Hrisi Avgi
Encyclopedia
Golden Dawn is a Greek
nationalistic far right-wing political organization led by Nikolaos Michaloliakos
in Greece. It is frequently characterized as Neo-Nazi
and as opposing democracy
, immigration
, multiculturalism
, Marxism
, globalization
, liberalism
, anti-militarism, anarchism
, Judaism
and Islam
. However, these characterizations are found mostly in popular media and are neither adopted by the competent authorities nor have been proven judicially, since G.D. is a legal political party, therefore conforming to the Greek and EU law, including legislation against discriminaion. The Greek legal system against discrimination is regularly monitored by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and its reports do not refer to political parties violating the relevant legislation.
Chrysi Avyi is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by the organization.
Golden Dawn ceased political operations in 2005, and it was absorbed by the Patriotic Alliance
, which ceased operations after Michaloliakos withdrew support. In March 2007, Golden Dawn held its sixth congress, where Party officials announced the resumption of their political activism. At local elections
on November 7, 2010 Golden Dawn got 5,3% of the vote in the municipality of Athens, wining a seat at the City Council. In some neighbourhoods with big immigrant communities it even reached 20%.
Golden Dawn described itself as a "People's Nationalist Movement" and "uncompromising Nationalists." Michaloliakos described Golden Dawn as opposing the "so-called Enlightenment
" and the Industrial Revolution
, while supporting National Socialism
. According to the Party's charter, "only Aryans
in blood and Greeks
in descent can be candidate members of Golden Dawn". The charter also puts the leader in total control of the party, and formalizes the use of the Hitlergruss for party members. At first, the party embraced neo-Pagan
beliefs, believing them to be intermingled with National Socialism in accordance to Nazi occultism, describing Marxism and liberalism
as "the ideological carriers of Judeo-Christian
ity." Later, however, the party underwent ideological changes, embracing Eastern Orthodox Christianity
.
The Party's symbol is a red flag bearing a black meander pattern with white trim (as Golden dawn members claim the svastika symbol comes after combining two Meander
s one over the other). Other symbols adopted by Chrysi Avyi members are the flag of Greece
, the labrys
and the Celtic cross
.Former members of the party claim that till 1997-1998 the party used also Nazi symbols such as a flag of Hitler's Third Reich which was always decorating an inner hall wall of the party's central office.
In December 1980, Nikolaos Michaloliakos
, and a group of his supporters launched Chrysi Avyi magazine. Michaloliakos (a mathematician and a dishonourably discharged
former commando reservist officer) had been active in far right
politics for many years, and he had been arrested several times for politically-motivated offences, such as beating attacks and illegal possession of explosive materials,which led to his dischargement from the military. While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, and he laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the organisation were clearly National Socialist
. Chrysi Avyi magazine stopped being published in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined the National Political Union
and took over the leadership of its youth section. In January 1985, he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the Popular National Movement – Chrysi Avyi, which was officially recognised as a political party in 1993.
Golden Dawn remained largely on the margins of far right politics until the Macedonia naming dispute
in 1991 and 1992. The left-leaning newspaper Eleftherotypia
reported that on October 10, 1992, about thirty Golden Dawn members attacked left-wing students at the Athens University of Economics and Business during a massive demonstration against the use of the name Macedonia
by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
. Around the same time, the first far right street gang
s appeared under the leadership of Giannis Giannopoulos, a former military officer who was involved with the South African Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
(AWB) during the 1980s. After the events of 1991 and 1992, Golden Dawn had gained a stable membership of more than 200 members, and Giannopoulos rose within the party hierarchy. Golden Dawn ran in the 1994 European Parliament election
, gaining 7.264 votes nationwide; 0.11% of the votes cast.
A few Golden Dawn members participated in the Bosnian War
in the Greek Volunteer Guard
(GVG), which was part of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska
. A few GVG volunteers were present in Srebrenica
during the Srebrenica massacre, and they raised a Greek flag
at a ruined church after the fall of the town. Spiros Tzanopoulos, a GVG sergeant who took part in the attack against Srebrenica, said many of the Greek volunteers participated in the war because they were members of Golden Dawn. Golden Dawn members in the GVG were decorated by Radovan Karadžić
, but — according to former Golden Dawn member Charis Kousoumvris — those who were decorated later left the party.
