FESTIVAL BAN?

It seems possible that the "Hatewave" festival might be banned. Please see the article below from Kathimerini. I am searching continuously for news. There is a lot of rubblish out there saying that only Jewish groups and "lefties" are against this festival. The fascists are quite happily using this against any argument to ban this meeting. Here's just one comment from the white nationalists at stormfront out of the scores I found. "Actually, the commotion has been made by the Hellinic Jewish community, a couple of commies and the Turkish newspapers 'Radical' and 'Aksam'." I think it is only right to point out that, although the most vocal and effective groups are the organised, political ones, there are many others who are not affiliated to any parties and are just as "anti" this kind of nazi meeting anywhere. Many ordinary Greeks are outraged at the prospect of this gathering given the relatively recent history of fascism here in Greece. I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has taken part in this campaign to stop this festival, however small the contribution may seem to have been. If anyone finds more news on this topic please email it to me or post a comment with a link. FROM KATHIMERINI The government yesterday said it would ban a planned festival by European far-right groups set to take place in southern Greece this month out of concern it could stir racist behavior, but organizers responded by saying the event will go ahead as planned. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said state authorities have not been officially notified about the event scheduled to commence between September 16 and 18 but were aware of it. Known as the “Eurofest 2005,” the festival will allegedly be staged by the ultra-rightist group Chryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn). “The government condemns these gatherings which harbor racist attitudes,” Roussopoulos said. "All measures will be taken as outlined by the constitution and the law.” But the Patriotic Alliance, a group helping to organize the gathering, said the festival will take place as planned. “We have not been informed about such a ban,” Patriotic Alliance secretary Dimitris Zareifopoulos told The Associated Press. Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis described the event as being “undesirable” for the country. From the Anti-Nazi Initiative Following international and domestic protests, the government was forced to declare that the pan-european nazi meeting in Greece is banned. Nevertheless, the democrats should be alert until the actual implementation of this declaration, as still the great scandal for all Europe remains, namely the legal function in our country of "Golden Dawn", an overt nazi organization.

Technorati Tags: neo nazi