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	'''Hrisi Avgi''' ('''Golden Dawn''') was a Greek ] party, espousing an ], ] and ] philosophy. "Hrisi Avgi" is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.		'''Hrisi Avgi''' ('''Golden Dawn''') was a Greek ] party, espousing an ], ] and ] philosophy. "Hrisi Avgi" is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.

	Hrisi Avgi described itself as "The Popular National Movement" and said that the ideology of ''Nation-Race'' was central to its platform. The party claimed to be comprised of "young people, workers, students, professionals, farmers, day-laborers and the unemployed." <ref name="oldsite"> </ref>		Hrisi Avgi described itself as "The Popular National Movement" and said that the ideology of ''"Nation-Race"'' was central to its platform. The party claimed to be comprised of ''"young people, workers, students, professionals, farmers, day-laborers and the unemployed."'' <ref name="oldsite"> </ref>

	The party's symbol was a red flag bearing a black ] pattern with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Hrisi Avgi members were the ], the ] and the ].		The party's symbol was a red flag bearing a black ] pattern (''Greek key'') with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Hrisi Avgi members were the ], the ] and the ].

	Unlike the ], the ], and other ], ] and ] ] movements, Hrisi Avgi openly espoused Nazi-like symbols and ideology, as well as ]-style methods. The party also advocated much more radical policies in relation to ], ] and border issues.		Unlike the ] (which is more like the French ]), the ], and other ], ] and ] ] movements, Hrisi Avgi openly espoused Nazi-like symbols and ideology, as well as ]-style methods. The party also advocated much more radical policies in relation to ], ] and border issues.

	==History==		==History==
	].]]		].]]
	In December 1980, Nikolaos Michaloliakos and a group of devotees started publishing the ''Hrisi Avgi'' magazine. Michaloliakos was known for assaulting journalists covering the 1976 trial of Mallios, a police officer who was later convicted for torturing prisoners during the ]. Michaloliakos was arrested for this, but was let go due to technical issues related to his arrest. He was arrested again in 1978 as a member of a far-right extremist group, and sentenced to one year imprisonment in 1979 for illegally carrying guns and explosives.<ref name="IosHist"> by the Iospress journalist team of ].</ref>		In December 1980, ] and a group of devotees started publishing the ''Hrisi Avgi'' magazine. Michaloliakos was known for assaulting journalists covering the 1976 trial of Mallios, a police officer who was later convicted for torturing prisoners during the ]. Michaloliakos was arrested for this, but was let go due to technical issues related to his arrest. He was arrested again in 1978 as a member of a far-right extremist group, and sentenced to one year imprisonment in 1979 for illegally carrying guns and explosives.<ref name="IosHist"> by the Iospress journalist team of ].</ref>

	During this period, Michaloliakos laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the party were clearly ].		During this period, Michaloliakos laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the party were clearly ].
Line 78:		Line 75:
	==Activities==		==Activities==
	]		]
	Hrisi Avgi (and the subsequent ]) ~~has held~~ annual marches on January 28, in memory of the three Greek officers who died during the 1996 ]. According to the ] website, the 2006 march was attended by 2.500 people.<ref name="ImiaMarch2006"> from the European National Front website.</ref>		Hrisi Avgi (and the subsequent ]) holds annual marches on January 28, in memory of the three Greek officers who died during the 1996 ]. According to the ] website, the 2006 march was attended by 2.500 people.<ref name="ImiaMarch2006"> from the European National Front website.</ref>

	Hrisi Avgi organized an annual rally on June 17 in ], in memory of ]. The 2006 rally was attacked by police, who forced the members of Hrisi Avgi and Patriotiki Symmachia to leave the area.<ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref> According to the European National Front website, the police acted without any order of the state attorney. <ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref>		Hrisi Avgi organized an annual rally on June 17 in ], in memory of ]. The 2006 rally was attacked by police, who forced the members of Hrisi Avgi and Patriotiki Symmachia to leave the area.<ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref> According to the European National Front website, the police acted without any order of the state attorney. <ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref>

