and Syriza, in an attempt to safeguard votes.

The 14% who voted for the fascists cannot use ignorance as an excuse anymore. They are as much to blame as the government that has been turning a blind eye.

Both have a responsibility to democracy and the country as a whole. We don't want another Weimar Republic.

Pavlos Fyssas has been murdered.


Some facts:

• The man who stabbed Pavlos Fyssas was not present at the cafeteria when Fyssas and friends were watching the football match. He and the rest of the 30-odd members of the neo-Nazi organisation were phoned by those who were at the cafeteria. When the murderer arrived at the scene he asked: 'is this the street I am looking for?' This points to a high degree of organisation by the neo-Nazi group, to an organised network who can be called upon at any point where it is felt they are needed.
• The police stood by watching, doing nothing. When asked to intervene, their response was: 'there are too many of them, what can we do?'
• The woman police officer who intervened in the end, said: 'using a knife is going too far'. The rest was not going too far?
• At the police station witnesses were asked to give their statements while being kept in the same room as the perpetrator.
• The first reaction of the coalition government was that Syriza was to blame - their usual response to the violence of the neo-Nazis, effectively giving them an alibi.
• Tear gas and violence were the police response to people demonstrating and showing their grief on the following day.

The rise of fascism in Greece is a reality that we cannot afford to ignore anymore. First responsibility lies with the coalition government, but I am not holding my breath here: they are too worried about the rise of Syriza  to do anything about this malignancy that is threatening the very fabric of Greek society. Their main concern is to remain in power and the rise of the left is what they perceive as the main threat. Having seen the popular outcry against  the murder of Paulos Fyssas, and concerned about the reactions abroad, they are now making noises about banning the fascist party. Again, I don't hold much hope: Greece has more laws than any country I know, but they are never enforced. Lawlessness and corruption are the order of the day. This won't be any different, particularly given the wide support the fascists enjoy amongst the police force. What is needed are structural changes and the government are not interested in making those: empty rhetoric, filling their pockets and clutching on to power by any means possible, is their game.

It is up to all of us, not just in Greece but throughout the world to say: no more. No fascism in Europe again.




Sources:

Eleutherotypia (including photograph)
ANT1 news

The spectre of fascism is haunting Europe once more

More than 2,000 people queued on Wednesday to receive free food outside the fascists' headquarters in Athens after the neo-Nazi party was banned from conducting the hand-out in Attikis Square.

Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis said that he would not allow the neo-Nazis to use the central Square for its 'Greeks only' event so the venue was switched to the party's offices near Larissis Station. A queue of over 1,000 people snaked its way around the streets one hour before the food distribution was due to begin, and by 6:00 it had swelled to 2,000. Before the handing out of food began, their leader gave a speech declaring that the date was meant to coincide with the anniversary of democracy being restored to Greece after the collapse of the military junta - a dictatorship which the Nazis exalt. 'They are celebrating the so-called anniversary of democracy but in fact they are celebrating the arrival of klpetocracy, scandals and betrayal', he declared. He continued by saying that the food was not  'for blacks, or Pakistanis' and every time he mentioned a nationality or race of people, the supporters booed. From time to time, the black-shirted members of the Nazis would start shouting 'blood, honour', and the name of the party (that I do not want mentioned in this blog) and that would be followed by Nazi salutes.

At the end of this message of hate and division, the handing out of food started, and the people who were queuing had to produce their ID cards to prove that they were Greek.

The police stood by and at no point did they attempt to stop the proceedings.

Greece is being held hostage by a police force that increasingly appears beyond state control, and which has long forsaken its role of protecting citizens from the thugs they now side with. Meanwhile, the government's agenda is increasingly moving to the right, resembling the policies of the Weimar Republic and you can read more about this here .

In the middle of the severe economic, political and social crisis that is engulfing Greece, the neo-Nazi party and their message of hate is quickly gaining influence and power, emerging as the fastest-growing political force in the country.  They won 18 seats in Parliament in the June 2012 elections and had 14% of support in recent polls - a showing comparable to that of Hitler's  National Socialist German Workers' Party in 1930, three years before rising to power and setting the world on course for WWII. Antisemitism, xenophobia, hatred of immigrants, misogyny, homophobia, are at the heart of their vision of the world.




 

It is such an irony that this should be happening in the country that mounted such fierce resistance to fascism during WWII, during which more than 300,000 Greeks were killed.

Fascism is once again rearing its ugly head in Europe, and what are the EU leaders saying or doing about this? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The only thing they seem to care about is that Greece repays its debts. Financial interests are the primary concern, with human rights, democracy and the rule of law totally sidelined. There is no recognition that the problem even exists. Could it be that European leaders realize how deeply implicated they are in the rise of this neo-Nazi group?

Never again, we used to say. We don't say it anymore.

