Tens of thousands of people marched in Athens on October 7, circling the massive court complex where the verdict was announced against Golden Dawn. The fascist party was found guilty of running a criminal organization under the front of a political party, conducting violence against immigrants, workers and left-wing militants, and assassinating Pakistani worker Shehzad Luqman and anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas (Killah P).
It was the largest trial of fascists since the Nuremberg Trials following the Second World War.
We reprint here two statements from organizations with a long history of fighting fascism, the Communist Party of Greece and the World Federation of Trade Unions.
Communist Party of Greece
On October 7, 2020, after five and half years, the trial of the fascist, criminal organization “Golden Dawn,” which had been delayed under the SYRIZA and ND governments, was completed.
The huge amount of evidence that emerged during the hearing left no doubt that the criminal neo-Nazi organization “Golden Dawn” is responsible for the murder of the anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas, the murderous attack on the Egyptian fishermen, the attack against communists and trade unionists of PAME, and dozens of other attacks.
The court characterized the “Golden Dawn” as a “criminal organization” and convicted its leadership. A total of 68 neo-Nazi senior party members were accused. The specific sentences are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Tens of thousands of workers and young people gathered outside the court early Wednesday morning, following the call of trade unions, students and pupils’ associations, demanding the exemplary punishment of the Nazi criminals. Particularly massive and militant was the presence of the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) forces. Similar mass demonstrations took place in all major cities of Greece, observing the necessary measures against the pandemic.
General Secretary of Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, attended the demonstration and the announcement of the court ruling in the courtroom, and made the following statement:
“The court, guided by the truth and with a multitude of evidence, today convicted the Golden-Dawn murderers. This conviction must be accompanied by the exemplary punishment of the offenders, namely the imposition of maximum sentences and of course imprisonment. The trial also revealed the “tentacles” and connections of the Nazis, which make them even more dangerous. No complacency is allowed. The most important is that the people deal with the root of this evil, by overthrowing the system that hatches the snake’s egg, i.e. Nazism, fascism. That is why the words of the poet are very timely: “You have to deeply understand fascism; it will not die alone – you have to crush it”.
The KKE, which has been at the forefront of the people’s struggle to condemn the Nazi organization and its crimes, greeted the thousands of protesters across the country that demonstrated with the demand “Nazis in prison.” It denounced, at the same time, the pursuit of the government and the police to disperse the massive popular demonstration in Athens, on the pretext of the actions of a small provocative group. In spite of those disturbed by the outcome of the court ruling and the mass demonstration, this plan has come to nothing, as the demonstration continued and thousands of protesters marched, conveying a message of optimism and uplift across Athens. The demonstration ended outside the parliament, in the center of the Greek capital, where a minute of silence was observed in honour of the victims of fascism.
The protesters demanded that the maximum sentences be imposed on Nazi criminals and that they are sent to prison, stressing that they will oppose any attempt of fascist poisonous perceptions and actions to resurface.
World Federation of Trade Unions
The trial of Golden Dawn in Greece is almost concluded. The leadership of the criminal Nazis organization is judged guilty of directing a criminal organization, the attacks against immigrant workers, trade-unionists of PAME, and the assassinations of the militant singer Pavlos Fyssas and the immigrant worker Shehzad Luqman.
The popular organizations and trade unions in Greece organized a huge demonstration in front of the court demanding the conviction of Golden Dawn as a criminal organization descended from the fascists and their local collaborators during the Second World War in Greece.
The world class-oriented workers’ movement, the WFTU, with its millions of members and friends around the globe, will continue and intensify our struggle to isolate neo-Nazism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination, which are growing in the territory of anti-labor policy of the EU and capitalist governments.
We call upon all militant trade unionists all over the world to struggle for the isolation and elimination of xenophobia, racism and fascism, for the peaceful co-existence and prosperity of all workers.
Workers have nothing to divide us!
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