	Later the same day, members of Hrisi Avgi tried to protest by gathering inside the building of ], a state-owned television channel. They tried to stop normal broadcasting. <ref name="Thessalia"> by newspaper Thessalia</ref> The police surrounded the building and arrested 48 people. <ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref> They were found guilty of carrying arms (Greek flags according to Hrisi Avgi), and were fined €500.<ref name="HApress"> (in Greek)</ref>		Later the same day, members of Hrisi Avgi tried to protest by gathering inside the building of ], a state-owned television channel. They tried to stop normal broadcasting. <ref name="Thessalia"> by newspaper Thessalia</ref> The police surrounded the building and arrested 48 people. <ref name="48arrested"> from the ENF website</ref> They were found guilty of carrying arms (Greek flags according to Hrisi Avgi), and were fined €500.<ref name="HApress"> (in Greek)</ref>


		⚫	===Galazia Stratia===
		⚫	In 2000, members of Hrisi Avgi formed the ] ''Galazia Stratia'' (Greek for "Blue Army"), which described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." Following the party's official disbandment in 2005, former Hrisi Avgi members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. <ref name="Mundohooligans"> by Eleftherotypia</ref> Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts.{{fact}}

		⚫	Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts at sporting events involving the Greek national teams. Galazia Stratia and Hrisi Avgi have the same street address. <ref name="NaziHooligan">, ''Eleftherotypia 1/12/2001''</ref> Hrisi Avgi has made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper and accepting praise back from the firm.<ref name="GSthanksHA"></ref>

		⚫	When the ] won the ], feverish celebrations took place all over the country. In the midst of the chaotic celebrations, Galazia Stratia attacked immigrants of various ethnicities. Later the same year, after a football match between Greece and ] in ] (in which Greece lost 2-1), Albanian hooligans set fire on a Greek flag, and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece. Anti-fascist groups held Hrisi Avgi directly responsible for the attacks.<ref name="A-Info"> </ref>

		⚫	During the celebrations following the success of the ] at the ], Galazia Stratia members severely beat a young ] and an elderly ].<ref name="Mundohooligans"/>

	===Eurofest 2005===		===Eurofest 2005===
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	In January 1998, Hrisi Avgi members attacked Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band ].<ref name="Ios1.2.1998"/> According to magazine ''KLIK'', Kalofolias suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight.<ref name="KLIK">(in Greek)</ref> In 2000, the Monastirioton ] of ], the memorial for ] victims in Thessaloniki, and the Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and ] were vandalized by unknown suspects. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. This caused the ''KIS'', the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the leftist political party ], the ] and others to issue statements condemning these acts.<ref name="KISnews"> (in Greek). Also contains photographs of the dececrations.</ref><ref name="GHM"> (in Greek)</ref>		In January 1998, Hrisi Avgi members attacked Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band ].<ref name="Ios1.2.1998"/> According to magazine ''KLIK'', Kalofolias suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight.<ref name="KLIK">(in Greek)</ref> In 2000, the Monastirioton ] of ], the memorial for ] victims in Thessaloniki, and the Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and ] were vandalized by unknown suspects. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. This caused the ''KIS'', the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the leftist political party ], the ] and others to issue statements condemning these acts.<ref name="KISnews"> (in Greek). Also contains photographs of the dececrations.</ref><ref name="GHM"> (in Greek)</ref>

	Hrisi Avgi's offices have been attacked several times~~. The party claimed these attacks were carried out~~ by ] and ].<ref name="XApress"> (in Greek)</ref> <ref name="Ingr20.11"> from in.gr (in Greek)</ref>		Hrisi Avgi's offices have been attacked several times, by ] and ].<ref name="XApress"> (in Greek)</ref> <ref name="Ingr20.11"> from in.gr (in Greek)</ref>

	In November 2005, Hrisi Avgi's offices were attacked by a group of anti-fascists with ]s and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured. <ref name="Ingr20.11"> from in.gr (in Greek)</ref> According to Hrisi Avgi, three suspects were arrested and set free~~, although there are no reliable outside sources proving that this claim is true~~. <ref name="XApress"> (in Greek)</ref>		In November 2005, Hrisi Avgi's offices were attacked by a group of anti-fascists with ]s and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured. <ref name="Ingr20.11"> from in.gr (in Greek)</ref> According to Hrisi Avgi, three suspects were arrested and set free.<ref name="XApress"> (in Greek)</ref>