In April 1996, Giannopoulos represented the party at a pan-European convention of nationalist parties in Moscow
, where he presented a bust of Alexander the Great to Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky
for his birthday. Golden Dawn participated in the 1996 legislative election
in September, receiving 4,487 votes nationwide; 0.07% of the votes cast. In October 1997, Giannopoulos published an article in Chrysi Avyi magazine calling for nationalist vigilantism
against immigrants
and left wingers. In 1998, a prominent party member, Antonios Androutsopoulos, assaulted left wing student activist Dimitris Kousouris. The resulting media attention, along with internal party conflicts (due to poor results in the 1996 elections), led some of its most extreme members (such as Giannopoulos) to gradually fade from official party affairs.
Golden Dawn continued to hold rallies and marches, and it ran in the 1999 European Parliament election
in an alliance with the Front Line
party, gaining 48,532 votes nationwide; 0.75% of the votes cast. Eleftherotypia criticicized Chrysi Avyi in 2005 after party members distributed homophobic
fliers during an Athens gay pride parade
.
. Golden Dawn members had been instructed to continue their activism within the Patriotic Alliance
party, which was very closely linked to Golden Dawn. The former leader of Patriotic Alliance, Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos, was once a member of Golden Dawn's political council, and Michaloliakos became a leading member of Patriotic Alliance. Anti-fascist groups had accused the Patriotic Alliance of simply being the new name of Golden Dawn. Activities by Patriotic Alliance's members were often attributed to Golden Dawn (even by themselves), creating confusion. This is the main reason Golden Dawn's members announced the withdrawal of their support of the Patriotic Alliance, which eventually led to the interruption of Golden Dawn's political activities.
In March 2007, Golden Dawn held its sixth congress and announced the continuation of their political and ideological activism. As of 2010, Golden Dawn's newspaper and magazine continue to be published, and the organisation's website is being updated.
In June 2011, Foreign Policy reported that in the midst of the 2010–2011 Greek protests
, gangs of Golden Dawn members are increasingly being seen in some of the higher-crime areas of Athens.
Golden Dawn claimed to have local organisations in 32 Greek cities, as well as in Cyprus
.
The party created the Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis (Committee of National Memory), to organise demonstrations commemorating the anniversaries of certain Greek national events. Since 1996, Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis organizes an annual march usually on January 31 in Athens
, in memory of three Greek officers who died during the Imia military crisis
. According to the European National Front
website, the 2006 march was attended by 2,500 people, although no neutral sources have confirmed that number. Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis has continued its activities, and the January 31 March took place in January 2010 where even more than 5.000 party members took part at the demonstration.
Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis has organized annual rallies on June 17 in Thessalonica, in memory of Alexander the Great. Police confronted the 2006 rally participants, forcing Golden Dawn and Patriotic Alliance members to leave the area, while anti-fascist and leftist groups took over the square where the nationalist event was supposed to take place, causing damage and vandalisms. Later that day, Golden Dawn members gathered in the building of state-owned television
channel ERT3
and protesting they tried to stop the channel from broadcasting. Police surrounded the building and arrested 48 Hrisi Avgi members. According to a Golden Dawn press release, those members were carrying Greek national flags which in court were considered to be "arms" and so they were found guilty of carrying them. They were condemned up to six and seven months imprisonment with suspension and were also fined €500.
In September 2005, Golden Dawn attempted to organise a festival called "Eurofest 2005 – Nationalist Summer Camp" at the grounds of a Greek summer camp. The planned festival depended on the participation of the German National Democratic Party of Germany
, the Italian Forza Nuova and the Romanian Noua Dreaptă
, as well as Spanish and American neo-Nazi groups. The festival was banned by the government, largely because of the reaction of anti-fascist groups.
In June 2007, Golden Dawn sent representatives to protest the G8
convention in Germany, together with the National Democratic Party of Germany
and other European neo-Nazi organisations.
In May 2009, Golden Dawn took part in the European Elections receiving 23,564 votes corresponding to 0.46% of the total votes.
schools and organised white power concerts
. It publishes the white nationalist
magazine Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi, which promotes National Socialism to young people through articles related to music and sports. The magazine is a sister publication of the United States
-based National Alliance's Resistance
magazine. The collaboration between Greek
nationalists
and American racialists
began in 2001, after National Alliance founder William Luther Pierce
visited Thessalonica, Greece. Pierce's successor, Erich Gliebe
, ratified the collaboration after Pierce's death.
Members of Golden Dawn have been accused of carrying out acts of violence and hate crime
s against illegal immigrants, political opponents and ethnic minorities
. Golden Dawn's offices have been attacked many times by anarchists
and anti-fascists
. Clashes between members of Golden Dawn and anti-fascists have not been unusual.
In January 1998, Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band The Last Drive
, was attacked and suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight. KLIK magazine and left wing newspaper Eleftherotypia
reported that members of Golden Dawn were responsible for the attack.
