Chrysi Avyi (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: Χρυσή Αυγή,
Khrysē Aygē, "Golden Dawn") is a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
extremist
NationalistNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
political organization led by
Nikolaos MichaloliakosNikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek neo-Nazi organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens....
. Chrysi Avyi opposes
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
,
MarxismMarxism is the political philosophy and economic worldview based upon a materialist interpretation of history, a Marxist analysis of capitalism, a theory of social change, and an atheist view of human liberation derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; three primary aspects of...
,
globalizationGlobalization describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and exchange....
and
multiculturalismMulticulturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...
.
Chrysi Avyi is also the name of a newspaper and a magazine published by that party.
Chrysi Avyi has only reached as high as 0.5% of the vote in a national election. It ceased political operations in 2005, and it was absorbed by the
Patriotic AlliancePatriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
, which ceased operations after Michaloliakos withdrew support. In March 2007, Chrysi Avyi held its sixth congress, where party officials announced the resumption of their political activism.
Chrysi Avyi described itself as a "Popular Nationalist Movement" and "uncompromising Nationalists." Michaloliakos described Chrysi Avyi as opposing the "so-called
EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
" and the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the United Kingdom. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe, North...
, while supporting
National SocialismNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
. According to the party's charter, "only
AryansThe Aryan race is a concept historically influential in European culture in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race...
in blood and
GreeksThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
in descent can be candidate members of Chrysi Avyi". The charter also puts the leader in total control of the party, and formalizes the use of the
Roman saluteThe Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. Sometimes the arm is raised upward at an angle, sometimes it is held out parallel to the ground. A well known symbol of Fascism, it is commonly perceived to be based on a classical...
for party members. At first, the party embraced
neo-PaganNeopaganism or Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by pre-Christian pagan beliefs of Europe....
beliefs, believing them to be intermingled with National Socialism in accordance to Nazi occultism, describing Marxism and
liberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
as "the ideological carriers of
Judeo-ChristianJudeo–Christian is a term used in the United States, broadly to describe a body of concepts and values thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity...
ity. Later, however, the party underwent ideological changes, accepting
Eastern Orthodox ChristianityThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
.
The party's symbol is a red flag bearing a black meander pattern with white trim. Other symbols adopted by Chrysi Avyi members are the
national emblem of GreeceThe National Emblem of Greece consists of a blue escutcheon with a white cross totally surrounded by two laurel branches. The emblem is painted or woven, mainly on the hats, uniforms and buttons of the military, the security forces etc.- History :...
, the
labrysLabrys is the term for a symmetrical doubleheaded axe, known to the Classical Greeks as pelekus or sagaris, and to the Romans as a bipennis....
and the
Celtic crossA Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. The early Celtic stone high cross is generally in the form of a normal cross with a ring joining the arms for structural strength, often with an extended rectangular or cubic base that is mounted on the...
.
History
In December 1980,
Nikolaos MichaloliakosNikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek neo-Nazi organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens....
, and a group of his supporters launched
Chrysi Avyi magazine. Michaloliakos (a mathematician, former commando) had been active in far right politics for many years, and he had been arrested several times for politically-motivated offences. While he was in prison, Michaloliakos met the leaders of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, and he laid the foundations of the Hrisi Avgi party. The characteristics of the magazine and the organisation were clearly
National SocialistNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
.
Chrysi Avyi magazine stopped being published in April 1984, when Michaloliakos joined the
National Political UnionThe National Political Union, better known as EPEN was a Greek far-right political party. The party was founded on January 30, 1984 by jailed former junta leader Georgios Papadopoulos. It participated in the 1985 general election...
and took over the leadership of its youth section. In January 1985, he broke away from the National Political Union and founded the Popular National Movement - Chrysi Avyi, which was officially recognised as a political party in 1993.
