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Golden Dawn (Greece)

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Hrisi Avgi (Greek:Χρυσή Αυγή English:Golden Dawn) is a Greek nationalist party, espousing an anti-semitic, anti-capitalist and anti-immigrant philosophy based partially on laws of ancient Spartan society. Hrisi Avgi is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.

The party is often classified as a neo-Nazi party, despite the roots of its doctrine predating the German Nazi Party.The leader of the party is Nikolaos Michaloliakos. The party's symbol is a red flag bearing a black meander pattern with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Hrisi Avgi members were the national emblem of Greece, the labrys and the Celtic cross.

File:Xrisi avgi.JPG
Hrisi Avgi's logo, featuring a meander pattern.

Unlike the Hellenic Front, the Popular Orthodox Rally, and other far-right, traditionalist, patriotic and religious conservative movements, Hrisi Avgi openly espouses Nazi-like symbols and ideology, as well as putsch-style methods. The party also advocates much more radical policies in relation to immigration, irridenta and border issues.

History

 
Cover of the 1st issue of the Hrisi Avgi magazine, December 1980.

In December 1980, Nikolaos Michaloliakos and a group of his supporters launched Hrisi Avgi magazine. Michaloliakos (a mathematician and former commando) had been active in far right politics for years, and he had been arrested several times for politically-motivated offences.[1][2][3] 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.[1] The characteristics of the magazine and the organisation were clearly National Socialist.[3] Hrisi Avgi magazine stopped being published in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined the National Political Union and took over the leadership of its youth section.[1] In January 1985, he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the Popular National Movement - Hrisi Avgi, which was officially recognised as a political party in 1993.[1]

Hrisi Avgi had remained largely on the margins of far-right politics until the Macedonia naming dispute in 1991 and 1992.[3] The left-leaning newspaper Eleftherotypia reported that on October 10, 1992, about 30 Hrisi Avgi members attacked left-wing students at the Athens University of Economics and Business during a massive demonstration against the usage of the name Macedonia by The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.[4] Around the same time, the first far-right street gangs appeared under the leadership of Giannis Giannopoulos, a former military officer who was involved with the South African Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) during the 1980s.[3] After the events of 1991 and 1992, Hrisi Avgi had gained a stable membership of more than 200 members, and Giannopoulos rose within the party hierarchy.[3] Hrisi Avgi ran in the 1994 European Parliament election, gaining 7.264 votes nationwide; 0.11% of the votes cast.[5]

A few Hrisi Avgi 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.[6] 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 Hrisi Avgi.[7] Hrisi Avgi members in the GVG were decorated by Radovan Karadžić, but — according to former Hrisi Avgi member Charis Kousoumvris — those who were decorated later left the party.[7]

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.[3] Hrisi Avgi participated in the 1996 legislative election in September, receiving 4,487 votes nationwide; 0.07% of the votes cast.[8] In October 1997, Giannopoulos published an article in Hrisi Avgi magazine calling for nationalist vigilantism against illegal immigrants and left-wingers.[9] 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.[3]

Hrisi Avgi 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.[3][10] Eleftherotypia criticicized Hrisi Avgi in 2005 after party members distributed homophobic fliers during an Athens gay pride parade.[11]

2005-2007

According to Hrisi Avgi leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the party's paused its own autonomous political activities after December 1, 2005, due to clashes with anti-fascists.[12] Hrisi Avgi members had been instructed to continue their activism within the Patriotic Alliance party, which was very closely linked to Hrisi Avgi.[13] [14] The former leader of Patriotic Alliance, Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos, was once a member of Hrisi Avgi's political council, and Michaloliakos was also a current leading member of Patriotic Alliance.[1] Anti-fascist groups have accused Patriotic Alliance of simply being the new name of Hrisi Avgi.[15] However, activities by Patriotic Alliance's members were often attributed to Hrisi Avgi (even by themselves), creating confusion.[14] This is mainly the reason that Hrisi Avgi members, announced the withdrawal of their support to Patriotic Alliance which finally led to the interruption of this party’s political activities too.[16] [17]

As of 2007, the Hrisi Avgi newspaper and magazine continued to be published, and the organisation's website continued to be updated. In March 2007, Hrisi Avgi held its sixth congress in which was announced the continuation of their political and ideological activism.[18]

Ideology

File:HAvitsi.jpg
Hrisi Avgi members at a 2003 rally marking anniversary of Hellenic Army's victory against the communist partisans in the Greek Civil War battle of Grammos-Vitsi.