In 2000, unknown suspects vandalized the Monastirioton synagogue
, a memorial for Holocaust victims and Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and Athens
. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. The KIS, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology, the Greek Helsinki Monitor and others issued statements condemning these acts. The Cyprus chapter of Hrisi Avgi has been accused of attacks against Turkish Cypriots
, and one member was arrested for attacking Turkish-Cypriots in 2005.
In November 2005, Golden Dawn's offices were attacked by a group of Anarchists with molotov cocktail
s and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured. According to Golden Dawn, three suspects were arrested and set free. During the subsequent police investigation, molotov cocktail
s left overs were discovered in Golden Dawn's offices. Golden Dawn has stated that this was the reason for the organisation's disbandment.
In June 2006, three members of Golden Dawn were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in Galatsi
, Athens
. One of them ended up in a coma for three weeks.
Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which has described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams" and its goal as "to defend the Greek national pride inside the stadiums." It has been reported that following Golden Dawn's official disbandment in 2005, many former party members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. Galazia Stratia is closely linked to Golden Dawn, and the two groups shared the same street address. Golden Dawn made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper, and accepting praise in return from the firm.
Galazia Stratia and Golden Dawn have been accused of various acts of sports-related violence.. In September 2004, after a football match between Greece and Albania
in Tirana
(in which Greece lost 2–1), Albanian immigrants living in Greece went out on the streets of Athens and other cities celebrating their victory, Greek hooligans felt provocated by this and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece,resulting in one murdered Albanian in Zakynthos and many other albanians injured. Anti-fascist groups held Golden Dawn and Galazia Stratia directly responsible for the attacks. According to Eleftherotypia, Galazia Stratia members severely beat a Palestinian
and a Bangladesh
i during celebrations following the success of the Greek national basketball team
at the 2006 FIBA World Championship
.
to four years of prison for illegal weapon possession while the attempted murder charges against him were still standing.
The authorities' failure to apprehend Androutsopoulos for seven years raised criticisms by the Greek media. A Ta Nea
article claimed that Periandros remained in Greece and evaded arrest due to connections with the police. In a 2004 interview, Michalis Chrisochoidis, the former minister of public order of PASOK
, claimed that such accusations were unfounded, and he blamed the inefficiency of the Greek police. Some allege that Androutsopoulos had evaded arrest because he had been residing in Venezuela
until he turned himself in 2005. His trial began on September 20, 2006, and he was convicted to 21 years in prison on September 25, 2006. Hrisi Avgi members were present in his trial, shouting nationalist slogans.
, claiming that it was actually the anti-fascists who were collaborating with the police, since it was the anarchists and anti-Fascists that originally attacked the square where the Golden Dawn members were present, without anyone trying to stop them and in the night riots that followed, no arrest was made despite the damage caused by anarchists and anti-fascists.
Also it is claimed that police turned on the anarchists in the end, after anarchists threw rocks at the police, hence why Golden Dawn followed the police from behind towards the anarchists.
, Georgios Romaios (the then PASOK-Minister for Public Order) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in the Greek police
", and vowed to suppress them. In a TV interview that same year, Romaios again claimed that there was a pro-fascist group within the police force although he said it was not organized, and was only involved in isolated incidents. The same year, Eleftherotypia published a lengthy article called "The lower limbs of the police", which outlined connections between the police and neo-fascism
. Dimitris Reppas, the PASOK
government spokesman
, strongly denied such connections. However, the article quoted a speech by PASOK
Member of Parliament
Paraskevas Paraskevopoulos about a riot caused by right wing
extremists, in which he said:
Before the surrender of Androutsopoulos, an article by the left leaning newspaper Ta Nea
claimed that the Golden Dawn had close relationships with some parts of the Greek police force. In relation to the Periandros case, the article quoted an unidentified police officer who said that "half the force wanted Periandros arrested and the other half didn't". The article claimed that there was a confidential internal police investigation which concluded that:
The newspaper published a photograph of a typewritten paragraph with no identifiable insignia as evidence of the secret investigation. In the article, the Minister for Public Order, Michalis Chrysochoidis, responded that he did not recollect such a probe. Chrysochoidis also denied accusations that far right connections within the police force delayed the arrest of Periandros. He said that leftist groups, including the ultra left terrorist group 17 November
, responsible for several murders, had similarly evaded the police for decades. In both cases, he attributed the failures to "stupidity and incompetence" on behalf of the force.
