Petition aims to halt possible Golden Dawn presence in Melbourne, says Australian daily
Extreme right party Golden Dawn may be organizing a visit to Australia in view of opening a local office in the city Melbourne, Australian daily The Age reported on Wednesday.
The paper reported that the Greek party already had a presence in that city with members accused of causing trouble at the recent annual parade commemorating the Greek War of Independence as well as protesting outside State Parliament.
Meanwhile, the country’s Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor had received a petition calling for Golden Dawn MPs, including party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, to be prohibited from entering Australia.
The petition read: “This violent, racist, authoritarian movement has no place anywhere, but while Greece is unable or unwilling to prevent them from growing, the Australian government is in a position to prevent their members from spreading their fascist poison here,” The Age reported.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has indicated that the government will not stop the group.
According to Alex Kakafikas, the petition’s organizer, Golden Dawn could be targeting some young Greeks based in Melbourne who were sympathetic to nationalism.
Golden Dawn did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