	In the consequent investigation by the police, molotov cocktails were discovered in Hrisi Avgi's offices. <ref name="Ingr20.11"/> This attack eventually was the reason for the organisation's disbandment. <ref name="Ingr"> by (in Greek)</ref> <ref name="ENF_disbandment">, ENF website</ref>		In the consequent investigation by the police, molotov cocktails were discovered in Hrisi Avgi's offices. <ref name="Ingr20.11"/> This attack eventually was the reason for the organisation's disbandment. <ref name="Ingr"> by (in Greek)</ref> <ref name="ENF_disbandment">, ENF website</ref>

	In June 2006, three young members of Hrisi Avgi were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in ], ].<ref name="ENF32">, ENF website</ref> <ref name="XApress2"></ref> Hrisi Avgi claimed they were attacked simply because they were wearing T-shirts with the ]. According to the police, at least one of the Hrisi Avgi members was known to the authorities because he had been involved in a similar incident a month earlier, in which he had injured a police officer who had tried to stop the violence. The same person has been reported by the police as a suspect in several cases of attacks against immigrants and anarchists in the area.<ref name="XApress2"></ref> After being attacked, he became ] for three weeks.<ref name="XApress2"></ref> Clashes between members of Hrisi Avgi and anti-fascists are not unusual. <ref name="Ingr17.09"> by in.gr</ref>		In June 2006, three young members of Hrisi Avgi were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in ], ].<ref name="ENF32">, ENF website</ref> <ref name="XApress2"></ref> Hrisi Avgi claimed they were attacked simply because they were wearing T-shirts with the ]. According to the police, at least one of the Hrisi Avgi members was known to the authorities because he had been involved in a similar incident a month earlier, in which he had injured a police officer who had tried to stop the violence. The same person has been reported by the police as a suspect in several cases of attacks against immigrants and anarchists in the area.<ref name="XApress2"></ref> After being attacked, he became ] for three weeks.<ref name="XApress2"></ref> Clashes between members of Hrisi Avgi and anti-fascists are not unusual. <ref name="Ingr17.09"> by in.gr</ref>

⚫	===Galazia Stratia===
⚫	In 2000, members of Hrisi Avgi formed the ] ''Galazia Stratia'' (Greek for "Blue Army"), which described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." Following the party's official disbandment in 2005, former Hrisi Avgi members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. <ref name="Mundohooligans"> by Eleftherotypia</ref> Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts.{{fact}}

⚫	Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts at sporting events involving the Greek national teams. Galazia Stratia and Hrisi Avgi have the same street address. <ref name="NaziHooligan">, ''Eleftherotypia 1/12/2001''</ref> Hrisi Avgi has made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper and accepting praise back from the firm.<ref name="GSthanksHA"></ref>

⚫	When the ] won the ], feverish celebrations took place all over the country. In the midst of the chaotic celebrations, Galazia Stratia attacked immigrants of various ethnicities. Later the same year, after a football match between Greece and ] in ] (in which Greece lost 2-1), Albanian hooligans set fire on a Greek flag, and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece. Anti-fascist groups held Hrisi Avgi directly responsible for the attacks.<ref name="A-Info"> </ref>

⚫	During the celebrations following the success of the ] at the ], Galazia Stratia members severely beat a young ] and an elderly ].<ref name="Mundohooligans"/>

	===The ''Periandros'' case===		===The ''Periandros'' case===

Revision as of 18:38, 3 December 2006

File:Xrisi avgi.JPG

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Hrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn) was a Greek neo-Nazi party, espousing an anti-semitic, anti-capitalist and anti-immigrant philosophy. "Hrisi Avgi" is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.

Hrisi Avgi described itself as "The Popular National Movement" and said that the ideology of "Nation-Race" was central to its platform. The party claimed to be comprised of "young people, workers, students, professionals, farmers, day-laborers and the unemployed."

The party's symbol was a red flag bearing a black meander pattern (Greek key) with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Hrisi Avgi members were the national emblem of Greece, the labrys and the Celtic cross.

Unlike the Hellenic Front (which is more like the French Front National), the Popular Orthodox Rally, and other traditionalist, patriotic and religious conservative movements, Hrisi Avgi openly espoused Nazi-like symbols and ideology, as well as putsch-style methods. The party also advocated much more radical policies in relation to immigration, irridenta and border issues.