Hrisi Avgi described itself as a "Popular Nationalist Movement". Its website demonstrates both its nationalist and populist character.

In an interview with the nationalist newspaper Eleutheros Kosmos, party leader Michaloliakos stated that the members of Hrisi Avgi are "uncompromising Nationalists", thereby describing the party's political orientation.[19] He also said:

The ideology of our movement as is characteristically cited in our charter is Popular Nationalism. We believe in the Nation, the notion of the Nation first of all as a biological reality within the course of history, we believe in the grandeur and the superiority of Hellenic civilization. We want a just society that will be governed by the Worthy, and we are anti-Marxists as much as we are anti-capitalists.[19]

Michaloliakos described Hrisi Avgi as

A movement that is firmly counter to the spirit of the French Revolution, the so-called "enlightenment", and those who generally created the industrial revolution. It is a 'revolt against the modern world', a revolution against all of the unfortunate things the industrial revolution created, which didn't have the intention of the people's welfare but rather profit.[19]

The Hrisi Avgi magazine described the Second World War as the "Great Ideological War", and at its constitutional charte, the newly formed party stated that Hrisi Avgi is

convinced that the truth and the right at the Great Ideological War lay with the party that was eventually defeated", and that the party is "trying to reveal the true nature of National Socialism despite the defamation and lies with which the winners of the war covered it.[3]

According to the charte, "only Aryans in blood and Greeks in descent can be candidate members of Hrisi Avgi".[3] The charte also said:

The Leader is unassailable and inviolete and is the supreme leader of the party. He stands above electoral procedures ... The national socialist Leader does not lie above or besides the People, he is not inside the People, he is the People itself, the People that has comprehended its historical destiny.

The charte defined a dress code and formalized the Roman salute for party members:

The national socialist salute at entering and leaving the party offices is mandatory. The salute must be given with vigour and vibrancy, never indolently or relaxed, as is behoved to the National Socialist Order.[3] Dress that denotes militant spirit is mandatory. As such the following are suggested: khaki or gray shirt, black or khaki jacket, combat boots or boots. The dress is complemented by a tie and a small national socialist symbol which the party member is free to chose on.[3]

At first, the party embraced neo-Pagan beliefs, believing them to be intermingled with National Socialism in accordance to Nazi mysticism:

Modern ideological carriers of the two religious currents are National Socialism as the ideological carrier of Paganism and Marxism and Liberalism as the ideological carriers of Judeo-Christianity.[20]

Later, however, the party underwent ideological changes, accepting Orthodox Christianity.[21] Michaloliakos stated:

It is a historical truth and a certain fact that (for better or worse) after the imposition of the Christian religion in Greece, the dynamic interaction of Christianity and Hellenism (which for long functioned against the latter) led to the formation of Greek Orthodoxy.[22]

Activities

File:HA610.jpg
Cover of the February 7 issue of the Hrisi Avgi newspaper, featuring the January 2007 Hrisi Avgi march, in memory of three Greek officers who died during the Imia military crisis in 1996.