                                                               
                                                                     *   *   *



For more information on how desperate things are for sections of the Greek population go here


Source:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_24/07/2013_511058    (the Greek version of this article is much more detailed)

Living in a state of fear

Fear is one of the predominant emotions if one lives in Greece at the moment. Fear of losing one's job, if one is lucky enough to have one; fear of not being able to make ends meet; fear of not having enough to pay the ever increasing taxes that are imposed by a state that cannot deal with tax evasion of the rich and which consequently imposes a whole series of taxes on the whole of the population irrespective of their income or ability to pay; fear of not having enough fuel to heat one's home; fear of losing one's home because there is not enough to pay the rent or the bills; fear of hunger; fear of being beaten up or worse if the colour of one's skin is not white; fear of the rise of far right groups and what this could lead to;  fear of the future.

'Dear God, hunger scares me'.


But, all of this fear is not enough for the Greek state. It has to manufacture more fear.

This new fear is the fear of lawlessness.

Not the lawlessness of the Neo-Nazi party who assault MPs on live television; who ride their motorbikes at night and beat up or murder anyone they can find whose skin is not white; who wreck the stalls of small vendors; who constantly disrupt the workings of Parliament; who parade with their Nazi insignia and use the Nazi salute; who spread their message of hatred and division. These people are ignored by the Greek state. They are not punished for their crimes, they are not prosecuted or denounced. They are left alone which is tantamount to being encouraged. The government is not making any connections between the rise of this group and what happened under the Weimar Republic. They are acting as if this group did not exist.

No, the enemy that has to be smashed, the enemy that has to be beaten with riot police, tear gas, batons and other weapons, the enemy that we must all fear, the epitomy of lawlessness, are... groups of young squatters.

The squat in the dilapidated Villa Amalia building, inhabited by squatters for over 20 years was raided and dissolved by the police last month. When it was re-occupied, the police again evicted the squatters. Other squats got the same treatment. Police announced they found empty bottles in the squats, a clear indication we are told, that they were going to be used to make molotov cocktails. They also found knives and gas masks, more 'evidence' that the people in the squats were planning an insurrection against the state and the Greek people. The police had to abandon a further raid on another squat, since they had neither the prosecutor's nor the owner's permission to enter the building and since they could not find any 'evidence' that the place was a centre of 'lawlessness'.

'A democratic society cannot allow the forces of lawlessness and chaos to block the country's path to development' announced Mr Dendias, the Public Order Minister, the same one who threatened to sue The Guardian newspaper when it published a report on the torture of 15 anti-fascist activists by the Greek police.





Most of these buildings are owned by the state, and like everything else that is owned by the state in Greece, they were falling apart. The Greek state has an inverted Midas touch - everything it touches turns into ruin.

In contrast to what we daily hear in the news from the government with their talk about lawlessness and the danger to public life that these squats present, the people living in the area tell a different story. 'When this building was occupied by the squatters 23 years ago, it was falling apart, it was a ruin', say Mr and Ms K. who have a shop facing Villa Amalias. 'We can still remember the sign outside the building in the 1980's that read:  'this building is about to be restored' - but nothing was done about it. When the squatters arrived, they spent days clearing all the rubbish out. They made the building habitable, they gave it a new identity'. 

The squats were used as community centres bringing locals and immigrants together: there was a coffee bar where payment was voluntary; a lending library; lectures and concerts; a printing press where payment was again, voluntary; music and sewing lessons were available as well as Greek language lessons for those whose first language was not Greek - all for no renumeration; there was also a soup kitchen.

Residents attest to the fact that drug trafficking was kept at bay in the area because of the presence of the squatters. But more importantly, the residents feel that it was the presence of the squatters that prevented the Neo-Nazis extending their stronghold from Agios Panteleimonas where they terrorize the inhabitants, onto the Plateia Victorias area. What they fear now is that with the squatters gone, the Neo-Nazis will extend the range of their activities and become unstoppable.

This is what Syriza had to say about the evictions: 'The government is trying to use the attempted re-occupation of Villa Amalias to distract the public from the Lagarde list scandal and the harsh bailout policies. For 23 years no one cared about Villa Amalias and now it has turned into the number one issue'.

The biggest fear, the one that no one is addressing, is the rise of fascism. Far right terrorism is becoming embedded in the very fabric of Greek society. It has penetrated every neighbourhood as well as the schools.  It promotes violence, hatred, division and bullying as a way of life in every aspect of society. Resistance to this evil cannot be left exclusively to the Left. Those who say that they are defenders of democracy will have to get their fingers out instead of demonising some young idealists who want to try alternative ways of living. We're on the edge of the abyss. The Barbarians are amongst us and unless we neutralise them we will be faced with the end of democracy.

