Galery

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Here we must draw a red line between it and all other parties because free expression is one thing, and crime is something quite different. The actions of Golden Dawn refer to the provisions of the Criminal Code. In addition to the sanitary zone which the other parties must form, the role of the media and the educational system is crucial too. The media should continue their very good work after the breakup of Golden Dawn, namely the serious investigative reports, and should avoid the yellow journalism that presents the party in a positive light and makes it look nice. Teachers should discuss the matter in detail with their students, directly or indirectly, by discussing the events of the Holocaust, for example. Education in Greece should cease to be ethnocentric, intolerant and shortsighted, it should open up to the world and teach tolerance to differences.

How would you comment on the position of the media towards Golden Dawn? The majority of them had presented the criminal acts of its members before Pavlos Fyssas’ murder.

My previous answer is the answer to this question too but I must add that, unfortunately, few media had presented the Golden Dawners’ criminal activities before Fyssas’ murder. The majority of the media were unprepared to deal with such a serious topic. After the murder we witnessed a vigorous boom of journalism, which is particularly encouraging. When they want to, my colleagues can perform miracles. However, we should be very careful because if Golden Dawn is overexposed this could reduce the response of viewers and readers, and gradually lead to their obsession over the topic. Anyway, we are already aware of everything, namely of the training by people who skinned animals, the attacks on immigrants, the mafia rackets, the funny propaganda which is inconsistent with actual history. Now a more thorough analysis of the reasons which have taken the majority of the electorate to Golden Dawn is necessary as well as solutions ...

Probably Nikos Michaloliakos will be convicted and he will remain in prison. Who do you think would lead the party after him? Would his wife, daughter or someone else take his place?

I do not want to answer that question and I am not interested in the transfer of the leadership of a criminal organization.

A few days before Pavlos Fyssas’ murder a journalist had said that "a more serious" Golden Dawn could be a coalition partner of New Democracy within a future government. Do you think that Golden Dawn could give up its criminal activities, undergo a transformation and remain on the political scene?

I am aware of this scenario which is circulating in journalistic circles. This view was expressed for the first time before Fyssas’ murder and refuted by events in the saddest manner. The term "serious Golden Dawn" is an oxymoron since its leadership and rules prove that it is a criminal gang.

Probably New Democracy wants the establishment of a far right party which has nothing to do with the use of violence and which will shelter the supporters of the extreme national right wing. That is, a party similar to LAOS, which would be a potential government partner, accounting for the low rates of PASOK's popularity in polls. I think that, through its actions, the ruling party has dispelled any doubt about a possible dalliance with Golden Dawn.