The party claimed to have local organisations in 32 Greek cities, as well as in Cyprus.[23]

Hrisi Avgi has created the Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis (Committee of National Memory), to organise demonstrations commemorating the anniversaries of certain Greek national events. Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis has organized annual marches on January 31 in Athens, in memory of three Greek officers who died during the 1996 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.[24] Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis continues its activities, and the January 31 march took place in 2007.[25]

Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis has organized annual rallies on June 17 in Thessaloniki, in memory of Alexander The Great.[26] Police confronted the 2006 rally participants, forcing Hrisi Avgi and Patriotic Alliance members to leave the area, while anti-fascist and leftist groups took over the the square where the nationalist event was supposed to take place, causing damage and vandalisms.[26][27] Later that day, Hrisi Avgi members gathered in the building of state-owned television channel ERT3 and protesting they tried to stop the channel from broadcasting.[27] Police surrounded the building and arrested 48 Hrisi Avgi members.[26][27] According to a Hrisi Avgi 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 inprisonment with suspension and were also fined €500.[28]

In September 2005, Hrisi Avgi 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 NPD, the Italian Forza Nuova and the Romanian Noua Dreapta, 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.[29][30]

In June 2007 Hrisi Avgi sent its own representatives, in favor of the European nationalist call against the G8 convention that took place in Germany. [31]

Youth Front

The Youth Front of Hrisi Avgi has organised many activities, including distributing fliers with racist messages in schools of Athens, and organising concerts with White Power music. The Youth Front of the party also publishes a white nationalist magazine, entitled "Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi", which attempts to popularise neo-Nazi ideas among young people through music and sports. The magazine is a sister publication of the US-based National Alliance's Resistance Magazine.[32]. This collaboration between greek nationalists and american racialists began in 2001, after the founder of the american National Alliance William Luther Pierce visited Greece, Thessaloniki and it was ratified after Pierce's death by his succesor Erich Gliebe.

Violence by and against Hrisi Avgi

File:Olympiongc9.jpg
Violent confrontation between anarchists and Hrisi Avgi members, in Thessaloniki at 2002.

Members of Hrisi Avgi have been accused of carrying out acts of violence and hate crimes against immigrants, political opponents and ethnic minorities.[33] Hrisi Avgi's offices have been attacked many times by anarchists and anti-fascists.[30][34] Clashes between members of Hrisi Avgi and anti-fascists have not been unusual.[35]

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.[33][36] KLIK magazine and Eleftherotypia reported that members of Hrisi Avgi were responsible for the attack.[33][36]

In 2000, unknown suspects vandalized the Monastirioton synagogue, a memorial for Holocaust victims and Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and Athens.[37] According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites.[37] 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.[38][39] 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.[40]

In November 2005, Hrisi Avgi's offices were attacked by a group of anti-fascists with molotov cocktails and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured.[34] According to Hrisi Avgi, three suspects were arrested and set free.[30] During the subsequent police investigation, molotov cocktails left overs were discovered in Hrisi Avgi's offices.[34] Hrisi Avgi has stated that this was the reason for the organisation's disbandment.[12][13]

In June 2006, three members of Hrisi Avgi were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in Galatsi, Athens.[41][42] One of the Hrisi Avgi members ended up in a coma for three weeks, and according to police, a month earlier he had injured a police officer, and was a suspect in several attacks against immigrants and anarchists in the area.[42]

Football hooliganism

In 2000, Hrisi Avgi members formed the hooligan firm Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which has described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." It has been reported that following Hrisi Avgi's official disbandment in 2005, many former party members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia.[43] Galazia Stratia is closely linked to Hrisi Avgi, and the two groups shared the same street address.[44] Hrisi Avgi 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.[45]

Galazia Stratia and Hrisi Avgi have been accused of various acts of sports-related violence.[46][44] In September 2004, after a football match between Greece and Albania in Tirane (in which Greece lost 2-1), Albanian hooligans set fire on a Greek flag, and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece. Anti-fascist groups held Hrisi Avgi and Galazia Stratia directly responsible for the attacks.[46] According to Eleftherotypia, Galazia Stratia members severely beat a young Palestinian and an elderly Bangladeshi during celebrations following the success of the Greek national basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.[43]

