Golden Dawn may be banned by Greek government

[Skyhilist]

Source:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...sas?CMP=twt_fd

The Greek government has hinted that it will seek to ban Golden Dawn after the far-right party was linked to the murder of a leading leftwing musician in Athens.

As violence erupted on the streets and demonstrators protested after the fatal stabbing of Pavlos Fyssas, a prominent anti-fascist, the public order minister, Nikos Dendias, cancelled a trip abroad saying the government would table emergency legislation that would seek to outlaw the group.

Amid renewed political tensions between the extreme left and right, the new law would re-evaluate what constituted a criminal gang, he said.

"Neither the state will tolerate, nor society accept, acts and practices that undermine the legal system," the minister told reporters, adding that the attack showed "in the clearest way the [party's] intentions".

Earlier in the day, police raided Golden Dawn offices across the country, with media reporting running street battles outside branches in Crete, Thessaloniki and Patras.

Voted into the Greek parliament for the first time last June, the neo-fascist Golden Dawn has been widely accused of employing violence to further its ratings in the polls.

The socialist Pasok party, the junior member of Antonis Samaras's two-party coalition, has campaigned openly for it to be banned, saying it should be considered a criminal gang.

The 34-year-old rapper died within minutes of being stabbed in the chest when he and a group of seven friends were set upon by around 30 black-clad supporters of Golden Dawn in the working-class district of Keratsini.

Eyewitnesses said the singer was stabbed several times by a man who suddenly appeared in a car after being phoned by members of the mob. The attack bore all the hallmarks of a premeditated assault, they said.

The alleged perpetrator, a 45-year-old man who was arrested when police rushed to the scene, later confessed to being a member of Golden Dawn. His wife, who was also detained, admitted having attempted to hide incriminating evidence, including party credentials linking her husband to the extremist organisation, when he called her, panic stricken, after the murder. Greek media cited police as saying the man was not only a sympathiser of Golden Dawn but visited its offices in Keratsini "five or six times" a week.

With parties across Greece's entire political spectrum condemning the killing, the far-right group vehemently denied it had any connection with the crime or the alleged culprit. In a rare intervention, the president, Karolos Papoulias, warned: "It is our duty not to allow any space whatsoever to fascism – not even an inch."

Fyssas, who performed under the stage name Killah P, would be the first Greek to have died at the hands of Golden Dawn, which until recently reserved its venom exclusively for migrants. Within hours of his death sending shockwaves through Greek society, the killing was being described as an "assassination."

Greece's third largest party and fastest growing political force, Golden Dawn currently controls 18 seats in the 300-member parliament. It appears to have been emboldened by its soaring popularity on the back of economic desperation.

In an atmosphere brittle with anger, uncertainty and fear, politically motivated violence has escalated, with the ultra-nationalists being blamed for attacks on communist activists last week and on a rightwing mayor in the south over the weekend.

Speculation is rife that the leadership of Golden Dawn may have lost control over a party whose grassroots supporters view themselves as soldiers in an armed struggle aimed at overthrowing a political establishment they blame for the country's woes.

"It is up to the government now to deal with Golden Dawn once and for all," said Giorgos Kyrtsos, a prominent political commentator. "We know very little about the inner workings of Golden Dawn, and whether its leadership has lost control [over its members]. But what we do know is that, for the first time, the government has them in a corner."

Thoughts?

[Bolshevik Sickle]

Didn't read most of the article, but from the title I would have to say thank goodness!

[ВАЛТЕР]

This will likely be used by the fascists as propaganda to show how big of a 'threat to the system' they are. :P

What would most likely happen if this was to take place is that a new right-wing party would be formed, made up of much of the leadership of GD. They would simply tone down a bit of the rhetoric. This will make them seem more accessible to more Greeks as well as give them the ability to deny any involvement in violence so long as their party does not openly endorse it (as GD does now). This I think would be far more dangerous as it would increase the chances for a right-wing party to get a better grip in Greece since they would appear less extreme in the eyes of the average people.

[Paul Pott]

What will this solve? That just means eventually they'll attempt some sort of putsch.

What happens when the conservative parties attempt to extend this to leftists?

[Le Socialiste]

What will this solve? That just means eventually they'll attempt some sort of putsch.

What happens when the conservative parties attempt to extend this to leftists?

Well, that is the question isn't it. Some of the wording seems intentionally vague, like this snippet:

Neither the state will tolerate, nor society accept, acts and practices that undermine the legal system . . .

As for a putsch? Doubt it'll happen. It remains to be seen, for sure, but the fact that this attack seems to have evoked a strong response from people hints toward the possible marginalization of the party (at least on some level).

The idea of rebranding the party with a more 'moderate' rightwing agenda seems more likely, but again - it can go either way.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

While banning the group would be 'good' I guess, as an appropriate fuck you to the fascists however this could provide precedent which could criminalize proletarian organizations in the nation. It's like a catch 22. This is really good propaganda for the comrades down there tho, in a way.

[d3crypt]

Banning them won't do anything. They will just make a new fascist party.

[Bolshevik Sickle]

Banning them won't do anything. They will just make a new fascist party.

They will just give it a new name and flavor.

Like how White Supremacist decided to call themselves "White Nationalist", or like how Racist like to call themselves "Racial Realist".

Of course it's not hard to see past their pathetic lies.

[Paul Pott]

How depressing is that?