Chrysi Avyi had remained largely on the margins of far right politics until the
Macedonia naming disputeThe Macedonia naming dispute refers to the disagreement over the use of the name Macedonia between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. Greece opposes the post-1991 constitutional name of its northern neighbour, citing the lack of disambiguation between it and the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia...
in 1991 and 1992. The left-leaning newspaper
EleftherotypiaEleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
reported that on October 10, 1992, about thirty Chrysi Avyi members attacked left wing students at the
Athens University of Economics and BusinessAthens University of Economics and Business was founded in 1920 in Athens, Greece. Its buildings are housed on Patision Street....
during a massive demonstration against the usage of the name
Macedonia by the former Yugoslav
Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. Around the same time, the first far right street
gangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s appeared under the leadership of Giannis Giannopoulos, a former military officer who was involved with the South African
Afrikaner WeerstandsbewegingThe Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging or AWB, is a far right political organisation and former paramilitary group in South Africa under the leadership of Eugène Terre'Blanche. They are committed to the restoration of an independent Boer republic or "" within South Africa...
(AWB) during the 1980s. After the events of 1991 and 1992, Chrysi Avyi had gained a stable membership of more than 200 members, and Giannopoulos rose within the party hierarchy. Chrysi Avyi ran in the
1994 European Parliament electionThe European Parliament election of 1994 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 12. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
, gaining 7.264 votes nationwide; 0.11% of the votes cast.
A few Chrysi Avyi members participated in the
Bosnian WarThe Bosnian War, also known as the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was an international armed conflict that took place between March 1992 and November 1995. The war involved several sides...
in the Greek Volunteer Guard (GVG), which was part of the Drina Corps of the
Army of Republika SrpskaThe Army of the Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
. A few GVG volunteers were present in
SrebrenicaSrebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa...
during the Srebrenica massacre, and they raised a
Greek flagThe flag of Greece is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There is a blue canton in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the people of Greece and Greek Cypriots...
at a ruined church after the fall of the town. Spiros Tzanopoulos, a GVG sergeant who took part in the attack against Srebrenica, said many of the Greek volunteers participated in the war because they were members of Hrisi Avgi. Chrysi Avyi members in the GVG were decorated by
Radovan KaradžićRadovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician, poet and psychiatrist. He is currently on trial in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats, and other non-Serbs during the Siege of Sarajevo...
, but — according to former Chrysi Avyi member Charis Kousoumvris — those who were decorated later left the party.
In April 1996, Giannopoulos represented the party at a pan-European convention of nationalist parties in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, where he presented a bust of
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
to
Liberal Democratic Party of RussiaThe Liberal Democratic Party of Russia is a political party in Russia. It has been led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky almost since its founding, in 1989, as the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union. The LDPR describes itself as a centrist, pro-reform democratic party...
leader
Vladimir ZhirinovskyVladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
for his birthday. Chrysi Avyi participated in the
1996 legislative electionLegislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on 22 September 1996. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament.The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Costas Simitis, was elected, defeating the liberal-conservative New Democracy party of Miltiadis Evert.-Results: rowspan=2...
in September, receiving 4,487 votes nationwide; 0.07% of the votes cast. In October 1997, Giannopoulos published an article in
Chrysi Avyi magazine calling for nationalist
vigilantismA vigilante is someone who unlawfully punishes a criminal, or participates in a mob or conspiracy to mete out unlawful punishment to a criminal or criminals....
against
illegal immigrantsIllegal immigration is immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Illegal immigrants are also known as illegal aliens to differentiate them from legal aliens...
and left wingers. In 1998, a prominent party member, Antonios Androutsopoulos, assaulted left wing student activist Dimitris Kousouris. The resulting media attention, along with internal party conflicts (due to poor results in the 1996 elections), led some of its most extreme members (such as Giannopoulos) to gradually fade from official party affairs.
Chrysi Avyi continued to hold rallies and marches, and it ran in the
1999 European Parliament electionThe European Parliament election of 1999 in Greece for the election of the delegation from Greece to the European Parliament took place on June 13. The election system used in Greece was a party-list proportional representation with a 3% threshold for any party...
in an alliance with the
Front LineFront Line was a Greek nationalist party, formed in 1999.The party was headed by lawyer, historian, and nationalist thinker Konstantinos Plevris....
party, gaining 48,532 votes nationwide; 0.75% of the votes cast. Eleftherotypia criticicized Chrysi Avyi in 2005 after party members distributed
homophobicHomophobia is defined as an "irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals", or individuals perceived to be homosexual; it is also defined as "unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality", "fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay...
fliers during an Athens
gay pride paradePride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
.
