By Evi Tsakali,
Once upon a time, there was a man; a young man who became the symbol of resistance against fascism, the man in whose songs he prophetically said “Such a day is good for dying/nice and standing up in public view”, Pavlos Fyssas. It all happened in Keratsini, in September 2013. Antifascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas was watching a football match with his friends at a café. They were seen by some members of Golden Dawn, who informed their superiors. Later, about twenty people gathered at Golden Dawn’s office in Nikaia and headed off to the café. Among them was the hitman, Giorgos Roupakias. During the attack that followed, he stabbed Pavlos to death; the group of police officers on motorcycles that were on site did not intervene. Before he died, Pavlos pointed to his killer.
Fyssas’ murder put an end to the unusual immunity that Golden Dawn had enjoyed from the Greek state till that time and started the criminal prosecution of Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and the rest of the leadership for forming a criminal organization. Marking two years since the verdict of the Golden Dawn Trial, the English Edition of Offline Post would like to dedicate the present article to revisiting the day when the greatest trial of nazis since the Nuremberg Trials took place, and shed light on the actors that set the tone of the day: Golden Dawn Watch, international media outlets and – of course – the public.
Golden Dawn Watch
Golden Dawn Watch was created as an initiative to monitor the trial against Golden Dawn, organized by the Hellenic League for Human Rights, the Greek Observatory against Fascism and Racist Speech in the Media, which works as part of the Educational Foundation of ESIEA (Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers), the Antifascist League of Athens and Piraeus, and the City of Athens Migrants’ Integration Council.
Its principal role is to publicize all information concerning Golden Dawn’s actions and to illuminate all aspects of the trial; the goal is to provide reliable information about everything that happened inside or outside of the courtroom throughout the duration of the trial as well as analysis from specialists, lawyers and the monitoring team of Golden Dawn Watch. Their reports and publications are also translated into English, which further highlights the importance of the issue. Fruit of these efforts is the publication of a book under the title X them out: The black map of racist violence containing all the stories of Golden Dawn’s victims in Greek followed by an English translation: a masterpiece that could get any reader emotional, it also contributed to the fight against Golden Dawn’s actions (the earnings from the sales of the book were dedicated in their totality to the defense of the victims).
Golden Dawn Watch has a very active social media presence. Their posts include interviews, original and/or republished articles and texts, radio programs as well as audio and audiovisual material. Their motto is: “Because we believe that only a well-informed and sensitized public can develop a strong resistance against the spread of racism, fascism, and neo-nazism and ultimately, against fear”.
However, Golden Dawn Watch was not the only one present on social media. There was much more than that… with those of pivotal importance being the international news agencies but also private individuals.
International media outlets and their headlines
The best way to depict a typical Facebook or Twitter feed on October the 7th would be through a citation of headlines on the social media accounts of not only Greek but also international news agencies:
- AFP news agency: “Greek Neo-nazi party ruled a criminal group in landmark trial”
- Reuters: “Greek court rules far-right Golden Dawn leaders ran a crime group”
- Guardian: “Golden Dawn guilty verdicts celebrated across Greece: Ex-leader and MPs found guilty after biggest trial of fascists since Nuremberg”
- DW: “Greece’s neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn has branded a criminal organization, with its leaders facing heavy sentences in one of the most important trials in the country’s political history”
…and those are only some of the headlines that traveled the globe within seconds. However, we should not underestimate the overload of ordinary citizens’ posts that day; full of symbols and emotions, they left their own particular mark that day and the period before.
The public: Hashtags and comic strips
Once again, just a simple citation of the quotes and slogans reposted on social media under the form of hashtags, comic strips, or other images by people of all ages and beliefs is indicative of the influence of social media on the Golden Dawn Trial: “They are not innocent” (Greek: «Δεν είναι αθώοι»), “Put the nazis in jail!” (Greek: «Οι ναζί στη φυλακή!»), “Pavlos is alive, destroy the nazis” (Greek: «Ο Παύλος ζει, τσακίστε τους ναζί»), most of them accompanied by the image of Magda Fyssa, Pavlos Fyssa’s mother, the tragic figure who carried the burden of a fight against fascism on her shoulders, a fight against fear. Even the prisoners of Korydallos prisons had hanged signs from their cells’ windows saying “We are waiting for you” (Greek: «Σας περιμένουμε»). The aforementioned were brought from the screen to the streets, and they managed to unify not only a nation but also international public opinion.
Nevertheless, that leads us to the next question: did this immense effect of social media have a positive or a negative influence on the trial? Of course, with all the publicity this issue witnessed because of social media activity, the Golden Dawn case became not a political case, not Fyssa’s or any of the victims’ families’ case, but everyone’s case; everyone wanted the nazis condemned and we found ourselves in a rare state of being united under the same cause. However, was the outcome of the trial predetermined in a way? Had the anticipated verdict gradually become a public demand? Despite the urgent need to condemn a criminal organization (because that is what Golden Dawn is), we should not neglect the right to a fair trial and the right to be condemned for our violations and only theirs.
Many of the messages emitted those days, like the ones mentioned above sparked hope, joy, and relief; as many as those that sparked anger and revenge. Fortunately or unfortunately, we are not to judge that at this point, when it comes to justice within a legal framework and a formal judicial system, revenge or anything related to it is out of the question. The important part, however, is that justice was served on October 7th, 2020, and Golden Dawn was ruled as a criminal organization. We are now declaring that “they are not innocent” but “they were not innocent”…
References
- X them out! The Black Map of Racist Violence, rosalux.gr, Available here
- Golden Dawn Watch’s official website, goldendawnwatch.org, Available here
- «Προαναγγελία θανάτου του φασισμού»: Ξένα ΜΜΕ σχολιάζουν την ιστορική απόφαση για τη Χρυσή Αυγή, lifo.gr, Available here
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They were not innocent: Golden Dawn’s victims (podcast written and co-hosted by the article’s author). Available here
