Belatedly, Greece has passed legislation banning the scourge of Holocaust denial, thereby becoming one of the last member states of the European Union to take this important step in reining in racists.
Better late than never.
More than one year in the making, the new law also imposes tougher penalties for the dissemination of hate speech and the incitement of racial and ethnic violence.
Regrettably, the vast majority of Greece’s 300 parliamentarians did not even bother turning up for the final vote in parliament. Of the 99 who were present when the vote was taken, only 55 voted for the bill. The poor turnout is surely a commentary on the importance the absentees attach to this landmark piece of legislation.
It’s clearly aimed at xenophobic parties like Golden Dawn, which holds 18 parliamentary seats and has been Greece’s third largest party for the past two years.
Branded a criminal organization by the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Golden Dawn has been blamed by police for scores of attacks on Asian immigrants and Roma and for the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas. Following the uproar caused by Fyssas’ death, Golden Dawn leaders and members of parliament were arrested. Their trials are due to begin in December.
Golden Dawn’s leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, who has denied the existence of gas chambers in Nazi concentration camps, will be one of the chief defendants.
Whatever the outcome of their trials, the newly passed legislation will hopefully have a chilling effect on Golden Dawn’s hateful and divisive rhetoric.
Under its provisions, Holocaust denial has been criminalized, and a person found guilty of instigating racial discrimination and violence will face a prison sentence of up to three years and fines of up to 26,000 euros for individuals and 100,000 euros for groups. Organizations that incite racism may not receive state funds in the future.
One can argue that the legislation is not strong enough and should have been strengthened considerably. But the secretary general of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, Victor Eliezer, appears to consider it a step in the right direction. As he put it, “We really hope the law will limit racist and antisemitic statements and will deter Holocaust deniers.”
Antisemitism and Holocaust denial, to be sure, are serious issues in Greece.
The Nazi occupation of Greece, which virtually wiped out the pre-war Jewish community of 78,000, has left a rump of only about 5,000 Jews in the country. In the context of this human disaster, Holocaust denial is a vile and unacceptable assault on the historic truth, while antisemitism represents a slap in the face of common decency and international democratic values.
With the passage of this legislation, the Greek government is now in a position to deal properly and effectively with racists and crackpots who dare to breach the law.