2005 and later
According to Chrysi Avyi's leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the party paused its own autonomous political activities after December 1, 2005, due to clashes with
anti-fascistsAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, organizations, governments and individuals. Most major resistance movements during World War II were anti-fascist....
. Chrysi Avyi members had been instructed to continue their activism within the
Patriotic AlliancePatriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
party, which was very closely linked to Chrysi Avyi. The former leader of Patriotic Alliance, Dimitrios Zaphiropoulos, was once a member of Chrysi Avyi's political council, and Michaloliakos became a leading member of Patriotic Alliance. Anti-fascist groups had accused Patriotic Alliance of simply being the new name of Chrysi Avyi. Activities by Patriotic Alliance's members were often attributed to Hrisi Avgi (even by themselves), creating confusion. This is the main reason Chrysi Avyi's members announced the withdrawal of their support to Patriotic Alliance, which eventually led to the interruption of Chrysi Avyi's political activities.
In March 2007, Chrysi Avyi held its sixth congress and announced the continuation of their political and ideological activism. As of 2008, Chrysi Avyi's newspaper and magazine continue to be published, and the organisation's website is being updated.
Activities
Chrysi Avyi claimed to have local organisations in 32 Greek cities, as well as in
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
.
The party created the
Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis (
Committee of National Memory), to organise demonstrations commemorating the anniversaries of certain Greek national events. Since 1996, Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis organizes an annual march usually on January 31 in
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, in memory of three Greek officers who died during the
Imia military crisisImia in Greek, or Kardak in Turkish is a set of two small uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, situated between the Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey. They lie west of the coast of Muğla Province, east of the Greek island Kalymnos, and southeast...
. According to the
European National FrontEuropean National Front is a coordinating structure of European far right, Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
website, the 2006 march was attended by 2,500 people, although no neutral sources have confirmed that number. Epitropi Ethnikis Mninis has continued its activities, and the January 31 March took place in 2007.
Epitropi Ethnikis Mnimis has organized annual rallies on June 17 in Thessalonica, in memory of
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
. Police confronted the 2006 rally participants, forcing Chrysi Avyi and Patriotic Alliance members to leave the area, while anti-fascist and leftist groups took over the square where the nationalist event was supposed to take place, causing damage and vandalisms. Later that day, Chrysi Avyi members gathered in the building of
state-ownedPublic ownership refers to state ownership or control of any asset, industry, or enterprise at any level, national, regional or local ; or to common non-state ownership...
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
channel
ERT3ERT 3 or ET-3 is the third channel from ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. It is a regional channel that broadcasts from Thessaloniki and caters to Rural Greece. ERT 3 is the largest regional channel in Greece and the only one that broadcasts nationally...
and protesting they tried to stop the channel from broadcasting. Police surrounded the building and arrested 48 Hrisi Avgi members. According to a Hrisi Avgi press release, those members were carrying Greek national flags which in court were considered to be "arms" and so they were found guilty of carrying them. They were condemned up to six and seven months imprisonment with suspension and were also fined €500.
In September 2005, Chrysi Avyi 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
National Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany , is a pan-German neo-fascist political party. It was founded in 1964 as a successor to the German Reich Party and is classified as being on the far right of the political spectrum...
, the Italian Forza Nuova and the Romanian
Noua DreaptăNoua Dreaptă is an ultra-nationalist organization in Romania, founded in 2000.-Beliefs:The group's beliefs include militant nationalism and strong Orthodox religious convictions...
, as well as Spanish and American neo-Nazi groups. The festival was banned by the government, largely because of the reaction of anti-fascist groups.
In June 2007, Chrysi Avyi sent representatives to protest the
G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of the six richest countries in the world: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada joined the group...
convention in Germany, together with the
National Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany , is a pan-German neo-fascist political party. It was founded in 1964 as a successor to the German Reich Party and is classified as being on the far right of the political spectrum...
and other European neo-Nazi organisations.
