Cyprus-Forum.com

[bill cobbett]

Not surprisingly in view of the recent events, support for "golden dawn" has gone down the drain with a reported 68% of respondents to a poll agreeing that "golden dawn" is a criminal organisation.

Again from greekreporter, a review of the recent poll, under the headline...

Greeks Now See Golden Dawn As Criminal

"... Its popularity plummeting overnight in the wake of the killing of an anti-fascist hip-hop artist by a suspect linked to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, the extremists are fast losing support as well from Greeks who believe the government roundup of its hierarchy is warranted and that the group is a criminal organization.

The poll by VPRC for the rizopoulospost.com website found Golden Dawn has lost almost half it support during the government crackdown in which 35 people, including the party’s leader, second-in-command and spokesman, among six of its lawmakers, were arrested.

The survey, conducted in two rounds on Sept. 25 and Sept 30-Oct 3, found support for Golden Dawn stood at 8.5 percent, down from 14.5 percent in July. A majority of 68 percent believe Golden Dawn is a criminal gang, respondents said..."

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/10 ... -criminal/

[kurupetos]

Bollocks. GD is still a legit political party.

[Paphitis]

Greece targets Golden Dawn leader's wife

Greek prosecutors have asked for the parliamentary immunity of Nikos Michaloliakos's wife to be withdrawn after she allegedly tried to give the Golden Dawn leader a bullet during a prison visit, a judicial source says.

Eleni Zaroulia, an MP with the neo-Nazi party led by Michaloliakos, smuggled a bullet into the prison in a travel bag when she visited her husband according to the Ana news agency.

He is in custody following his indictment last week for heading a criminal organisation.

Once a fringe party, Golden Dawn capitalised on growing public discontent in a country hard hit by an economic crisis, and was first elected to parliament last year with nearly seven per cent of the vote.

But Greek authorities have moved to dismantle the far-right party after the murder last month of an anti-fascist rapper musician by a Golden Dawn supporter.

Five other MPs were indicted along with Michaloliakos as part of the police crackdown. Three were released on bail while the others remain in custody.

No date was fixed for parliament to examine the request for immunity to prosecution to be lifted, but MPs will next week decide on a separate request for three further Golden Dawn members.

Zaroulia was a member of the Greek parliament's delegation to the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, sitting on its committee on equality and non-discrimination.

But she was removed from the committee after declaring that immigrants were 'sub-human', and had 'invaded' Greece and contaminated it with disease.

http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=914101

Did they search him for any Cyanide?

[GreekIslandGirl]

Bollocks. GD is still a legit political party.

Yes, although the forum Judge has decided it's up to him to pass a verdict.


Anyway, back to the reason why GD were pounced upon - to send a warning to all other far right parties that are ALL on the up-rise, which is obviously scaring big business and the global-financiers into a crackdown.

Again, whatever you may say about GD, they are pussycats compared to the real insidious and subversive pulling-power of these extremely right-wing, anti-islam and anti-immigration and anti-EU parties. GD are not anti-European ...

Extracts from the Guardian:

Far-right's surge could paralyse Europe, warns Hollande as NF passes socialists

French president warns of threat from parties such as National Front as poll on EU elections in May puts all extremists ahead

The French president, François Hollande, has warned that Europe risks "regression and paralysis" if Eurosceptics and nationalists gain the upper hand in next year's European parliament elections, as an opinion poll for the first time put the anti-immigrant National Front (NF) well ahead of his country's mainstream parties.

The boost to the extreme right in France came amid growing fears among the European Union elite that extreme parties of right and left would make a strong showing in the European elections in May.

Nigel Farage's UK Independence party is tipped to do well, possibly becoming the biggest British party in the European parliament, while Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-immigrant and anti-Islam populist, is also running strongly in the opinion polls.

The far-right in Poland, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria would also register gains, on current projections.

The Ifop pollsters found that 24% of the 1,893 French voters questioned intended to vote for the NF in next year's European elections, while 22% said they would vote for the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement, and only 19% for the governing Parti Socialiste.

In the last European elections, in 2009, the National Front took 6.34% of the vote.

A former European government minister in close contact with France's socialist leadership said Hollande's entourage was "very scared" and expected Le Pen to emerge as the winner.

In crisis-ravaged Greece, the leftwing Syriza movement is expected to do well.

The boost for the French far-right comes just 10 days before the second round of a cantonal byelection in the town of Brignoles, in the Var region of southern France. The NF candidate took a stunning 40.4% of votes in the first round.

Alain Delon, one of France's most celebrated actors, voiced his support for the NF, saying he approved of the party's rise.

The NF has been slowly gaining political ground in France since 2011 when Marine Le Pen took over at the helm of the party founded in 1972 by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and known for its xenophobia and Holocaust-doubting rhetoric.

Steeve Briois, the NF secretary general, said: "The French are showing a wish to take their destiny into their hands and give back their country its sovereignty." He promised an "unprecedented earthquake" in the European elections.