History

File:XA-Jul06-128.jpg

Cover of the July 2006 issue of Hrisi Avgi magazine, featuring Rudolf Hess.

In December 1980, Nikolaos Michaloliakos and a group of devotees started publishing the Hrisi Avgi magazine. Michaloliakos was known for assaulting journalists covering the 1976 trial of Mallios, a police officer who was later convicted for torturing prisoners during the Regime of the Colonels. Michaloliakos was arrested for this, but was let go due to technical issues related to his arrest. He was arrested again in 1978 as a member of a far-right extremist group, and sentenced to one year imprisonment in 1979 for illegally carrying guns and explosives.

During this period, Michaloliakos laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the party were clearly National Socialist.

1991-1992

The party remained largely in the margins of far-right politics until the FYROM name dispute broke into mainstream Greek politics in 1991 and 1992. According to prominent party member Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos, "The first years of the 90s found the Greek nationalist movement at a quantitive increase never seen before, and also saw it enter the political mainstream. The agitation over national issues and the long ideological work, unseen to many, have borne fruit".

The party underwent ideological changes so as to reach into the mainstream, accepting Orthodox Christianity., Michaloliakos stated: "It is a historical truth and a certain fact that (for better or worse) after the imposition of the Christian religion in Greece, the dynamic interaction of Christianity and Hellenism (which for long functioned against the latter) led to the formation of Greek Orthodoxy".

During that period, the first major assaults against leftists and anarchists start occurring. In October 10 1992, about 30 party members attacked leftist students at the Athens University of Economics and Business. This occurred during a massive demonstration in Athens against the usage of the name Macedonia by FYROM. Around the same time, the first organized street teams appeared under Giannis Giannopoulos, a former military officer who was involved with the South African Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) during the 1980s.

1992 and later

After the events of 1991 and 1992, Hrisi Avgi had gained a stable membership of more than 200 members, and Giannopoulos rose in importance within the party hierarchy. In April 1996, Giannopoulos was the speaker on behalf of the party at a pan-European convention of nationalist parties in Moscow, where he presented Vladimir Zhirinovsky with a bust of Alexander the Great for his birthday. In October 1997, he published an article in Hrisi Avgi newspaper calling for nationalist vigilantism against illegal immigrants and leftists.

File:Greek Volunteers.PNG

Greek volunteers in Bosnia raising Greek and Serbian flags after the capture of Srebrenica.

A few members of Hrisi Avgi took part in the Bosnian War in 1995 as members of the Greek Volunteer Guard (GVG), which was part of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska. A few GVG volunteers were present in Srebrenica during the Srebrenica massacre, and raised a Greek flag at a ruined church after the fall of the town. It is not clear whether the GVG participated in the massacres or not. Spiros Tzanopoulos, a GVG sargeant who took part in the attack against Srebrenica stated: "Myself, as well as many other Greek volunteers, belong to a particular political formation, we belong to Hrisi Avgi and that was the main reason we went up there".

The cover of the June 2, 1995 issue of the party's newspaper featured the activities of its members alongside the Chetniks, and the July 28, 1995 issue quotes a GVG volunteer as saying Hrisi Avgi was represented more than any other organisation or party at the GVG.. Members of Hrisi Avgi participating in the GVG were decorated by Radovan Karadžić, however according to former Hrisi Avgi member Charis Kousoumbris, those that were decorated later left Hrisi Avgi.

In 1998, a prominent party member, Antonis Androutsopoulos, known as Periandros, assaulted the student activist Dimitris Kousouris. The assault brought mainstream media attention to Hrisi Avgi. This, along with internal conflicts led some of its most extremist elements, such as Giannopoulos, to gradually fade from official party affairs. The party continued participating in the far-right edge of the political spectrum, holding rallies and marches.

Hrisi Avgi participated in the 1999 European Parliament election under an electoral alliance with the Front Line party of Kostas Plevris, gaining 48,532 votes nationwide; 0.75% of the total votes.

During a 2005 gay pride parade in Athens, the party distributed fliers with homophobic messages.

Disbandment

According to the leader of the party, the organization ceased to exist after December 1, 2005, due to clashes with anti-fascists. However, its members, have been instructed to continue their activism within the Patriotiki Symmachia party. Despite the official disbandment of Hrisi Avgi, activities by Patriotiki Symmachia members are often attributed to Hrisi Avgi (even by themselves), creating confusion.

