Greece Cracks Down On Neo-Nazis, Fascists

Down With Tyranny blogger Howie Klein draws a strong contrast between Greece, whose citizens and government have had it with the rise of fascist movements, with the United States, where John Boehner stands by passively as a radical fringe hijacks his caucus:

Obama and Boehner are both victims of the rise of far right populism in the U.S. Boehner, much like the mainstream conservatives in Weimar Germany in the 1930s, has buckled under to it. Obama hasn’t. The same exact strain of toxic right-wing populism– whether you want to call it Tea Party, Nazi, Fascist or Golden Dawn– has catapulted to the third biggest party in Greece, with 18 Deputies in Parliament. And over the weekend, Greek anti-terrorism police arrested party fuehrer Nikos Michaloliakos and rounded up many of his top lieutenants, including three sitting members of Parliament. They have been charged with forming a criminal organization.

This is more than a pretty big deal in Greece, whose economy has been decimated by an EU economic policy that turned the nation into an incubator for hard-right extremism. Michaloliakos’ arrest has some serious ramifications for the struggling nation:

Greek police have mounted an unprecedented crackdown on the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party, arresting its leader, three MPs, and more than a dozen other key members.

As the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, held emergency talks on Saturday with his public order and justice ministers, Nikos Michaloliakos, the extremist organisation’s enigmatic founder, was being held by counter-terror officers after a carefully orchestrated operation that began in the early hours of the morning.

The arrested officials will appear in court over the weekend on charges of forming a criminal organization, police said. …

Authorities said some 25 counter-terrorism units were trying to track down two other MPs almost nine hours after Michaloliakos was arrested in his Athens home at 7am. Greek media quoted the politician as telling police “what you are doing is not right. The truth will shine,” as he was taken away in handcuffs. …

Police said weapons had been discovered in the crackdown. Three guns allegedly found in Michaloliakos’ home were to undergo ballistics tests, the media reported.

Greece’s third-biggest party, Golden Dawn has seen its popularity soar amid desperation and despair over the country’s economy, becoming Europe’s most extreme rightwing political force in the process. Human rights groups hold the party responsible for hundreds of attacks on dark-skinned immigrants in the three years since the debt-stricken country plunged into crisis.

By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.