Greece's Golden Dawn Party Plays Nazi Anthem 'Keep The Banner Flying' Outside Central Athens Offices

By DEREK GATOPOULOS 07/24/13 03:56 PM ET EDT

Members of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party hold shields with their party symbol on as they guard party supporters during a gathering on May 26, 2013 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

ATHENS, Greece -- An extreme-right political party in Greece played a Nazi anthem during a charity event Wednesday that authorities had attempted to ban.

A Greek version of the Horst Wessel song – known as "keep the banner flying" in Greek – was played on loud speakers outside the central Athens offices of the Golden Dawn party, where members handed out bags of food and clothing.

A video of the event, including the sound of the song, was posted on the party's website.

The song remains banned in Germany, along with Nazi symbols.

Party members distributed the food parcels after checking recipients' identity cards to insure that non-Greeks were excluded.

Golden Dawn, which has campaigned aggressively against illegal immigration and Greece's international economic bailout, has seen a surge in support during the financial crisis and its dramatic rise in poverty and unemployment.

The party won nearly 7 percent of the vote in general elections last year, with popular support continuing to rise, according to opinion polls.

City authorities and the Greek police had banned Golden Dawn on Wednesday from using a nearby square to stage the charity event and set up a large police cordon to prevent possible protests against the decision. But large crowds of supporters gathered outside the party building chanting, "Foreigners out of Greece."

"The crime we committed was that we wanted to hand out food to Greeks only. If we'd handed it out to Pakistanis and blacks, there would have been no problem," party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos told supporters.

Wednesday's event was held on the 39th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece, following the collapse of a 1967-74 military dictatorship.

"We didn't choose this day by coincidence," Michaloliakos said. "They say they are celebrating the return of democracy. But they are really celebrating state thievery, scandals, and treason."

The government strongly condemned the choice of date, with Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias early Wednesday describing Golden Dawn as a "pathetic copy of Nazi totalitarianism." Officials from the government declined to make any further comment.

Panos Skourletis, a spokesman for Syriza, the main left-wing opposition, called Michaloliakos' comments and the playing of the Nazi anthem a "provocation to democracy."

"They are trying to align problems that people face in Greek society with their own message of hatred and Nazism," Skourletis told The Associated Press. "Golden Dawn will only be weakened when the causes of (Greece's) deep humanitarian crisis are addressed and stopped."

___

AP writers Nicholas Paphitis and Rafael Kominis in Athens, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

Greece's Golden Dawn Party Plays Nazi Anthem 'Keep The Banner Flying' Outside Central Athens Offices