In May 2009, Chrysi Avgi took part in the European Elections receiving 23,564 votes corresponding to 0.46% of the total votes.
Youth Front
Chrysi Avyi's Youth Front has distributed fliers with
racistRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
messages in
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
schools and organised
white power concertsRock Against Communism started out as series of white power rock music concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, and is also a name for the subsequent music genre. Despite its name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism. Instead, RAC lyrics typically feature...
. It publishes the
white nationalistWhite nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people, in opposition to multiculturalism, along with a separate all-white nation-state. The contemporary White Nationalist Movement in the United States is a reaction to the decline in...
magazine
Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi, which promotes
neo-NazismThe term neo-Nazism refers to any post-World War II social or political movement seeking to revive Nazism, or some variant that echoes core aspects of Nazism.The term can also refer to the ideology of those movements....
to young people through articles related to music and sports. The magazine is a sister publication of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based National Alliance's
ResistanceResistance Records is a record label that produces and sells music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website. Advertising itself as "The Soundtrack for White Revolution," Resistance Records also publishes a magazine called Resistance, of which Erich Gliebe has been...
magazine. The collaboration between
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
nationalistsNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
and American
racialistsRacialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations.Racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily in a hierarchy between the races, or in any political or ideological position of racial supremacy....
began in 2001, after National Alliance founder
William Luther PierceWilliam Luther Pierce III , was the leader of the white separatist National Alliance organization, and a principal ideologue of the white nationalist movement. First educated as a physicist, he later worked with George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party...
visited Thessalonica, Greece. Pierce's succesor,
Erich GliebeErich Gliebe is a neo-Nazi leader who was formerly an undefeated professional boxer and tool-and-die maker. He boxed under the moniker of "The Aryan Barbarian."...
, ratified the collaboration after Pierce's death.
Violence by and against Chrysi Avgi
Members of Chrysi Avyi have been accused of carrying out acts of violence and
hate crimeHate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation."Hate crime"...
s against immigrants, political opponents and
ethnic minoritiesIndigenous minorities in Greece are negligible in size compared to Balkan standards. The country is largely ethnically homogeneous. This is mainly due to the population exchanges between Greece and neighboring Turkey and Bulgaria , which removed most Muslims and those Christian Slavs who did not...
. Hrisi Avgi's offices have been attacked many times by
anarchistsThe evolution of Anarchism in Greece has shown a series of historical paradoxes which have to do with both the insufficient historical coverage of such events, as well as the distortion of historical facts due to ideological bias. It is also very difficult to trace the connections of the various...
and
anti-fascistsAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, organizations, governments and individuals. Most major resistance movements during World War II were anti-fascist....
. Clashes between members of Hrisi Avgi and anti-fascists have not been unusual.
In January 1998, Alexis Kalofolias, vocalist of the band
The Last DriveThe Last Drive is a Greek punk garage rock group which formed in 1983 and broke up in 1995. In January 2007, the band announced on their website that they got together again.-1983-1986: The beginnings:...
, was attacked and suffered permanent damage to his right eye, losing 2% of his eyesight.
KLIK magazine and
EleftherotypiaEleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
reported that members of Hrisi Avgi were responsible for the attack.
In 2000, unknown suspects vandalized the Monastirioton
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer....
, a memorial for Holocaust victims and Jewish cemeteries in Thessaloniki and
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. According to anti-fascist groups, Hrisi Avgi's symbols were present at all four sites. The
KIS, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology, the Greek Helsinki Monitor and others issued statements condemning these acts. The Cyprus chapter of Hrisi Avgi has been accused of attacks against
Turkish CypriotsTurkish Cypriots are the ethnically Turkish inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is sometimes used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, as opposed to the Turkish migrants who have settled there since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus...
, and one member was arrested for attacking Turkish-Cypriots in 2005.
In November 2005, Chrysi Avyi's offices were attacked by a group of Anarchists with
molotov cocktailThe Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, or Molotov bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
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. According to Chrysi Avyi, three suspects were arrested and set free. During the subsequent police investigation,
molotov cocktailThe Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, or Molotov bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s left overs were discovered in Hrisi Avgi's offices. Hrisi Avgi has stated that this was the reason for the organisation's disbandment.
