Athens: Fascists Versus Anti-Fascists with High Stakes
You know society is in crisis when the middle ground is disappearing.
Golden Dawn gathering. Photo by Joshua Tartakovsky
Last night, January 31, 2015, two very large demonstrations took place in central Athens.
The first, held by the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, now the third largest party in parliament, in Rigillis Square, marked 18 years for the crash of a Greek helicopter in mysterious circumstances, in a battle between Greece and Turkey over the Imia islands. Ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn believes in a greater Greece and in the conquest of lost Greek lands occupied by the Ottomans and modern day Turkey.
In response to the planned gathering of Golden Dawn, thousands of anti-fascist activists held a march from Omonia Square to Syntagma, by the parliament, several blocks away from where Golden Dawn was gathering.
According to the Greek media, 6,000 people participated in the anti-fascist march and 2,000 took part in the gathering held by Golden Dawn.
Anti-fascist march. Photo by Joshua Tartakovsky
A friend told me how excited she was to be in the anti-fascist protest, the first one held in Greek history while a Left government is in charge.
For the first time, the police was not encircling the protesters in a tight grip and inflicting violence on protesters.
In fact, the police was nowhere to be seen.
Some protesters were wondering what should they be doing, now that there was no police to clash with.
The police was only encountered in Syntagma, where two large police vans blocked the road, therefore creating a buffer area between the fascists and the anti-fascists.
Thousands of anarchists marched in the streets of Athens calling out against fascism.
After arriving in Syntagma, I crossed with a female friend over to the side of the fascists.
The anger was palpable. Some of the attendees were skinheads, others elderly fascists. Fascist music was played on the loudspeakers. Many of the participants, however, appeared to be nice and naive. Not violent, nor cruel, but people bought into the ultra-nationalist narrative of ChrysĂ AvgĂ.
It is not hard to understand why Golden Dawn would have an appeal. For people who are poor and insecure, becoming ultra-nationalist and projecting their fears and anger on the Other, be it Turks or immigrants, makes much sense. They do not realize that they are being manipulated by much larger forces and who the real culprits of their economic crisis is.
They are confused and shocked by the recent economic crisis, and want to regain a healthy self-esteem. They want to cling to the familiar: Greece, the flag, nationalism. Therefore, they become ultra-nationalist and rally behind fascist leaders who promise to restore their honor and not let them be trampled on by anyone.
Various flags were raised, Greek flags, White Pride flags, the Swedish Resistance Movement, NPD (Germany), National Democracy (Spain), and Forza Nuova (Italy).
The speaker howled about how the Bolshevik government in power wants to turn Greece into Venezuela and how the traitor Kammenos dared to join the Bolsheviks.
The crowd responded by yells of scorn, at any time Kammenos name was mentioned.
While in the anti-fascist protest the police was nowhere to be seen, in the demonstration held by Golden Dawn, police stood close by and were also to be seen inside the area where protesters were standing. They appeared fairly comfortable.
A German representative of the NPD, spoke in front of camera on how he came to show support for Golden Dawn in Greece and how impressed he is with the party.
Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the leader of Golden Dawn, currently in prison, spoke to a cheering crowd via the phone. He is expected to be released in March after he was imprisoned for dubious reasons by New Democracy’s Smaras who saw him as a challenge.
Later, torches were lit, and a ceremony was held in front of a memorial for those who died in the helicopter crash. Those who laid flowers marched military-style and saluted. Crowds chanted ‘death to the Turks’ during the event.
A photo album from both events can be viewed here.
The stakes seem pretty clear to me: With the joy over Syriza’s victory clear, it should not be forgotten that the third largest party in parliament is Golden Dawn.
Syriza has to deliver in a meaningful way. If it does not, the public who has already been disillusioned with New Democracy and Pasok, may move more to the fascist right.
Blaming your ills on the Other and becoming nationalist during times of a major economic crisis is entirely human and predictable.
People gave Syriza a chance because it was the only party that offered hope. But if it fails, then people will get angry and move to the Right.
It is not clear that Angela Merkel understands the high stakes involved for Greece, or perhaps she doesn’t care.
Either way, there is little doubt that members of the Golden Dawn, who already murdered a Pakistani migrant, once in power, will bring fascism to full practice.
As the streets of Athens make clear, the stakes are high.