For more information about Greece and lots more on current affairs, go to:   http://99getsmart.com

The ugly face of racism

Racist thugs riding their motorbikes at night, looking for another victim, is becoming a common phenomenon on the streets of Greece. The latest victim was a Pakistani worker who was murdered while on his way to work in the early hours of Thursday January 17th. The racists stabbed him to death.  Neighbours who heard his screams managed to get the bike's number plate and alerted the authorities who have arrested the perpetrators. The following were found in the house of one of them: Neo-Nazi leaflets, bullets, an airgun, knives, batons. So, despite the fact that the Greek police are trying to persuade us that the murder did not have a racist motive, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Will they be punished? That is a good question. To this day no perpetrator of a racist attack has yet been prosecuted in the Greek courts. The authorities are turning a blind eye to racist violence and it is estimated that 50% of the Greek police force voted for the Neo-Nazi party in the last elections. Victims are discouraged from filing complaints if they have been atttacked and are threatened with detention by the police.

Amnesty International has issued a report condemning Greek authorities for their inability to tackle racist violence.





Here are some figures which are only the tip of the iceberg given that most of these crimes are not reported.  87 cases of racist violence were reported in the period between January and September 2012, 50 of which were serious. 80 of those were carried out in public places.





The case of Mr Kapetanopoulos who witnessed four policemen savagely beating an immigrant is an example of the racism of the Greek police. Mr Kapetanopoulos felt compelled to ask the police why they were beating a man who was already on the ground. The result of his query was that the man was beaten even more savagely and Mr Kapetanopoulos was charged with four offences: giving false testimony; resisting arrest; attempting to kidnap a suspect; being an accomplice in a robbery. Commenting on the vindictiveness of both the police and the prosecutor, Mr Kapetanopoulos' lawyer made the point that the aim of all of this is not the prosecution of his client, but the wish to instil fear in the population so that they don't respond to and condemn racist violence.





It is not just immigrants who are the victims of racist abuse. As part of the Xenios Zeus government initiative to detain and arrest illegal immigrants, hundreds of people of colour have been stopped, detained and in a lot of cases, beaten up by the Greek police. (You can see more on Xenios Zeus, here , here , here and here ). The criterion is the colour of one's skin and consequently tourists have been stopped as well and in some cases, beaten up. Korean backpacker Hyung Young Jung was stopped by a scruffy looking man in a street of Athens. Thinking it might be some sort of scam he politely dismissed the man and walked on only to be stopped by a man dressed in police uniform a few moments later who asked him for his passport. Mr Jung showed his passport but also asked to see identification - he got a punch in the face instead. Within minutes he was on the ground being punched by the police officer and the man in plain clothes. He was then dragged to the police station and punched again before being led inside. A third attack occured on the stairs where there were no witnesses or cameras. When he was released a few hours later as he was leaving the police station, one police officer shouted: 'hey Korean, go back home'.

Mr Ukwuorji, an American citizen was also arrested despite the fact that he showed the Greek police his American passport. He was beaten up in the police station so badly that he passed out. Mr Ukwuorji has, with the help of the US Embassy, lodged a complaint. Six months later he is still waiting for an outcome.

In May last year, a visiting academic from India was also detained when he popped out of the University to get himself some lunch. Despite protestations from his Greek colleagues who witnessed the arrest, the police took him to the police station.

More than 60,000 people have been detained since operation Xenios Zeus was launched in August of this year, but only 4,200 people were found to be illegal immigrants - the rest were released.





As a consequence of  this, the last four months have seen a huge rise in the anti-racist/anti-fascist movement in Greece. There are over 400 organisations in cities, towns, even small villages, workplaces, educational institutions, all determined to stop the rise of this campaign of hatred. On the 12th of December, when members of the Neo-Nazi party threatened immigrants who owned small shops in Korydallos in Athens, 3,000 anti-fascists very quickly assembled and barred their way.





History has taught us that in times of austerity and economic crisis, the far right and its message of hatred gathers support. The rise of the far right in Greece, coupled with the racism of the majority of the police force and a state that is at the point of collapse, is a recipe that can only lead to disaster. It is not enough to condemn racism. Words are not sufficient anymore - action is needed.






Hasan was attacked in Athens by black-shirted men on motorbikes who knocked him unconscious. When he came to he was covered in blood. Only later would he realise that the men had left large gashes resembling an X on his back. Photograph by Giorgos Moutafis.
http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2012/11/24/racist-attacks-in-greece-a-fotoreportage-in-progress-by-giorgos-moutafis/



Sources:

• The Tourists Held by Greek Police as Illegal Migrants, by Chloe Hadjimatheou, BBC News, 10.1.2012
• Kyriakatiki
• To Vima
• Kathimerini

Photographs:

Giorgos Moutafis, The Migrants' Odyssey, http://www.giorgos-moutafis.com/projects-migrants-odyssey.htm



For more information on Greece and lots more on current affaits, go to: http://99getsmart.com/