"The European elections will be a chance for people to express their discontent with everything associated with Europe, globalisation, outsourcing and so on."


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/o ... -elections


Once again poor Greece has been singled out as the paradigm, the scapegoat - to send a message to scare-off the right and make people believe that such dissenting voices are criminal.

Opinions from Europeans welcome ...

[supporttheunderdog]

There is more than a midgie's dick difference between legitimate political parties who quite reasonably challenge eg various aspects of the EU such as membership and the neo nazis such as NF and GD who have nazi roots and whose leadership have openly praised Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, as the leader of GD has done. Then one adds in the report of how GD members have seemingly offered neighborhood dispute resolution where this includes breaking arms and legs for a fee...

[Paphitis]

Aplogies forumers for the rude interlude from the critically insane...

I salute the French for casting their pro France ballots against EU interferance into sovereign affairs. People have the democratic right to vote Left or Right and this is extremely off topic.

Even Greece has a right wing Government which is starting to win many friends.

The issue is not being Right Wing or even fascist, anti EU or anti immigration or nationalistic. There are many anti EU parties in Europe and they are getting more and more popular as the people register their protest votes. The EU is in for a massive backlash in the near future as people and nation states reclaim their sovereignty.

The issue is with GDs criminal behaviour, and antics resulting in the Greek Authorities declaring the "party" as a criminal organisation.

No one takes the Euro Parliament seriously. It is viewed as a good opportunity to register anti EU protest votes because everyone knows the EU Parliament is an irrelevance!

[GreekIslandGirl]

There is more than a midgie's dick difference between legitimate political parties who quite reasonably challenge eg various aspects of the EU such as membership and the neo nazis such as NF and GD who have nazi roots and whose leadership have openly praised Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, as the leader of GD has done. Then one adds in the report of how GD members have seemingly offered neighborhood dispute resolution where this includes breaking arms and legs for a fee...

What difference? They have all questioned the Holocaust, for example. Why is NF any different? Other than it is supported by a quarter of the population of a major member of the EU. Even Nigel Farage, sings Hitler youth songs. Many members of the Conservative party are responsible for criminal activity, even some politicians - one recently convicted for assault. Should the Tories be thrown in jail? They are all the same. GD has been singled out, again, because Greece is one of the weakest members of the EU and they always use it as a scapegoat.

[Paphitis]

What a load of nonsense!

Even 2 senior AKEL members were charged in Cyprus over a dubious CYTA land deal scam. That does not make the party a criminal organisation.

Nigel Farage is a British Nationalist. The last thing you will see from him is betrayal of Britain that paid a heavy price fighting the NAZIs.

The same can be said of the NF. Holocaust denial, while ridiculous, is not illegal.

Unless these parties are embroiled in clandestine terror activities against illegal immigrants, assaults, attempted murder, murder, weapons offences, blackmail and so on, they have a right to exist as political parties and seek election within the EU and at home.

GD are embroiled in criminal activity and hence they are a criminal organisation.

Once again, it comes down to their criminal behaviour, organised from within the "party" leadership who overse and order all criminal activities. GD members even undergo weapons training as if they were preparing for a Civil War. Their objective was the destruction of Greece and the collapse of democracy in Greece. Luckily, Samaras has acted in the nick of time to destroy GD and save Greece!

GD is even listed as a terrorist organisation!

http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/golden-dawn

[bill cobbett]

A message to the criminal organisation of "golden dawn" from Anonymous ...

[kimon07]

A Chance to Suppress Rampant Violence Prevalent in Greece’s Two Political Extremes
Aristide D. Caratzas
Special to The National Herald
October 3, 2013
http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/61002

On September 17, in Keratsini, Athens, two groups of people were watching a soccer game in a cafeteria, of the local team Olympiakos against the French St. Germain. This is a common activity in Greece and much of Europe. The one group included an up and coming young rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, also known as Killah-P, who was with friends. Someone in the Fyssas group made a comment about the neo-Fascist extremist Golden Dawn Party, that was deemed disparaging to someone in the second group also watching the game.

While the exact sequence of events is still being reconstructed, it is clear that someone who took offense at the Fyssas group’s comments contacted a certain Giorgos Roupakias, who arrived on the scene. According to witnesses quoted in the press, there followed a verbal exchange between Fyssas and his friends and Roupakias, with the latter pulling out a knife and mortally stabbing the young rapper twice, near the heart. The alleged murderer was arrested nearly on the spot as he tried to rid himself of his knife as the police already had arrived.

The uproar that followed the Fyssas murder was enormous, and its consequences are still unfolding. The first reactions included protests, some of which were violent in their turn, with demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police, not only near the scene of the crime but also in many parts of Greece.

The Greek government’s response was remarkably swift. After the arrest of the alleged murderer, the prosecutors appear to be carefully documenting and building the case. The investigation being conducted by the police is looking for evidence on whether there was premeditation and/or conspiracy. In this context, the investigators are trying to reconstruct the telephone communication sequence between the alleged murderer and his network, if indeed there was one.