Golden Dawn stated that rumours about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government are untrue, and that the police had intervened in Golden Dawn's rallies and had arrested members of the Party several times while the New Democracy
party was in power (for example, during a rally in Thessaloniki in June 2006, and at a rally for the anniversary of the Greek genocide, in Athens, also in 2006). Also, on January 2, 2005, anti-fascist
and leftist
groups invaded Golden Dawn's headquarters in Thesaloniki, under heavy police surveillance. Although riot police units were near the entrance of the building alongside the intruders, they did not attempt to stop their actions.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
nationalistic far right-wing political organization led by Nikolaos Michaloliakos
Nikolaos Michaloliakos
Nikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek national socialist organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist...
in Greece. It is frequently characterized as Neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
and as opposing democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, anti-militarism, anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. However, these characterizations are found mostly in popular media and are neither adopted by the competent authorities nor have been proven judicially, since G.D. is a legal political party, therefore conforming to the Greek and EU law, including legislation against discriminaion. The Greek legal system against discrimination is regularly monitored by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and its reports do not refer to political parties violating the relevant legislation.
Chrysi Avyi is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by the organization.
Golden Dawn ceased political operations in 2005, and it was absorbed by the Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
, which ceased operations after Michaloliakos withdrew support. In March 2007, Golden Dawn held its sixth congress, where Party officials announced the resumption of their political activism. At local elections
Greek local elections, 2010
The 2010 Greek local elections were held on 7 November 2010 and 14 November 2010 to elect representatives to Greece's restructured local authorities, comprising 13 regions and 325 municipalities.-Background:...
on November 7, 2010 Golden Dawn got 5,3% of the vote in the municipality of Athens, wining a seat at the City Council. In some neighbourhoods with big immigrant communities it even reached 20%.
Golden Dawn described itself as a "People's Nationalist Movement" and "uncompromising Nationalists." Michaloliakos described Golden Dawn as opposing the "so-called Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
" and the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, while supporting National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. According to the Party's charter, "only Aryans
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
in blood and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
in descent can be candidate members of Golden Dawn". The charter also puts the leader in total control of the party, and formalizes the use of the Hitlergruss for party members. At first, the party embraced neo-Pagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
beliefs, believing them to be intermingled with National Socialism in accordance to Nazi occultism, describing Marxism and liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
as "the ideological carriers of Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
ity." Later, however, the party underwent ideological changes, embracing Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
The Party's symbol is a red flag bearing a black meander pattern with white trim (as Golden dawn members claim the svastika symbol comes after combining two Meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s one over the other). Other symbols adopted by Chrysi Avyi members are the flag of Greece
Flag of Greece
The flag of Greece , officially recognized by Greece as one of its national symbols, is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white...
, the labrys
Labrys
Labrys is the term for a symmetrical doubleheaded axe originally from Crete in Greece, one of the oldest symbols of Greek civilization; to the Romans, it was known as a bipennis....
and the Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
.Former members of the party claim that till 1997-1998 the party used also Nazi symbols such as a flag of Hitler's Third Reich which was always decorating an inner hall wall of the party's central office.
History
In December 1980, Nikolaos Michaloliakos
Nikolaos Michaloliakos
Nikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek national socialist organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist...
, and a group of his supporters launched Chrysi Avyi magazine. Michaloliakos (a mathematician and a dishonourably discharged
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
former commando reservist officer) had been active in far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
politics for many years, and he had been arrested several times for politically-motivated offences, such as beating attacks and illegal possession of explosive materials,which led to his dischargement from the military. While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, and he laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the organisation were clearly National Socialist
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Chrysi Avyi magazine stopped being published in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined the National Political Union
National Political Union
The National Political Union, better known as EPEN was a Greek far-right political party. The party was founded on January 30, 1984 by jailed former junta leader Georgios Papadopoulos. It participated in the 1985 general election...
and took over the leadership of its youth section. In January 1985, he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the Popular National Movement – Chrysi Avyi, which was officially recognised as a political party in 1993.
Golden Dawn remained largely on the margins of far right politics until the Macedonia naming dispute
Macedonia naming dispute
A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...
in 1991 and 1992. The left-leaning newspaper Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
reported that on October 10, 1992, about thirty Golden Dawn members attacked left-wing students at the Athens University of Economics and Business during a massive demonstration against the use of the name Macedonia
Macedonia naming dispute
A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...
by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. Around the same time, the first far right street gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s appeared under the leadership of Giannis Giannopoulos, a former military officer who was involved with the South African Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
(AWB) during the 1980s. After the events of 1991 and 1992, Golden Dawn had gained a stable membership of more than 200 members, and Giannopoulos rose within the party hierarchy. Golden Dawn ran in the 1994 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1994 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 1994 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 12. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
, gaining 7.264 votes nationwide; 0.11% of the votes cast.