The newspaper and the magazine of the same name continue to be published, and the organization's website continues to be updated _ mainly to support the Patriotiki Symmachia-sponsored candidacy of Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos for the 2006 Athens municipal elections.

Ideology

File:Vitsi 2003 small.jpg

Hrisi Avgi members at a 2003 rally marking the anniversary of the Hellenic Army's victory against the communist partisans in the Greek Civil War battle of Grammos-Vitsi.

In an interview with the nationalist newspaper Eleutheros Kosmos, party leader Michaloliakos stated that the members of Hrisi Avgi are "uncompromising Nationalists." He also said:

The ideology of our movement as is characteristically cited in our charter is Popular Nationalism. We believe in the Nation — the notion of the Nation first of all as a biological reality within the course of history — we believe in the grandeur and the superiority of Hellenic civilization. We want a just society that will be governed by the Worthy, and we are anti-Marxists as much as we are anti-capitalists.

Michaloliakos described Hrisi Avgi as

A movement that is firmly counter to the spirit of the French Revolution, the so-called "enlightenment", and those who generally created the industrial revolution. It is a 'revolt against the modern world', a revolution against all of the unfortunate things the industrial revolution created, which didn't have the intention of the people's welfare but rather profit.

The Who We Are section or the party's old website read:

The ideological and political character of our movement is without dispute Nationalism, but simultaneously Socialism as well. ... We campaign for a Greater Greece in a Free Europe, we campaign for the Fatherland and the People without remission and compromises.

The What We Want section of the website stated:

With only two words we believe in a New Policy, in a Policy truly National, that won't be dependent on big entrepreneurs and managers, who hold in bond the Political Parties of the establishment, that unfortunately direct the fortunes of our Nation. ... We believe in a Foreign Policy independent and proud, a Policy where Greece won't be a subordinate of America or any other foreigner..

The What We Believe section said:

Our prevalent Idea and Belief is Nation-Race. Above everything for us is Greek Blood and the National Legacy. Still yet we believe in a just State in which everyone will be equal next to the law and where the law will be held reverent by all. We campaign for the abolition of parliamentary immunity and for the prevalence of a just state and social peace in our Fatherland. We believe in a State where its rulers won't be composed of the clever who hold billions, who profligate at elections, but the genuinely Worthy and Accomplished. We believe in a new Hellenic Civilization rooted in the great and everlasting Legacy of our Race. We believe in a Hellenic Way of Life as opposed to the sordid and vulgar foreign-imported mores.

Activities

File:Imia06 2.jpg

A 2006 Hrisi Avgi march in memory of three Greek officers who died during the Imia military crisis.

Hrisi Avgi (and the subsequent Patiotiki Symmachia) holds annual marches on January 28, in memory of the three Greek officers who died during the 1996 Imia military crisis. According to the European National Front website, the 2006 march was attended by 2.500 people.

Hrisi Avgi organized an annual rally on June 17 in Thessaloniki, in memory of Alexander The Great. The 2006 rally was attacked by police, who forced the members of Hrisi Avgi and Patriotiki Symmachia to leave the area. According to the European National Front website, the police acted without any order of the state attorney.

Later the same day, members of Hrisi Avgi tried to protest by gathering inside the building of ERT3, a state-owned television channel. They tried to stop normal broadcasting. The police surrounded the building and arrested 48 people. They were found guilty of carrying arms (Greek flags according to Hrisi Avgi), and were fined €500.

Galazia Stratia

In 2000, members of Hrisi Avgi formed the hooligan firm Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." Following the party's official disbandment in 2005, former Hrisi Avgi members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts.

Galazia Stratia has been involved in a series of violent acts at sporting events involving the Greek national teams. Galazia Stratia and Hrisi Avgi have the same street address. Hrisi Avgi has made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper and accepting praise back from the firm.

When the Greek national footbal team won the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, feverish celebrations took place all over the country. In the midst of the chaotic celebrations, Galazia Stratia attacked immigrants of various ethnicities. Later the same year, after a football match between Greece and Albania in Tirane (in which Greece lost 2-1), Albanian hooligans set fire on a Greek flag, and violence erupted against Albanian immigrants in various parts of Greece. Anti-fascist groups held Hrisi Avgi directly responsible for the attacks.

