News server Ežurnál.cz reports that The Guardian newspaper has quoted a Greek police officer who claims the Greek Government is closing its eyes to fascists and that the ultra-right will probably use this fact to provoke clashes with demonstrators.
The original article is available at
http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/world/2012/oct/26/golden-dawn-infiltrated-greek-police-claims
To see Guardian TV’s video reportage on fascism in Greece, go to:
cdn.theguardian.tv/brightcove/2012/10/26/121025GoldenDawnFinal-16×9.mp4
The highly-positioned officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ultra-right group Golden Dawn has infiltrated the police force at many levels. He blamed the past few incarnations of the government and the police leadership, who he believes are closing their eyes to what he called "pockets of fascism".
The officer said that for several years the state has been and continues to be fully aware of the activities of Golden Dawn. The party is followed in detail by the National Security Service and other intelligence agencies. He insists that police management has had opportunities to isolate and remove these small "pockets of fascism" from the police force but has reportedly decided not to do so. He claims the state wants to have these fascist elements "in reserve" in order to use them to its advantage.
According to the police source quoted by The Guardian, members of Golden Dawn could be used against the Greek left, which is leading popular protests against the Government and the savings measures imposed upon it by the European Union. The source said neo-fascist groups could act as agents provacateurs at demonstrations anywhere in the country, provoking street fighting between demonstrators and police or between demonstrators themselves.
A spokesperson for the Greek Police, Christos Manouras, has denied police have ever used "one political group against another". He also rejected the claim that "pockets of fascism" exist in the police force.
Manouras did admit that "individual cases can be found everywhere at every workplace", but added that "It is unfair to the Greek Police forces to charge them with supporting or tolerating specific events or identifying with certain political tendencies… You should note that in accordance with the Greek Constitution and laws, only illegal behavior can be prosecuted and punished. That applies to political posturing too, even when that posturing is characterized as extremist by other political parties and the vast majority of society."
In the June elections, Golden Dawn won 6.9 % of the vote. Recent public opinion research performed by the VPRC company, however, indicates that support for the party has now doubled.
Human rights organizations charge the Greek Police with sympathizing with Golden Dawn or acting in cahoots with them. A document released by the Racist Violence Recording Network, comprised of 23 non-governmental groups and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, describes several violent incidents during which the activities of the Greek Police and violent racists intersected.
"These incidents concern on-duty police officers who deviate during routine checks into illegal behavior and violent practices," the report reads. "There have also been cases of people being dragged into police stations, detained, and subjected to ill-treatment for several hours, just as there have been cases in which legal documents have been destroyed during such operations."
Kostis Papaioannou, the former head of the Greek Human Rights Commission, said "Sometimes the line between Golden Dawn and the police is very unclear."
Charges of collaboration between the police and Golden Dawn surfaced once again after anti-fascist activists told The Guardian they had been "tortured by police" after clashing with Golden Dawn members. Greek Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias rejects the charges.
The police officer who spoke with The Guardian charges the Greek Government with not taking care of police officers, thereby creating the conditions for Golden Dawn to infiltrate the force. "Police officers do not feel sufficiently appreciated, they feel isolated. They are poorly paid, they work in the worst conditions, and they are looking for support," he said, adding that they find what they are looking for in neo-Nazi circles.
The officer called on the Greek Public Order Ministry to release its Internal Affairs Department’s reports on police brutality cases.
"We must never accept police officers assaulting journalists from behind," he said, referring to an incident from May of last year in which the president of the Greek photo editors’ union was assaulted and ended up in hospital with brain injuries.
In recent weeks the media has reported several more cases of violence involving Golden Dawn MPs. The fascists attacked a flea market during one incident, threw stones during another, and shouted racist epithets during the Athens premiere of the play "Corpus Christi" by Terrence McNally.