While the case against Roupakias is being built, a determined Nikos Dendias, Minister for the Protection of the Citizen (an Orwellian title inherited from the administration of the late and unlamented George A. Papandreou – would that this government change it to something more felicitous…) has ordered an extensive investigation of all manner of activities that may have violated the law by Golden Dawn members and the networks of their friends; reportedly Dendias has sent 32 files of investigations of actions by members of Golden Dawn to the Chief Prosecutor of the Areios Pagos (the highest court) presumably to secure indictments.

Dendias is backed fully by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, whose office issued a statement to the effect that “[w]e will get to the bottom [of this]. There will be no tolerance [of wrongdoing] by anyone.” Consequently, there have been conducted all manner of searches for weapons in party offices and the houses of dozens of members, leading to additional arrests.

At the same time the tax authorities are auditing the financial records of Golden Dawn, while the Dendias ministry is proposing laws that will limit or even deny state financial support to parties whose members are found guilty of criminal activities – it should be noted that political parties in Greece are to a large part funded by the state.

In short, in response to the murder of the unfortunate Pavlos Fyssas, the Samaras government has launched the most all-encompassing response against the political violence and criminality carried out by a political party or grouping. In turn, this has led to the unprecedented legal actions and resulting arrests of Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and five more Golden Dawn members of Parliament on an array of criminal charges. Whether all the charges in this action will stand up in court will be revealed in the trials that will no doubt take place.

The Samaras response to political violence and crime stands in stark contrast to the peculiar toleration of political violence and crime shown by a succession of governments in Greece since 1981. For example, it took over 25 years to break the notorious Revolutionary Organization 17 November (N17) terrorist group that had murdered twenty-three Greek and foreign diplomats and military officials (including the Greek-American Navy Captain George Tsantes), two newspaper publishers, the prominent politician Pavlos Bakogiannis, businessmen, and police officials and committed a number of other crimes such as bombings, the firing of rockets into a range of political and financial targets and armed robberies.

Indeed it is an open secret that persons linked to leftist SYRIZA, the present leading opposition party, had been associated with N17 terrorists. Prominent members of that party, such as Venios Angelopoulos, testified for the defense in the trial of Alekos Giotopoulos, the N17 leader, who was sentenced to life imprisonment 17 times plus 25 years. Angelopoulos has since commented that “I was compelled to testify by my conscience and my sense of justice. I have not regretted anything related to my stance.”

Others from SYRIZA that have supported N17 terrorists with their testimony include Panagiotis Lambrou, and Christophoros Papadopoulos, both of whom testified on behalf of Herakles Kostaris, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 23 years. All of the above, Angelopoulos, Lambrou, and Kostaris have been members of the SYRIZA “Governing Committee.”

SYRIZA also has the distinction of either having supported, or of keeping a judicious silence about, the riots of December 2008, which resulted in the burning and destruction of hundreds of buildings and businesses in central Athens which, incidentally, put thousands of people out of work. Few of the rioters, who used Molotov cocktails, clubs and stones have been tried, even fewer convicted for acts of violence (that included attempted murder).

SYRIZA also has run candidates, some of whom have been elected to parliament, who have advocated violence, including “urban guerrilla warfare.” One of these was Iphikratis Amyras, who urged citizens to form groups to perpetrate sabotage and carry on an armed struggle. Amyras was not elected.
One who was elected to parliament is Demosthenis Papadatos-Anagnostopoulos, who is a member of the SYRIZA Central Committee and who is quoted as saying that “violence is necessary on the road to [achieving] socialism.” Stathis Panagoulis, another SYRIZA member of parliament, threatened those who signed the memoranda with Greece’s creditors, “that which I personally wish for some of you is to have the end that the American ambassador had in Libya a few months ago” (Ambassador Chris Stevens was murdered and purportedly impaled by a mob in Benghazi).

SYRIZA and other leftist and anarchist groupings have given cover to all kinds of violent and criminal acts, and heretofore intimidated governments from seeing investigations to the end; all kinds of rioters, extremists and terrorists have been hidden and armed themselves in universities, where until recently inventories of Molotov cocktails and other weapons were stored. Perhaps the saddest of all is that the anarchist murderers of three Marfin Bank employees, who were killed by a fire that was deliberately set during a riot in May 2010, are still given cover by leftist networks with undoubted links to some SYRIZA factions.

In summary, the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, the gelasto paidi (“the smiling kid”) as he is called, has steeled the resolve of the Samaras government, first to flush out criminals hiding under the cover of rightwing, fascist extremism. It is hoped that the turn of those who committed criminal acts on the extreme left, the anarchists and their neo-communist allies will be next.

Aristide D. Caratzas, a trained historian, is an academic publisher and international policy consultant based in Athens, Nicosia and New York.