Case Against Greek Far-Right Party Draws Critics
Case Against Greek Far-Right Party Draws Critics
Published: October 2, 2013
(Page 2 of 2)
In the working-class neighborhood of Keratsini, where the killing took place, anti-fascist graffiti was scrawled on buildings near banners calling for rallies against Golden Dawn. Rap music thumped from cars, and groups of young people packed cafes on Tsaldari Street, where Mr. Fyssas was stabbed.
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On the spot where he died, a makeshift shrine was erected with candles, red roses and a white cross. An anarchist symbol — the letter “A” enclosed in a circle — was spray painted on a doorway next to several scrawled homages, including one that read: “Safe travels my brother. Vengeance has already begun.”
At the Ouzo cafe in Nikaia, near the group’s shuttered offices, people were elated that Golden Dawn had scattered. “It’s already better,” said Giorgos, 61, a retiree who would give only his first name. “These people were like thugs, with their flags and poles, wearing their black shirts and army pants and boots. If you saw them up close, you’d be scared.”
He added that Mr. Roupakias was known in the neighborhood for attending Golden Dawn meetings, and had run the cafe in the group’s offices.
Many here were angered that Golden Dawn had come to the Keratsini neighborhood from Nikaia. “This is a working-class area that resisted the Nazis, who rounded up people and shot them,” said another retiree, Stavros, 56, as he sipped coffee. “The mass grave is still there. So it’s a disgrace that this neighborhood was then occupied by fascists.”
But no one thought Golden Dawn or the grievances that vaulted it to power would be easily overcome.
“They cut the head of Golden Dawn,” said Artemis Sarafoglou, 21, a resident who frequently encountered Golden Dawn members patrolling the streets. “But this may be like the Hydra, where something new can grow in its place.” He said that several of his friends had voted for Golden Dawn, helping it win 18 seats in Parliament last year, and that their support for the group had not wavered.
“The reasons why Golden Dawn came to power have not been erased,” Mr. Sarafoglou said, looking at a party banner that still fluttered from a balcony. “It’s truly possible that they could rise again.”
In Keratsini, Eleni Batziopoulou, 24, a philosophy student, said that she and her friends had no real hope that Golden Dawn would become truly enfeebled. Instead, the clampdown raised a more profound question.
“Is this the end of Golden Dawn, or is it really just the beginning?” she asked. “I want to believe it’s the end, because I want to have hope in the future. But if it’s not, then it’s the start of a wave of trouble.” N Y TIMES
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