Brussels, 19/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, leaders of the S&D and EPP Groups at the European Parliament condemned the murder of a young militant anti-fascist singer, Pavlos Fyssas, allegedly committed on Tuesday by a member of the far-right Greek Golden Dawn party. The Austrian leader of the S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda, described the crime as “intolerable by any standards”. In a press release, he called on the Greek authorities to examine the possibility of banning this party and warned Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that, if his government in Greece failed to take action against Golden Dawn activities and those of other fascist groups in the country, “it would be an unacceptable Presidency and not likely to bring any progress, either for Europe or for Greece”.
Joseph Daul, the French leader of the EPP, said that “fanatical acts and violence do not have a place in modern democratic societies in member states”. He added that, while all crimes are abominable, “political crimes are unacceptable”. The EPP, however, reiterated its full support for Prime Minister Samaras in the current economic context and Daul rejected all the “politicking” aiming to get Greece to renounce the EU Presidency it is due to begin in 2014.
Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland also condemned this crime and in a press release expressed his concern at this “extremely dangerous development in Greece”.
The Golden Dawn party has had 18 MPs in the Greek parliament since the general elections of 2012. According to different Greek media sources, in response to this murder, the Greek minister responsible for public order, Nikos Dendias, has indicated that his government would examine the possibility of reviewing legislation on criminal organisations, in an effort to possibly ban this party. (SP/transl.fl)