Day 1: Golden Dawn is banned.
Day 2: National Party founded. Symbol is Spartan Lambda.
Day 78: After the recent murders, the NP is banned.
Day 79: Greek Party founded. Symbol is Macedonian sun.

and so on.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

How depressing is that?

Day 1: Golden Dawn is banned.
Day 2: National Party founded. Symbol is Spartan Lambda.
Day 78: After the recent murders, the NP is banned.
Day 79: Greek Party founded. Symbol is Macedonian sun.

and so on.

To be fair, it's not that simple, since probably a) it'll mean mass arrests of party members, and b) an erosion of their popularity among police, since likely this will include some sort of internal propaganda (in fact, I read something to the effect that this is already being put in to practice in another article posted here yesterday).

In terms of "the left" I don't know that it matters one way or another, since left groups engaged in assassinations, bombings, etc. are already largely illegal (e.g. Revolutionary Struggle, CCF, 17N).

I think this just reflects poor strategy on the part of Golden Dawn, failing to organize along lines that create some separation between above ground activities, and straight-up killing people. Fucking goofs.

[KurtFF8]

While banning the group would be 'good' I guess, as an appropriate fuck you to the fascists however this could provide precedent which could criminalize proletarian organizations in the nation. It's like a catch 22. This is really good propaganda for the comrades down there tho, in a way.

That is a risk, but I don't think the Left should oppose this move by the Greek state at a time when GD is literally murdering Leftists in the streets

[Jimmie Higgins]

I couldn't guess what the immediate impact of this would be; from the outside it's hard to get a sense of the dynamics as far as popular views of this incident or the thinking and motivations of the politicians. But I agree with what most people are getting at: outlawing such a party does little to solve the underlying tensions which create fascist movements.

I don't think we should automatically dismiss any official action against fascist groups however. Mainstream politicians and the ruling class seem to have an uneasy relationship with fascist movements and seem to only willingly jump into bed with them as a last ditch effort to salvage some workable order for them. They may try and use these groups and movements short of that though. So if the capitalists are feeling confident that they can maintain a working system through bourgeois legal means, they may decide that a group like the kkk is more trouble than it's worth and will repress it because the fascist vigilantism becomes a source of social instability when the legal system can maintain stability.

But there are also obvious problems with any political repression that comes from above. If the repression is specifically targeting fascists or a fascist organization, then even if the legal measures can't stop the underlying cause of the fascist sentiment (in this case the economic crisis, austerity, and poplar unrest and resistance) it can be a big set back organizationally which can cause disruption, the loss of networks and finances, disorientation and demoralization. If the politicians and media begin talking about legal action against abstract political extremism, then it's more worrying.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

If the politicians and media begin talking about legal action against abstract political extremism, then it's more worrying.

I feel like this has been part of the political discourse in Greece for some time. It's just that, up until this point, it has been directed almost exclusively against the left and anarchists.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

That is a risk, but I don't think the Left should oppose this move by the Greek state at a time when GD is literally murdering Leftists in the streets

I don't either, while I may be extremely critical of the idea, I wouldn't oppose the ban, really, again, it would be a nice fuck you to GD aka making them politically, at least officially, irrelevant, appear loony and criminal.

[Craig_J]

Golden Dawn are horrible vicious scum who deserve no respect what so ever, and not just from the left, but from any decent human being in the world.

But I do not condone banning political partys. They did this in the left in the USA when left wingers were considered "a threat to society". Banning the right would only open the door to banning of more and more ideologies and labelling them as threats to society.

Second of all, banning the Golden Dawn would never work. If people have been won over by them we must ask ourselves what failings are WE making for more and more people to become attracted to their ideology? Why are they not attracted to us, and what makes them think Golden Dawn is an acceptable party? By banning them we strengthen their resolve, make it appear as if some corruption is going on to simply get rid of the compeititon, and they'll simply become underground and start making more killings as a way of protesting.

[cyu]

This will likely be used by the fascists as propaganda to show how big of a 'threat to the system' they are.

What would most likely happen if this was to take place is that a new right-wing party would be formed, made up of much of the leadership of GD. They would simply tone down a bit of the rhetoric. This will make them seem more accessible to more Greeks as well as give them the ability to deny any involvement in violence so long as their party does not openly endorse it (as GD does now). This I think would be far more dangerous as it would increase the chances for a right-wing party to get a better grip in Greece since they would appear less extreme in the eyes of the average people.

Nothing gets people riled up like when they feel they are the victims getting persecuted, rather than the ones doing the persecuting.

If it were me, I would treat it as merely another "law enforcement" action, although one that is far-reaching and may result in quite a bit of upheaval in police departments across the country. In other words, treat it like going after corruption, or like going after infiltration of law enforcement by drug cartels.

If fascists (or mobsters or drug cartels or whatever) are corrupting law enforcement in the country, root it out, going as high up as necessary. Simply banning a political party doesn't say much, since it can be seen as persecution. But going after systemic corruption where real problems exist because of fascist influence, then each case becomes an act of mini-propaganda as to why fascist ideas are bad for society.

[ANTIFA GATE-9]

If they ban it then they would just drive it underground, that would make it harder to control and might increase its support from other clueless neo nazi idiots.

[Sasha]

The only thing that might be benificial in a ban is that it would be illegal for cops to be members and work with them. For the rest its just damage control for the bourgeoisie...

[Stalinist Speaker]

i sure as hell they do then i will atleast gain little respect for them.