During the celebrations following the success of the national basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Galazia Stratia members severely beat a young Palestinian and an elderly Bangladeshi.

Eurofest 2005

In September 2005, Hrisi Avgi attempted to organise a festival called "Eurofest 2005 - Nationalist Summer Camp" at the grounds of a Greek summer camp. The planned festival depended on the participation of the German NPD, the Italian Forza Nuova and the Romanian Noua Dreapta, as well as Spanish and American neo-Nazi groups. The festival was cancelled, largely because of the reaction of anti-fascist groups, which led the government to ban the gathering.

Violence by and against Hrisi Avgi

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File:XAnews-Aug06-604.jpg

Cover of the August 2006 issue of Hrisi Avgi.

Members of Hrisi Avgi have at times been accused of assaults against immigrants and political opponents.

In January 1998, Hrisi Avgi members attacked Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band The Last Drive. According to magazine KLIK, Kalofolias suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight. In 2000, the Monastirioton synagogue of Thessaloniki, the memorial for Holocaust victims in Thessaloniki, and the Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and Athens were vandalized by unknown suspects. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. This caused the KIS, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the leftist political party Synaspismos, the Greek Helsinki Monitor and others to issue statements condemning these acts.

Hrisi Avgi's offices have been attacked several times, by anarchists and anti-fascists.

In November 2005, Hrisi Avgi's offices were attacked by a group of anti-fascists with molotov cocktails and stones. Unknown perpetrators responded to the anti-fascists with gunshots, and two people (who testified that they were just passing by) were injured. According to Hrisi Avgi, three suspects were arrested and set free.

In the consequent investigation by the police, molotov cocktails were discovered in Hrisi Avgi's offices. This attack eventually was the reason for the organisation's disbandment.

In June 2006, three young members of Hrisi Avgi were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in Galatsi, Athens. Hrisi Avgi claimed they were attacked simply because they were wearing T-shirts with the Greek Flag. According to the police, at least one of the Hrisi Avgi members was known to the authorities because he had been involved in a similar incident a month earlier, in which he had injured a police officer who had tried to stop the violence. The same person has been reported by the police as a suspect in several cases of attacks against immigrants and anarchists in the area. After being attacked, he became comatose for three weeks. Clashes between members of Hrisi Avgi and anti-fascists are not unusual.

The Periandros case

From 1998 to September 14, 2005 (when he surrendered to the authorities), Antonios Androutsopoulos, a prominent member of Hrisi Avgi better known as Periandros, was on the run for the June 16, 1998 attempted murder of three leftist students, including Dimitris Kousouris. Androutsopoulos had been sentenced in abstentia to four years of prison for illegal weapon possession, while the attempted murder charges against him were still standing.

The authorities' failure to apprehend Periandros for seven years raised criticisms by the media. An article in the newspaper Ta Nea claimed that Periandros remained in Greece and evaded arrest, due to connections with the police. In a 2004 interview, the former minister of public order of PASOK, Michalis Chrysochoidis, claimed that such accusations were unfounded, and blamed the inefficiency of the Greek police. Until 2005, when Androutsopoulos surrendered, it was alleged that he had evaded arrest because he had been residing in Venezuela, where he fled after charges were pressed against him. His trial began on September 20, 2006, and he was convicted to 21 years in prison on September 25, 2006.

Allegations of connections to the Greek Police

In a 1998 interview with the newspaper Eleftherotypia, Georgios Romaios (the minister of public order at the time) alleged the existence of "fascist elements in the Greek police", and vowed to suppress them. In a TV interview that same year, Romaios again claimed that there was a pro-fascist group within the police force although he said it was not organized, and was only involved in isolated incidents. The same year, Eleftherotypia published a lengthy article called "The lower limbs of the police", which outlined connections between the police and neo-fascists. Dimitris Reppas, the PASOK government spokesman, strongly denied such connections.

However, the article quoted a speech by PASOK MP Paraskevas Paraskevopoulos about a riot caused by right wing extremists, in which he said:

In Thessaloniki it is widely discussed that far-right organisations are active in the security forces. Members of such organisations were the planners and chief executioners of the riot and nobody was arrested. A Special Forces officer, speaking at a briefing of Special Forces policemen that where to be on duty that day, told the policemen not to arrest anyone because the rioters were not enemies and threatened that should this be overlooked there would be penalties.

