This letter was recently sent to Neos Kosmos, a Greek-Australian newspaper published in both English and Greek on the activities of Golden Dawns cell in Melbourne in light of the recent arrests of Golden Dawn MP’s and acitivists in relation to the murder of Pavlos Fissas as well as other violent and criminal acts.
Neos Kosmos have a history of not publishing our letters and generally putting it’s head in the sand regarding the activities of neo-nazis in the Greek community but recent events in Greece will hopefully change that.
“We congratulate the Greek government for finally acknowledging a reality that most people in Greece knew all along; Golden Dawn are a fascist, criminal gang wearing the mask of a legitimate political party and social movement. The sad fact is that they waited until after Golden Dawn had developed deep links with the police, army and intelligence services, grown as a violent, paramilitary force and murdered several people before acting against it.
We note that Greek political establishment has spent years tolerating Golden Dawns street violence and their racist and authoritarian provocations without criticism or any reaction as it saw a greater threat in the social movements against the Memorandum and the rule of the Troika than from Golden Dawn.
Let’s be clear, this crackdown was the result of pressure from Greek society to act against a group that operated with impunity for years and New Democray’s desire to win back lost votes and support from a political rival that they only now consider beyond the pale, and not the impartial functioning of the Greek State.
However, this pressure needs to be maintained to ensure there is real reform of State institutions and an end of the rule of the Troika and the Memorandum to remove neo-nazism root and branch.
However, the direct responsibility for the growth of Golden Dawn spreads beyond Greece to Melbourne. We have received information that the Melbourne branch of GD recently raised up to $50,000 to send to the party in Greece, according to its supporters, to fund its “charity” activities. We call on the Greek-Australian press to investigate this recent fundraising effort and confirm whether Golden Dawns local activists explained to donors who was to receive this money and for what purpose.
Recent investigations into the partys structure in Greece have shown the size of their paramilitary wing that’s used to attack their political enemies and immigrants and it’s extremely likely that donations, such as those from its Melbourne based supporters, would be used to build and maintain this network of violence and not for the sham charity drives to improve the image of the party.
The strong possibility that money was raised amongst the Greek Australian community to pay for the paramilitary wing of a confirmed neo-nazi party is a serious matter and has the potential to damage our image in the eyes of the wider Australian community.
The knife that cuts bread at one of Golden Dawns soup kitchen publicity stunts is the same knife that murdered Pavlos Fissas.
No to Golden Dawn in Melbourne.”