The Periandros case

Antonios Androutsopoulos (better known as Periandros), a prominent member of Hrisi Avgi, 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.[47][48][49] Androutsopoulos had been sentenced in absentia to four years of prison for illegal weapon possession while the attempted murder charges against him were still standing.[50]

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.[47] In a 2004 interview, Michalis Chrysochoidis, 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.[51] His trial began on September 20, 2006, and he was convicted to 21 years in prison on September 25, 2006.[52][53] Hrisi Avgi members were present in his trial, shouting nationalist slogans.[52]

Allegations of connections to the Greek Police

In a 1998 interview with the newspaper Eleftherotypia, Georgios Romaios (the minister of public order at the time) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in the Greek police", and vowed to suppress them.[54] 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.[55] The same year, Eleftherotypia published a lengthy article called "The lower limbs of the police", which outlined connections between the police and neo-fascists.[56] 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:

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 where 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.

[55]

Before the surrender of Androutsopoulos, an article by the newspaper Ta Nea claimed that the Hrisi Avgi had close relationships with some parts of the Greek police force.[47] 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:

  1. Hrisi Avgi had very good relations and contacts with officers of the force, on and off duty, as well as with common policemen.
  2. The police provided the group with batons and radio communications equipment during mass demonstrations, mainly during celebrations of the Athens Polytechnic uprising and during rallies by left-wing and anarchist groups, in order to provoke riots.
  3. The connections of the group with the force, as well as connections with Periandros, largely delayed his arrest.
  4. The brother of "Periandros", also a member of Hrisi Avgi, was a security escort of an unnamed New Democracy MP.
  5. Most Hrisi Avgi members were illegally carrying weapons.

The newspaper published a photograph of a typewritten paragraph with no identifiable insignia as evidence of the secret investigation.[57] In the article, the minister of 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 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.[47]

