• False imprisonment of Golden Dawn party members exposed.
By Pete Papaherakles —
The resignation on April 2 of General Secretary Takis Baltakos, a top aide to Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, over the release of a videotape by Golden Dawn (GD) member of Parliament (MP) Ilias Kasidiaris, has sent shockwaves throughout Greece that threaten to topple the beleaguered government. The videotape leak came as five GD MPs were stripped of parliamentary immunity.
The videotape, secretly recorded several months ago, depicts Baltakos at his office in a private conversation with Kasidiaris revealing that the arrest and imprisonment of six GD MPs, including party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, last fall were ordered by powerful Zionists in the United States to destroy the rapidly rising nationalist party.
Baltakos confirmed what AMERICAN FREE PRESS reported in the October 14, 2013 issue—that Samaras followed orders given by David Harris of the powerful American Jewish Committee (AJC) to put an end to GD, although he knew there was no evidence of any crimes committed by GD.
Samaras visited Harris in New York on September 29, 2013, two days after the GD arrests, where he spoke in front of about a hundred top Zionists at the AJC, boasting that he had arrested GD and he was going to “wipe them out for good.” He assured the AJC that the Greek justice system would “take care of them.”
Baltakos admitted that the arrest of the six GD MPs was orchestrated to take place the week Samaras was traveling to New York to attend the annual United Nations summit and meet with Harris at the AJC.
After reporting to the AJC that he had GD under control, said Baltakos, Samaras found out later that day that three of the six GD MPs arrested including Kasidiaris, were released by the prosecutor due to lack of evidence.
In a fit of rage, Samaras called Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias and Justice Minister Charalambos Athanasiou, instructing them to make sure the prosecutor kept the other three imprisoned, even though there was no evidence against them.
Baltakos explained how Dendias and Athanasiou appealed to the devout Christian beliefs of Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Efterpi Goutzamani to convince her that GD were “pagans, idolaters, Nazis and opposed to Christianity.” Also significant was the fact that Goutzamani had been appointed chief prosecutor by Athanasiou, and both are from the same town on the island of Lesbos.
Samaras believed that the imprisonment of GD’s leaders and the smear campaign against them by the media as a neo-Nazi criminal organization would cause GD’s popularity to tank in the polls, said Baltakos. But now he realizes the opposite has happened.
The leaked conversation was first uploaded on a Russian site, but the transcripts were released by Kasidiaris in Parliament shortly before a vote to lift parliamentary immunity for five more GD MPs so that they can also face trial on trumped-up charges of being members of a criminal organization. Kasidiaris faces charges of illegal arms possession for a hunting shotgun even though he has a legal permit for it.
The charges state that he was “intending” to lend it out to others for criminal activity.
The general secretary’s resignation has stirred up calls inside and outside of Parliament for Samaras to resign as well as Dendias and Athanasiou. Upcoming municipal elections across Greece in May show GD favored in many cities, and Kasidiaris has been leading in the polls as candidate for mayor of Athens. He has declared that he will continue to run even if he is in prison. He also indicated that GD has more bombshell information recorded, which they intend to release.
This statement reportedly sent the Samaras government and controlled media into a frenzy. The two are now focused on whether the video was recorded legally, rather than if GD members are innocent and that Samaras jailed them on orders from a U.S. Jewish group.
To prevent the release of new evidence, Goutzamani ruled on April 7, “those using illegally obtained video conversations will be immediately arrested, even if active deputies.”
Polls indicate GD support has continued to rise with the video scandal, and the party appears positioned to win in upcoming elections.
GD is poised to gain several European Parliament seats in the May elections. 2014 promises to be a big year for European nationalists.
Pete Papaherakles is a writer and political cartoonist for AFP and is also AFP’s outreach director. Pete is interested in getting AFP writers and editors on the podium at patriotic events. Call him at 202-544-5977 if you know of an event you think AFP should attend.
