Solidarity with Greek anti-fascists

By New Worker correspondent

 AROUND 100 anti-fascists assembled in Front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 19th April to send a message of solidarity to anti-fascists in Greece fighting the Nazi Golden Dawn movement.

The event was on the day before up to 70 members of Golden Dawn were to be tried in a Greek court on charges relating to their criminal activities.

Golden Dawn, like other fascist parties, has an electoral wing trying to win votes and a street fighting wing attacking and trying to intimidate communists, socialists, trade unionists and immigrants.

It has 17 MPs, despite an unashamedly hard-core Nazi image and swastika style party logo. Its street thugs are murderous.

The trial, which began on Monday in Athens, comes after massive mobilisations by antifascists in protest at the murder of antifascist hip hop artist Pavlos Fyssas. The killing was the latest of a string of horrific attacks linked to the fascist party, including the racist murder of Shehzad Luqman and an attack on the militant PAME trade union front.

The rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday was organised jointly by Unite Against Fascism, Anti-Fascist Action for Greece, the Greek Solidarity Campaign, and the Greek antifascist organisation KEERFA.

UAF joint general secretary Weyman Bennett read out a solidarity message to be sent to anti-fascists in Greece: “We send solidarity from London to antifascists in Greece who have campaigned against Golden Dawn. We hope to see its leaders jailed next week. This is not just an important matter for people in Greece, but for all over Europe.

“Over the past few years we have seen the rise of Golden Dawn in Greece, and also of the fascist Front National in France. Other racist and fascist organisations across the continent have taken encouragement from their gains.

“It is important in Greece, in Britain and elsewhere to organise against these racist and fascist groups. They are trying to feed off austerity, to create hatred and division.

“In Greece, we have seen the murderous results of the fascists’ successes. We congratulate antifascists in Greece on the long campaign that has brought about next week’s trial but we must all stay vigilant and continue to oppose the fascists whenever and wherever they try to organise.”

There were speeches in English and Greek, and everyone joined in a chant of “poteh xana fasismosa” meaning “fascism, never again!”