European press outlets are reflecting the great social and political outrage in Greece following the assassination of musician and social activist Pavlos Fyssas, murdered by members of the fascist Golden Dawn party.
Journalist Christie Sletser said that “Greek Neo-Nazis are behaving like paramilitaries,” beating and murdering leftist militants or supporters with the support of “certain sympathetic law-enforcement officers.”
Germany’s Deutsche Welle television channel reported the great outrage among Greeks about the crime committed by the fascist group and noted that the assassination of Pavlos Fyssas, 34, “is the culmination of a series of politically motivated violent actions that have shaken Greece”.
Various Greek media stressed that the confessed murderer and his wife were on the Golden Dawn payroll, as party members responsible for the local cell in the area where the murder was committed.
Thousands of people participated at Fyssas’ funeral in Sjisto and new anti-fascist demonstrations will be held this afternoon throughout Greece.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras condemned the brutal murder. During a brief televised speech, Samaras underlined that “democracy is much more powerful than (Fyssas’) enemies imagined,” insisting that he would not allow “the descendants of the Nazis to poison social life by committing crimes, terrorizing and weakening the basis of the country that created the Republic”.
The prime minister said that political disagreements must be solved through democratic debate and not through violence, come what may.
Additionally, he warned that the path of violence would destroy any possibility for the country to escape its recession and economic crisis, and called for respect for the effort and sacrifice of all citizens.
With this brief speech, Samaras forestalled European critics regarding his permissiveness with the fascist group, but did not refer to legislative changes or to making the party illegal, as many people both abroad and within the country are demanding after the crime committed yesterday.
Via PL