A few Golden Dawn members participated in the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
in the Greek Volunteer Guard
Greek Volunteer Guard
The Greek Volunteer Guard was a unit of Greek volunteers that fought in the Bosnian War on the side of Bosnian Serbs...
(GVG), which was part of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
. A few GVG volunteers were present in Srebrenica
Srebrenica
Srebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, the town was the site of the July 1995 massacre,...
during the Srebrenica massacre, and they raised a Greek flag
Flag of Greece
The flag of Greece , officially recognized by Greece as one of its national symbols, is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white...
at a ruined church after the fall of the town. Spiros Tzanopoulos, a GVG sergeant who took part in the attack against Srebrenica, said many of the Greek volunteers participated in the war because they were members of Golden Dawn. Golden Dawn members in the GVG were decorated by Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
, but — according to former Golden Dawn member Charis Kousoumvris — those who were decorated later left the party.
In April 1996, Giannopoulos represented the party at a pan-European convention of nationalist parties in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he presented a bust of Alexander the Great to Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii is a political party in Russia. Since its founding in 1991, it has been led by the charismatic and controversial figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky...
leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe....
for his birthday. Golden Dawn participated in the 1996 legislative election
Greek legislative election, 1996
Legislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on 22 September 1996. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament.The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Costas Simitis, was elected, defeating the liberal-conservative New Democracy party of Miltiadis Evert.-Results: rowspan=2...
in September, receiving 4,487 votes nationwide; 0.07% of the votes cast. In October 1997, Giannopoulos published an article in Chrysi Avyi magazine calling for nationalist vigilantism
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
against immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and left wingers. In 1998, a prominent party member, Antonios Androutsopoulos, assaulted left wing student activist Dimitris Kousouris. The resulting media attention, along with internal party conflicts (due to poor results in the 1996 elections), led some of its most extreme members (such as Giannopoulos) to gradually fade from official party affairs.
Golden Dawn continued to hold rallies and marches, and it ran in the 1999 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1999 (Greece)
The European Parliament election of 1999 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 13. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
in an alliance with the Front Line
Front Line (political party)
Front Line was a Greek nationalist party, formed in 1999.The party was headed by lawyer, historian, and nationalist thinker Konstantinos Plevris....
party, gaining 48,532 votes nationwide; 0.75% of the votes cast. Eleftherotypia criticicized Chrysi Avyi in 2005 after party members distributed homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
fliers during an Athens gay pride parade
Gay pride parade
Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
.
2005 and later
According to Golden Dawn's leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the party paused its own autonomous political activities after December 1, 2005, due to clashes with anti-fascistsAnti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
. Golden Dawn members had been instructed to continue their activism within the Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
party, which was very closely linked to Golden Dawn. The former leader of Patriotic Alliance, Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos, was once a member of Golden Dawn's political council, and Michaloliakos became a leading member of Patriotic Alliance. Anti-fascist groups had accused the Patriotic Alliance of simply being the new name of Golden Dawn. Activities by Patriotic Alliance's members were often attributed to Golden Dawn (even by themselves), creating confusion. This is the main reason Golden Dawn's members announced the withdrawal of their support of the Patriotic Alliance, which eventually led to the interruption of Golden Dawn's political activities.
In March 2007, Golden Dawn held its sixth congress and announced the continuation of their political and ideological activism. As of 2010, Golden Dawn's newspaper and magazine continue to be published, and the organisation's website is being updated.
In June 2011, Foreign Policy reported that in the midst of the 2010–2011 Greek protests
2010–2011 Greek protests
The 2010–2011 Greek protests are an ongoing series of demonstrations and general strikes taking place across Greece. The protests, which began on 5 May 2010, were sparked by plans to cut public spending and raise taxes as austerity measures in exchange for a bail-out, aimed at solving the...
, gangs of Golden Dawn members are increasingly being seen in some of the higher-crime areas of Athens.
Activities
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
The party created the Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis (Committee of National Memory), to organise demonstrations commemorating the anniversaries of certain Greek national events. Since 1996, Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis organizes an annual march usually on January 31 in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, in memory of three Greek officers who died during the Imia military crisis
Imia/Kardak
Imia is a pair of two small uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, situated between the Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey. They lie west of the coast of Muğla Province, east of the Greek island Kalymnos, and southeast of the nearest small Greek...
. According to the European National Front
European National Front
European National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
website, the 2006 march was attended by 2,500 people, although no neutral sources have confirmed that number. Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis has continued its activities, and the January 31 March took place in January 2010 where even more than 5.000 party members took part at the demonstration.
Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis has organized annual rallies on June 17 in Thessalonica, in memory of Alexander the Great. Police confronted the 2006 rally participants, forcing Golden Dawn and Patriotic Alliance members to leave the area, while anti-fascist and leftist groups took over the square where the nationalist event was supposed to take place, causing damage and vandalisms. Later that day, Golden Dawn members gathered in the building of state-owned television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channel ERT3
ERT3
ET3 is the third television network of the ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. It broadcasts nationwide from Thessaloniki. It has regional studios operating in various cities across the country, including Florina, Komotini and Alexandroupolis and on the islands of Paros, Mytilini and...
and protesting they tried to stop the channel from broadcasting. Police surrounded the building and arrested 48 Hrisi Avgi members. According to a Golden Dawn press release, those members were carrying Greek national flags which in court were considered to be "arms" and so they were found guilty of carrying them. They were condemned up to six and seven months imprisonment with suspension and were also fined €500.
In September 2005, Golden Dawn attempted to organise a festival called "Eurofest 2005 – Nationalist Summer Camp" at the grounds of a Greek summer camp. The planned festival depended on the participation of the German National Democratic Party of Germany
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
, the Italian Forza Nuova and the Romanian Noua Dreaptă
Noua Dreapta
Noua Dreaptă is an ultra-nationalist organization in Romania and Moldova, founded in 2000.-Beliefs:The group's beliefs include militant nationalism and strong Orthodox Christian religious convictions...
, as well as Spanish and American neo-Nazi groups. The festival was banned by the government, largely because of the reaction of anti-fascist groups.
In June 2007, Golden Dawn sent representatives to protest the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
convention in Germany, together with the National Democratic Party of Germany
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
and other European neo-Nazi organisations.
In May 2009, Golden Dawn took part in the European Elections receiving 23,564 votes corresponding to 0.46% of the total votes.
Youth Front
Golden Dawn's Youth Front has distributed fliers with nationalist messages in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
schools and organised white power concerts
Rock Against Communism
Rock Against Communism started out as series of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, and is also a name for the subsequent music genre. Despite its name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism...
. It publishes the white nationalist
White nationalism
White nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people. White separatism and white supremacism are subgroups within white nationalism. The former seek a separate white nation state, while the latter add ideas from social Darwinism and...
magazine Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi, which promotes National Socialism to young people through articles related to music and sports. The magazine is a sister publication of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based National Alliance's Resistance
Resistance Records
Resistance Records is a record label owned by Resistance LLC, a society closely connected to the National Alliance. It produces and sells music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website...
magazine. The collaboration between Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
nationalists
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and American racialists
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
began in 2001, after National Alliance founder William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce III was the leader of the white separatist National Alliance organization, and one of the most important ideologists of the white nationalist movement. Pierce originally worked as an assistant professor of physics at Oregon State University, before he became involved in...
visited Thessalonica, Greece. Pierce's successor, Erich Gliebe
Erich Gliebe
Erich Gliebe is a white separatist leader who was formerly a professional boxer and tool-and-die maker. He boxed under the moniker of "The Aryan Barbarian."...
, ratified the collaboration after Pierce's death.
Violence by and against Golden Dawn
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s against illegal immigrants, political opponents and ethnic minorities
Minorities in Greece
Indigenous minorities in Greece are small in size compared to regional standards. The country is largely ethnically homogeneous. This is mainly due to the population exchanges between Greece and neighboring Turkey and Bulgaria , which removed most Muslims and those Christian Slavs who did not...
. Golden Dawn's offices have been attacked many times by anarchists
Anarchism in Greece
Anarchists in Greece have emerged from occasionally overlapping but mostly diverse inclinations. It is often difficult to trace the connections of the various anarchist leagues and affinity groups, as they remained mostly underground.-History:-1860-1875:...
and anti-fascists
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
. Clashes between members of Golden Dawn and anti-fascists have not been unusual.
In January 1998, Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band The Last Drive
The Last Drive
The Last Drive is a Greek punk garage rock group which formed in 1983, broke up in 1995, and reunited in January 2007.-1983-1987: The beginnings:...
, was attacked and suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight. KLIK magazine and left wing newspaper Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
reported that members of Golden Dawn were responsible for the attack.
In 2000, unknown suspects vandalized the Monastirioton synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, a memorial for Holocaust victims and Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. The KIS, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology, the Greek Helsinki Monitor and others issued statements condemning these acts. The Cyprus chapter of Hrisi Avgi has been accused of attacks against Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
, and one member was arrested for attacking Turkish-Cypriots in 2005.
In November 2005, Golden Dawn's offices were attacked by a group of Anarchists with molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured. According to Golden Dawn, three suspects were arrested and set free. During the subsequent police investigation, molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s left overs were discovered in Golden Dawn's offices. Golden Dawn has stated that this was the reason for the organisation's disbandment.