Before the surrender of Androutsopoulos, an article by the newspaper Ta Nea claimed that the Hrisi Avgi had close relationships with some parts of the Greek police force. In relation to the Periandros case, the article quoted an unidentified police officer who said that "half the force wanted Periandros arrested and the other half didn't". The article claimed that there was a confidential internal police investigation which concluded that:

Hrisi Avgi had very good relations and contacts with officers of the force — on and off duty — as well as with common policemen.
The police provided the group with batons and radio communications equipment during mass demonstrations — mainly during celebrations of the Athens Polytechnic uprising and during rallies by leftist and anarchist groups — in order to provoke riots.
The connections of the group with the force, as well as connections with Periandros, largely delayed his arrest.
The brother of "Periandros", also a member of Hrisi Avgi, was a security escort of an unnamed New Democracy MP.
Most Hrisi Avgi members were illegally carrying weapons.

The newspaper published a photograph of a typewritten paragraph with no identifiable insignia as evidence of the secret investigation. In the article, the minister of public order, Michalis Chrysochoidis, responded that he did not recollect such a probe. Chrysochoidis also denied accusations that far right connections within the police force delayed the arrest of Periandros. He said that left-wing, terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Organization 17 November had similarly evaded the police for decades. In both cases, he attributed the failures to "stupidity and incompetence" on behalf of the force.

Hrisi Avgi claims that rumours about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government were untrue, and said that the police had intervened in Hrisi Avgi rallies, and had arrested some its members many times while the New Democracy party was in power (for example, during the rally in Thessaloniki, in June 2006 and in the rally for the anniversary of the Pontian Greek Genocide, in Athens, again in 2006).

Notes and references

^ From the old website of Hrisi Avgi Cite error: The named reference "oldsite" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ 2/07/1998 article by the Iospress journalist team of Eleftherotypia.
Hrisi Avgi's newspaper, 25/7/97
18/6/2000 article by Eleftherotypia's Iospress
"Proposals for a New Policy" ("Προτάσεις για μια Νέα Πολιτική"), Nikolaos Michaloliakos, 1992
27/9/1998 article by Iospress.
article by Eleftherotypia, contains parts of Giannopoulos' article.
Michas, Takis;"Unholy Alliance", Texas A&M University Press: Eastern European Studies (College Station, Tex.) pp. 22
^ 16/07/2005 article by Eleftherotypia.
27/06/2005 article by Eleftherotypia
^ 01/12/05 article by www.in.gr (in Greek)
^ Golden Dawn stops their activities, ENF website
06/08/06 interview of Patriotiki Symmachia's municipal candidate posted 9 months after H.A.'s disbandment
ENF gathers in Athens from the European National Front website.
^ 48 Greek nationalists arrested from the ENF website
18/6/06 article by newspaper Thessalia
Hrisi Avgi's press release (in Greek)
^ 10/9/2006 article by Eleftherotypia
Nazis dressed up as fans, Eleftherotypia 1/12/2001
Galazia Stratia thanking Hrisi Avgi for the support
A-Infos: Greece, Anarchist block at antiracist demo in Athens
^ Hrisi Avgi press release (in Greek)
^ Iospress article about attacks by the H.A. (in Greek)
Article by the magazine KLIK(in Greek)
Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece press release (in Greek). Also contains photographs of the dececrations.
Greek Helsinki Monitor press release (in Greek)
^ 20/11/05 article from in.gr (in Greek)
Assassination attempt against 3 young nationalists in Athens, ENF website
^ 04/08/06 Hrisi Avgi press release
17/09/05 article by in.gr
^ 17/04/2004 article by Ta Nea (in Greek)
14/09/2005 article by Kathimerini
14/09/2005 article by Eleftherotypia (in Greek)
27/04/2004 article by Kathimerini (in Greek)
14/09/2005 article by Kathimerini (in Greek)
25/09/06 article by in.gr (in Greek)
Athens News Agency: Press Review in Greek, 98-06-29
^ Iospress article part 3 (in Greek)
Iospress article part 1 (in Greek)
Image from the article of Ta Nea

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