Swoboda slams Golden Dawn murder in Greece: „Intolerable by any standards“

A 34-year-old anti-fascist activist was stabbed to death in Athens last night, allegedly by a group of 15 members of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party. Golden Dawn has 18 members in the Greek Parliament.

Hannes Swoboda, president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, demanded action after the cowardly attack:

„Golden Dawn’s openly xenophobic, neo-Nazi hatred even goes as far as murdering political opponents. This is shocking and intolerable by any standards, and more so in a European Union country. Golden Dawn attacking and killing foreigners, immigrants and left-wing activists will not help solve the social inequalities and real economic challenges in Greece.

„It is crucial that the Greek government and parliament draw clear conclusions and come up with solid proposals on how to stop these violent extremist attacks, including the possibility of banning the party altogether.“

Looking ahead to the Greek presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2014, Hannes Swoboda added:

„If the Greek government and Prime Minister Samaras fail to put a stop to the hate-filled behaviour of Golden Dawn and other fascist groups, it will be an unacceptable presidency and not likely to bring any progress, either for Europe or for Greece.“