Hrisi Avgi claimes that rumours about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government were untrue, and said that the police had intervened in Hrisi Avgi's rallies and had arrested some its members many times while the New Democracy party was in power (for example, during the rally in Thessaloniki, in June 2006, and in a rally for the anniversary of the Pontian Greek Genocide, in Athens, again in 2006).[30] Also, in January the 22nd of the year 2005, anti-fascist and leftist groups invaded Hrisi Avgi's headquarters in Thesaloniki, under heavy police serveilance. Although police Units who are responsible for the re-establishment of order (in greek ΜΑΤ-Μονάδες Αποκατάστασης Τάξης) where near to the intruders, they did not try to prevent any movement of theirs. Instead they became anarchists' escort up to the university of Thessaloniki. This incident was recorded by mainstream television stations. [58] [59]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e 11/9/2005 article published in To Vima. Cite error: The named reference "Vima" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Article about Michaloliakos published on Hrisi Avgi's website.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 2/07/1998 article published in Eleftherotypia newspaper. (in Greek) Cite error: The named reference "IosHist" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ 27/9/1998 article published in Eleftherotypia. (in Greek)
  5. ^ Article published in "NIGMA" magazine about Hrisi Avgi. (in Greek)
  6. ^ Michas, Takis;"Unholy Alliance", Texas A&M University Press: Eastern European Studies (College Station, Tex.) pp. 22 [1]
  7. ^ a b 16/07/2005 article in Eleftherotypia. (in Greek)
  8. ^ Results of the 1996 legislative election.
  9. ^ 1998 article in Eleftherotypia.
  10. ^ "Ta alla Kommata", Macedonian Press Agency information on the 1999 elections.
  11. ^ 27/06/2005 article in Eleftherotypia
  12. ^ a b 01/12/05 article in www.in.gr (in Greek) Cite error: The named reference "Ingr" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Golden Dawn stops their activities, European National Front website Cite error: The named reference "ENF_disbandment" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Article in the website of Patriotic Alliance, stating that "those who contributed mostly in our political campaign were the youth of Hrisi Avgi".
  15. ^ Article in Eleftherotypia.
  16. ^ Hrisi Avgi announces the withdrawal of their support to Patriotic Alliance.
  17. ^ News of the disbandment of Patriotic Alliance, in Independent Media Center.
  18. ^ .">[ http://www.xrushaugh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=299&Itemid=31 12.05.07 Michaloliaco’s speech during the congress]. (in Greek)
  19. ^ a b c 2006 interview of Michaloliakos published in Eleytheros Kosmos newspaper. Cite error: The named reference "MichaloliakosInterview" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Our ideology: God Religion" ("Η ιδεολογία μας: Θεός-θρησκεία"), Hrisi Avgi's newspaper, issue 57, October 1990
  21. ^ 18/6/2000 article in Eleftherotypia (in Greek)
  22. ^ "Proposals for a New Policy" ("Προτάσεις για μια Νέα Πολιτική"), Nikolaos Michaloliakos, 1992.
  23. ^ 11/5/2002 article in newspaper Ta Nea, about Hrisi Avgi's activities. (in Greek)
  24. ^ ENF gathers in Athens from the European National Front website.
  25. ^ Report of the 2007 march
  26. ^ a b c 48 Greek nationalists arrested from the European National Front website Cite error: The named reference "48arrested" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  27. ^ a b c 18/6/06 article in newspaper Thessalia (in Greek) Cite error: The named reference "Thessalia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  28. ^ Hrisi Avgi's press release (in Greek)
  29. ^ 22/12/06 article in in.gr (in Greek)
  30. ^ a b c d Hrisi Avgi press release (in Greek)
  31. ^ [ http://www.xrushaugh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=31] Hrisi Avgi’s anti globalisation attendance against G8 convention in Germany (in Greek)
  32. ^ According to Shaun Walker, former chairman of the National Alliance
  33. ^ a b c Eleytherotypia's article about attacks by Hrisi Avgi. (in Greek)
  34. ^ a b c 20/11/05 article in in.gr (in Greek) Cite error: The named reference "Ingr20.11" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  35. ^ 17/09/05 article in in.gr (in Greek)
  36. ^ a b Article in magazine KLIK(in Greek)
  37. ^ a b Central European Review - "Anti-Jewish Attacks"
  38. ^ Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece press release (in Greek). Also contains photographs of the dececrations.
  39. ^ Greek Helsinki Monitor press release (in Greek)
  40. ^ trncinfo.com - "Fanatic Hrisi Avgi member released."
  41. ^ Assassination attempt against 3 young nationalists in Athens, European National Front website
  42. ^ a b 04/08/06 Hrisi Avgi press release, contains an article from a Greek mainstream newspaper, Vradini. (in Greek) Cite error: The named reference "XApress2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  43. ^ a b 10/9/2006 article in Eleftherotypia (in Greek)
  44. ^ a b Nazis dressed up as fans, Eleftherotypia 1/12/2001
  45. ^ Galazia Stratia thanking Hrisi Avgi for the support
  46. ^ a b The Yale Hippolytic - "More Than Just a Game"
  47. ^ a b c d 17/04/2004 article in Ta Nea (in Greek)
  48. ^ 14/09/2005 article in newspaper Kathimerini
  49. ^ 14/09/2005 article in Eleftherotypia (in Greek)
  50. ^ 27/04/2004 article in Kathimerini (in Greek)
  51. ^ 14/09/2005 article in Kathimerini (in Greek)
  52. ^ a b 29/09/06 article in Eleftherotypia (in Greek)
  53. ^ 25/09/06 article in in.gr (in Greek)
  54. ^ Athens News Agency: Press Review in Greek, 98-06-29
  55. ^ a b Eleftherotypia's article part 3 (in Greek)
  56. ^ Eleftherotypia article part 1 (in Greek)
  57. ^ Image from the article of Ta Nea
  58. ^ http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=314801
  59. ^ http://bulgaria.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/1814/index.php

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