In June 2006, three members of Golden Dawn were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in Galatsi
Galatsi
Galatsi , called in Katharevousa Galatsion , is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. Until the mid-20th century, the area was mainly made up of farmlands but due to the continuous expansion of the Greek capital, Galatsi was rapidly urbanised and has come to...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. One of them ended up in a coma for three weeks.
Football hooliganism
On October 6th 1999,during a football match between the Greek and Albanian National teams in Athens,Albanian supporters, burnt a Greek flag in the tribune of the stadium.This act was captured and broadcasted intensively by the Greek media that day and for many days after.This fact led to a series of angry reactions by Greek nationalists against foreign immigrants.In a specific case,in the night of October 22nd,Pantelis Kazakos a nationalist and a member of the Golden Dawn,feeling as he stated: " insulted by the burning of the Greek flag", shot nine people in the center of Athens.The result from his attack was: two people killed,and seven other wounded from whom, four remained paralised for the rest of their lives.All of them were immigrants. Other Golden Dawn members, feeling also "insulted by the burning of the Greek flag" formed the same month (October 2000) the hooligan firmHooligan firm
This is a list of notable hooligan firms or football firms, which are groups that have been verified as participating in football hooliganism or other sports-related hooliganism. In countries such as England and Poland, firms are clearly defined, but in South America the situation is less clear cut...
Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which has described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams" and its goal as "to defend the Greek national pride inside the stadiums." It has been reported that following Golden Dawn's official disbandment in 2005, many former party members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. Galazia Stratia is closely linked to Golden Dawn, and the two groups shared the same street address. Golden Dawn made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper, and accepting praise in return from the firm.
Galazia Stratia and Golden Dawn have been accused of various acts of sports-related violence.. In September 2004, after a football match between Greece and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
(in which Greece lost 2–1), Albanian immigrants living in Greece went out on the streets of Athens and other cities celebrating their victory, Greek hooligans felt provocated by this and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece,resulting in one murdered Albanian in Zakynthos and many other albanians injured. Anti-fascist groups held Golden Dawn and Galazia Stratia directly responsible for the attacks. According to Eleftherotypia, Galazia Stratia members severely beat a Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and a Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i during celebrations following the success of the Greek national basketball team
Greece national basketball team
The Greece national basketball team is the representative for Greece in international men's basketball competitions, organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Traditionally, Greece is considered among the world's top basketball powers; they were runners-up in the 2006 FIBA World...
at the 2006 FIBA World Championship
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...
.
The Periandros case
Antonios Androutsopoulos (better known as Periandros), a prominent member of Golden Dawn, was on the run from 1998 to September 14, 2005 after being accused of the June 16, 1998 attempted murder of three left-wing students — including Dimitris Kousouris, who was heavily injured. Androutsopoulos had been sentenced in absentiaIn absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
to four years of prison for illegal weapon possession while the attempted murder charges against him were still standing.
The authorities' failure to apprehend Androutsopoulos for seven years raised criticisms by the Greek media. A Ta Nea
Ta Nea
Ta Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
article claimed that Periandros remained in Greece and evaded arrest due to connections with the police. In a 2004 interview, Michalis Chrisochoidis, the former minister of public order of PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
, claimed that such accusations were unfounded, and he blamed the inefficiency of the Greek police. Some allege that Androutsopoulos had evaded arrest because he had been residing in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
until he turned himself in 2005. His trial began on September 20, 2006, and he was convicted to 21 years in prison on September 25, 2006. Hrisi Avgi members were present in his trial, shouting nationalist slogans.
Imia 2008
On February 2, 2008, Golden Dawn planned to hold the annual march for the twelfth anniversary of the Imia military crisis. Leftist and anti-fascist groups organised a protest in order to cancel the march, as a response to racist attacks, supposedly caused by Golden Dawn members. Golden Dawn members occupied the square in which the march was to take place, and when anti-fascists showed up, clashes occurred. During the riots that followed, Golden Dawn members were seen attacking the anti-fascists with riot police doing nothing to stop them and actually letting them pass through their lines. This led to two people being wounded by knife and another two wounded by rocks. Anti-fascists claimed that Chrysi Avyi members even carried police equipment with them and that Golden Dawn's equipment was carried inside a police van. The march was canceled and Golden Dawn issued a statement, responding to accusations of cooperation with the Greek PoliceGreek Police
The Hellenic Police is the national police force of Greece. It is a very large agency, its responsibilities ranging from road traffic control to counter-terrorism....
