Threat from far-right in Greece: Time to build defence committees


Amalia Loizidou

‘While the economy is going down the pan, Greek politicians are fighting’. That’s how the British media presented the attack on two female left-wing MPs by a MP from the neo-nazi group Golden Dawn during a Greek TV debate.

They want to play down the danger of fascism or want to present these criminal, fascist gangs as just another political view.

Unfortunately Golden Dawn does not just write down racist ideas on a piece of paper. These thugs have no hesitation in physically attacking anyone whose face, preferences, opinions or struggles they don’t like.

After Golden Dawn got 7% in the elections on 6 May, attacks against migrants have increased across Greece, so have threats against gay people (“you’re next”). So have their “parades” on scooters waving their flags.

They did not hesitate to attack the media workers’ strike in late May, doing Nazi salutes and other rude gestures involving middle fingers.

So no, it wasn’t just politicians unable to control themselves slapping each other. It was a person whose ideology is one of hatred of anything that he doesn’t agree with.

This man threw water over a female MP from the left wing Syriza group and when an MP from the Communist KKE stood up in her defence he didn’t hesitate to go and punch a woman that could have been his mother, bruising her face!

So “manly” were his actions that he then went into hiding so he wouldn’t be arrested and prosecuted.

This neo-nazi was due to be on trial on 11 June but he didn’t turn up. He was accused of being involved in an attack against a university teacher.

This is who these people are. And if these are their actions when they are on camera, one can imagine what is happening in the alleys of Athens and elsewhere in Greece. A day after this attack, another Golden Dawn candidate was arrested for assault in a northern Greek town.

Greece’s working class needs to fight these right-wing thugs and the threat they pose. There is an urgent need for the building of defence committees and a powerful socialist left alternative.