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Anastasia Balezdrova

With a three-day delay, when the contrite Cypriots are preparing to adopt even stricter cuts of bank deposits than originally planned, the Greek ultra-nationalists and xenophobes of Golden Dawn held a protest rally outside the German Embassy. They wanted to celebrate in this way the "heroic "no" of the Cypriot people to the offensive policy of Germany."

About 500 people occupied one of the lanes of Vassilis Sofias avenue and had no access to the Embassy because a police bus had parked at the beginning of the crossing.

Party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, over the loudspeaker, blamed the authorities for cutting off the area and for "not allowing the Greeks to participate" in their protest and the comments on the police measures were exhausted. The Golden Dawners were dutifully standing in the relevant lane. The traffic on the avenue did not stop at all.

Almost all participants were holding the Greek flag whereas others were holding posters reading "No to the oppression against the Cypriot people", "No to the sale of our national wealth" and "No to the junta of the memorandum."

Before the speeches of the deputies began, songs like military marches had been echoing from the loudspeakers. The poster against "the junta of the memorandum" was quite out of place too since the Golden Dawners are fans of Papadopoulos’ military regime from 1967 to 1974.

"Cyprus - Aegean Sea - a united front," shouted the participants in the rally between the impassioned speeches. The deputies took a stand against the decision of Eurogroup, which they said had been intended to bring destruction in Cyprus.

They blamed "Merkel, who was a member of the Communist youth in East Germany" of an attempt to subdue Cyprus as was done with Greece over the last three years. "For three years already, we have been at war with those who want to destroy everything that is Greek," said one of them. With another poster written in German, they "chased" the German Chancellor away from Greece and Cyprus.

After the speeches, Ilias Kasidiaris urged the participants to light the torches, with which they illuminate each of their rallies, and sing the Greek national anthem. He concluded by calling "Long live Cyprus" and "Long live Greece."

Some minutes later, it was announced over the loudspeaker that the protest was over. The voice urged the participants to leave the flags and the protest posters in the minibus parked nearby and leave, just as happens after the protests of communists, which they otherwise hate.