In June 2006, three members of Chrysi Avyi were attacked and severely injured by anarchists in
GalatsiGalatsi , called in Katharevousa Galatsion , is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Athens Prefecture. Until the mid-20th century, the area was mainly made up of farmlands but due to the continuous expansion of the Greek capital, Galatsi was rapidly urbanised and has come...
,
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. One of them ended up in a coma for three weeks. The victim was a suspect for injuring a police officer a month earlier.
Football hooliganism
In 2000, Chrysi Avyi members formed the
hooligan firmThis is a list of notable hooligan firms or football firms, which are groups that have been verified as participating in football hooliganism or other sports-related hooliganism. In countries such as England and Poland, firms are clearly defined, but in South America the situation is less clear cut...
Galazia Stratia (Greek for "Blue Army"), which has described itself as a "fan club of the Greek national teams." It has been reported that following Chrysi Avyi's official disbandment in 2005, many former party members have put most of their energy into promoting Galazia Stratia. Galazia Stratia is closely linked to Chrysi Avyi, and the two groups shared the same street address. Hrisi Avgi made no attempt to deny the connections, openly praising the actions of Galazia Stratia in its newspaper, and accepting praise in return from the firm.
Galazia Stratia and Hrisi Avgi have been accused of various acts of sports-related violence. In September 2004, after a football match between Greece and
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
(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 and Galazia Stratia directly responsible for the attacks. According to Eleftherotypia, Galazia Stratia members severely beat a young
PalestinianThe Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined. The territories, which were originally contained within the British Mandate of Palestine, were captured and occupied by Jordan and by Egypt in the...
and an elderly
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i during celebrations following the success of the
Greek national basketball teamThe Greek national basketball team is the representative for Greece in international men's basketball competitions, organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Traditionally, Greece is considered among the world's top basketball powers and they have won the European Championship twice,...
at the
2006 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...
.
The Periandros case
Antonios Androutsopoulos (better known as
Periandros), a prominent member of Hrisi Avgi, was on the run from 1998 to September 14, 2005 after being accused of the June 16, 1998 attempted murder of three left-wing students — including Dimitris Kousouris, who was heavily injured. Androutsopoulos had been sentenced
in absentiaIn absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use it usually pertains to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.-In absentia in common law legal systems:...
to four years of prison for illegal weapon possession while the attempted murder charges against him were still standing.
The authorities' failure to apprehend Androutsopoulos for seven years raised criticisms by the Greek media. A
Ta NeaTa Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
article claimed that Periandros remained in Greece and evaded arrest due to connections with the police. In a 2004 interview, Michalis Chrysochoidis, the former minister of public order of
PASOKThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK , is a Greek centre-left political party. In 1981 PASOK formed the first socialist government in Greece's history, and subsequently governed the country for most of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
, claimed that such accusations were unfounded, and he blamed the inefficiency of the Greek police. Some allege that Androutsopoulos had evaded arrest because he had been residing in
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
until he turned himself in 2005. His trial began on September 20, 2006, and he was convicted to 21 years in prison on September 25, 2006. Hrisi Avgi members were present in his trial, shouting nationalist slogans.
Imia 2008
On February 2, 2008, Chrysi Avyi planned to hold the annual march for the twelfth anniversary of the Imia military crisis. Leftist and anti-fascist groups organised a protest in order to cancel the march, as a response to racist attacks, supposedly caused by Chrysi Avyi members. Chrysi Avyi members occupied the square in which the march was to take place, and when anti-fascists showed up, clashes occurred. During the riots that followed, Chrysi Avyi members were seen attacking the anti-fascists with riot police doing nothing to stop them and actually letting them pass through their lines. This led to two people being wounded by knife and another two wounded by rocks. Anti-fascists claimed that Chrysi Avyi members even carried police equipment with them and that Chrysi Avyi's equipment was carried inside a police van. The march was canceled and Chrysi Avyi issued a statement, responding to accusations of cooperation with the
Greek PoliceThe Hellenic Police is the national police force of Greece.The force was established in 1984 under Law 1481/1-10-1984 as the result of the fusion of the Gendarmerie and the City Police forces.According to Law 2800/2000, the Hellenic Police...
