GOLDEN SUNSET
by Mariah Stoain
Posted on The Nib November 8th, 2019
Mariah Stoain wrote:
In June 2019, I was escorted by HumanRights360 to sit in on a court day in Athens, as part of their XThemOut Campaign.
Golden Dawn is a far-right political party whose leaders are accused of heading hit squads targeting leftists and migrants with violence. They are self-described fascists, nationalists, and Nazis, fixated on violence.
And right now, they're at the center of an enormous trial that could imprison and banish them from Greek Parliament.
Founded as an ultra-nationalist pro-military group in the 1980s, Golden Dawn became a political party in 1993, and exploited the euro crisis to rise to prominence in 2011. Its leader and founder, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, has said:
"Let them know that we don't like being in Parliament. If they want, we'll abandon it and take to the streets. Then they will know the meaning of Golden Dawn, the meaning of war and struggle, the meaning of bayonets sharpened on the pavement."
For decades, Golden Dawn went largely unpunished for its violence, until the 2013 murder of a Greek anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, prompted the investigation and arrest of many Golden Dawn members. The ensuing trial contains many charges relating to several incidents, among them murder and attempted murder.
In total, there are 69 Golden Dawn members on trial, including all of its Members of Parliament.
The combination of all these charges is set to answer the key question:
"Is Golden Dawn a criminal organization?"
The prosecution presented evidence that the violence of Golden Dawn members is not the doing of lone wolves, and that its senior members head up hit squads targeting those perceived as opponents.
• May 2018 -- Gulbaz Mohammed attacked by four men in the street
• January 2013 -- Shahzat Lukman stabbed to death on his cycle to work by two men with links to Golden Dawn.
• September 2013 -- Attack on Communist party members by 50 Golden Dawners.
• June 2012 -- Attack on Egyptian fishermen at home.
In this ideology, brutality is the point. Historically, organizations like Golden Dawn have explicitly aimed for violence and genocide. Golden Dawn didn't invent hostility toward minorities, but it has fueled a rise in violence, contributing to a 14% increase in hate crimes in 2018. Nearly a quarter targeted Pakistani nationals.
And in Parliament, mainstream parties have adopted harsher stances on immigration to appease voters lost to Golden Dawn.
"Greece has become a center for illegal immigrants." -- Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, 2012
During my day in court the focus was on the murdered rapper case. After a confrontation with some Golden Dawners at a cafe, an assault battalion returned after midnight and stabbed Fyssas to death on the orders of their local leader. There was a flurry of phone calls between Golden Dawners that night, including the local branch leader, Giorgos Patelis.
Fyssas identified his killer before he died: Yorgos Roupakias.
18 of the 69 defendants were expected, but only 7 showed up, with the others offering flimsy excuses. Notably, none of them were high on the food chain. Patetlis himself was one of the absentees.
This trial began in 2015, and has moved slowly due to deliberate stalling by the defense. For example, Golden Dawn lawyers once requested to read 2,000 parliamentary questions.
Two of the defendants testified the day I was there. One, who had a "security" role, denied having knowledge of the incident. The other claimed he just happened to drive by, and he was calling to talk to his friends.
This trial isn't just about Greece. Paradoxically, though Nationalist, far right groups reach across borders to support one another. They praise each other, encourage each other to engage in violence and dismantle existing institutions.
The notion of the big picture is at the center of the Golden Dawn trial. Individual cases could have been concluded by now -- Roupakias admitted to killing Pavlos Fussas back in 2013. Yet the trial goes on. Because those men who carried out the attacks are small fry. It's the leaders of Golden Dawn who are ultimately responsible for its violence. The fish rots from the head. The leaders have evaded showing their faces in court.
A verdict that Golden Dawn is indeed a criminal organization would invalidate their existence as a party, and would set a key precedent. At the time of my visit, Golden Dawn has 18 elected Members of Parliament. By the end of the summer, they would lose them all -- a result of their absence from Parliament, which itself was a result of their stalling in court.
Greece is writing the playbook for how to deal with powerful Neo-Nazis. The world should be watching.
Maria is a Romanian-Canadian illustrator based in Scotland. Her first graphic novel, Take it as a Compliment, published in 2015, is a collection of real-life stories of sexual violence. Her website is mariastoian.com
12 Nov 2019, 6:05 pm