, claiming that it was actually the anti-fascists who were collaborating with the police, since it was the anarchists and anti-Fascists that originally attacked the square where the Golden Dawn members were present, without anyone trying to stop them and in the night riots that followed, no arrest was made despite the damage caused by anarchists and anti-fascists.
Also it is claimed that police turned on the anarchists in the end, after anarchists threw rocks at the police, hence why Golden Dawn followed the police from behind towards the anarchists.
Bombing of their Athens office
On March 19, 2010, a bomb described by the police as of "moderate power," was detonated in the fifth floor office of Golden Dawn, in downtown Athens. Twenty-five minutes prior to the blast, an unidentified caller contacted a local newspaper in order to announce the attack, thus leading to the evacuation of the targeted building and the surrounding area. The explosion caused substantial damage to property, but didn't inflict any casualties. The office was reopened on April 10, 2010.Allegations of connections to the Greek Police
In a 1998 interview with the left wing newspaper EleftherotypiaEleftherotypia
Eleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
, Georgios Romaios (the then PASOK-Minister for Public Order) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in the Greek police
Greek Police
The Hellenic Police is the national police force of Greece. It is a very large agency, its responsibilities ranging from road traffic control to counter-terrorism....
", and vowed to suppress them. In a TV interview that same year, Romaios again claimed that there was a pro-fascist group within the police force although he said it was not organized, and was only involved in isolated incidents. The same year, Eleftherotypia published a lengthy article called "The lower limbs of the police", which outlined connections between the police and neo-fascism
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
. Dimitris Reppas, the PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
government spokesman
Minister for the Press and the Media (Greece)
The Minister for the Press and the Media of Greece was the government minister responsible for the running of the Ministry of the Press and the Media.The ministry is now defunct.-Ministers for the Press and the Media :...
, strongly denied such connections. However, the article quoted a speech by PASOK
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
Member of Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
Paraskevas Paraskevopoulos about a riot caused by right wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
extremists, in which he said:
In Thessaloniki it is widely discussed that far-right organisations are active in the security forces. Members of such organisations were the planners and chief executioners of the riot and nobody was arrested. A Special Forces officer, speaking at a briefing of Special Forces policemen that were to be on duty that day, told the policemen not to arrest anyone because the rioters were not enemies and threatened that should this be overlooked there would be penalties.
Before the surrender of Androutsopoulos, an article by the left leaning newspaper Ta Nea
Ta Nea
Ta Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
claimed that the Golden Dawn had close relationships with some parts of the Greek police force. In relation to the Periandros case, the article quoted an unidentified police officer who said that "half the force wanted Periandros arrested and the other half didn't". The article claimed that there was a confidential internal police investigation which concluded that:
- Golden Dawn had very good relations and contacts with officers of the force, on and off duty, as well as with common policemen.
- The police provided the group with batonClub (weapon)A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
s and radio communications equipment during mass demonstrations, mainly during celebrations of the Athens Polytechnic uprisingAthens Polytechnic uprisingThe Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, escalated to an open anti-junta, anti-US and anti-imperialist revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November...
and during rallies by left-wing and anarchist groups, in order to provoke riots. - The connections of the group with the force, as well as connections with Periandros, largely delayed his arrest.
- The brother of "Periandros", also a member of Golden Dawn, was a security escort of an unnamed New DemocracyNew Democracy (Greece)New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
MP. - Many Golden Dawn members were illegally carrying various kinds of weapons.
The newspaper published a photograph of a typewritten paragraph with no identifiable insignia as evidence of the secret investigation. In the article, the Minister for Public Order, Michalis Chrysochoidis, responded that he did not recollect such a probe. Chrysochoidis also denied accusations that far right connections within the police force delayed the arrest of Periandros. He said that leftist groups, including the ultra left terrorist group 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
, responsible for several murders, had similarly evaded the police for decades. In both cases, he attributed the failures to "stupidity and incompetence" on behalf of the force.
Golden Dawn stated that rumours about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government are untrue, and that the police had intervened in Golden Dawn's rallies and had arrested members of the Party several times while the New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
party was in power (for example, during a rally in Thessaloniki in June 2006, and at a rally for the anniversary of the Greek genocide, in Athens, also in 2006). Also, on January 2, 2005, anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
and leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
groups invaded Golden Dawn's headquarters in Thesaloniki, under heavy police surveillance. Although riot police units were near the entrance of the building alongside the intruders, they did not attempt to stop their actions.
See also
- Nikolaos MichaloliakosNikolaos MichaloliakosNikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek national socialist organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.At the age of 16, he joined the nationalist...
- Patriotic AlliancePatriotic AlliancePatriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
- Neo-NazismNeo-NazismNeo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
- Anti-Semitism in Greece