, claiming that it was actually the anti-fascists who were collaborating with the police, since it was the anarchists and anti-Fascists that originally attacked the square where the Chrysi Avyi members were present, without anyone trying to stop them and in the night riots that followed, no arrest was made despite the damage caused by anarchists and anti-fascists.
Also it is claimed that police turned on the anarchists in the end, after anarchists threw rocks at the police, hence why Chrysi Avgi followed the police from behind towards the anarchists.
Allegations of connections to the Greek Police
In a 1998 interview with the newspaper
EleftherotypiaEleftherotypia is a daily newspaper published in Athens . It is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country. Eleftherotypia also publishes a Sunday edition Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia . It was first published in 1975. Breaking the trend of Greek press, it was originally owned by its...
, Georgios Romaios (the
minister of public orderThe Minister for Public Order of Greece was a government minister responsible for the running of the Ministry of Public Order.On September 18, 2007, the government announced that the Ministry was being merged with the Ministry for the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation to form the...
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-fascismNeo-fascism is a post-World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
. Dimitris Reppas, the
PASOKThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK , is a Greek centre-left political party. In 1981 PASOK formed the first socialist government in Greece's history, and subsequently governed the country for most of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
government spokesmanThe Minister for the Press and the Media of Greece was the government minister responsible for the running of the Ministry of the Press and the Media.The ministry is now defunct.-Ministers for the Press and the Media :...
, strongly denied such connections. However, the article quoted a speech by
PASOKThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK , is a Greek centre-left political party. In 1981 PASOK formed the first socialist government in Greece's history, and subsequently governed the country for most of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
Member of ParliamentThe Hellenic Parliament is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece...
Paraskevas Paraskevopoulos about a riot caused by
right wingIn politics, right-wing, political right, rightist and the Right are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for preserving traditional or cultural values and customs or for maintaining some form of social hierarchy or private...
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 NeaTa Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
claimed that the Chrysi 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:
- Chrysi Avyi 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 baton
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon....
s and radio communications equipment during mass demonstrations, mainly during celebrations of the Athens Polytechnic uprisingThe Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising began on November 14, 1973, escalated to an open anti-junta revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November 17 after a series of events...
and during rallies by left-wing 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
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
MP.
- Most Chrysi Avyi members were illegally carrying weapons
A weapon is a tool used to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat.Weapons can be as simple as a club, or as complex as an intercontinental ballistic missile, and include those that damage individual or group morale.-Prehistoric weapons:Very simple weapon...
.
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 leftist groups, including the terrorist group
17 NovemberRevolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1973 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a number of...
, responsible for several murders, had similarly evaded the police for decades. In both cases, he attributed the failures to "stupidity and incompetence" on behalf of the force.
Chrysi Avyi has claimed that rumours about the organisation having connections to the Greek police and the government are untrue, and has said that the police had intervened in Hrisi Avgi's rallies and had arrested some its members many times while the
New DemocracyNew Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
party was in power (for example, during a rally in Thessaloniki in June 2006, and at a rally for the anniversary of the Greek genocide, in Athens, also in 2006). On January 2, 2005,
anti-fascistAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, organizations, governments and individuals. Most major resistance movements during World War II were anti-fascist....
and
leftistIn politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege...
groups invaded Hrisi Avgi's headquarters in Thesaloniki, under heavy police surveillance. Although riot police units were near the intruders, they did not try stop their actions.
See also
- Nikolaos Michaloliakos
Nikolaos G. Michaloliakos is the leader of Hrisi Avgi, a Greek neo-Nazi organisation.-Life:Michaloliakos was born in Athens, in 1957. Ηe completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens....
- Patriotic Alliance
Patriotic Alliance was a short-lived Greek nationalist political party, founded in 2004...
- Neo-Nazism
- Anti-Semitism in Greece
External links
Official website of Hrisi Avgi Official website of Hrisi Avgi's Youth Front and Resistance Hellas-Antepithesi magazine