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Father of Giorgos Fountoulis: What i want to say is that i hope what happened
to us, will never happen to other parents. I mean No one, and when i say No one, i mean
it. It does not benefit anyone when the blood of innocent kids pours on the streets, no
matter what place those kids belong to ideologically. This is what i wanted to say. Blood should
be something we give to offer life to people when they need it, blood should not be wasted
like that in the streets. For years now, we have been fighting for our other child who
is disabled and has special needs, trying to offer to our child anything possible, there
are thousands of families out there just like us.
You said something about dignity, the Greeks have dignity. With these morals and dignity
our parents have raised us, and those precise morals and dignity were the ones i have tried
to pass on to my son. My son was a beloved kid, a boy with a golden
heart that has never hurt anyone, not even an ant. He hoped for something better. He
was disgusted with the entire political system, he was experiencing within our family all
these things they have done to us, with their decisions, their reductions of salaries, their
reductions overall, their taxes, all the difficulties we were going through to be able to buy drugs
and medicine, he was disappointed, Yes, i agree he went to Golden Dawn hoping for something
better. Giorgos though was not a fascist. I know they
might try to present him as a fascist. I am aware of what kind of a kid i have raised,
and yesterday with all these thousands of people who have stood with us and honored
us on our way of accompanying him with dignity to his final resting place, i was touched.
I thought i was the only one who knew my boy so well, but all these people must have known
him much better to honor him like that. I wouldn't like to say anything else right now,
thank you Very much, and thank you for trying to approach and talk about this matter with
sensitivity, the way you did. One thing is there that i would never like
to see again, i don't ever wish to see these scenes with kids laying down like this on
the streets. I am not the kind of father, how am i supposed to say this.. the father
who will annihilate my kid's beliefs, every kid believes whatever he/she wishes, and he/she
supports his/hers beliefs with words, actions and ideas. Some others want to make us believe
that by using violence and blind strikes they will manage to defeat other ideas. Well, ideas
cannot be killed. I am proud of my child, i am proud for his
ideas and i do not have anything else to add.
Reporter: Mr. Fountouli you have asked for no political parties to participate at your
son's funeral?
Father: Yes, yes, no political party. Reporter: No politicians, no sides, no one
of a specific political side, you have asked from people coming to the funeral to only
come as friends. Father: Yes some kids asked me "can we come
to the funeral as friends, will the funeral be an open funeral for the public, "will it
be more of a personal or private matter?", i told them "it will be an open funeral you
will come to his funeral as his friends, not as Golden Dawn supporters, and they have respected
that and i appreciate that very much, i want to thank them from the bottom of my heart
for coming as friends and honoring him as a hero.
Personally Mrs. Tatiana, i have never seen policemen crying, while they do their job.
I have seen how policemen were last year, when the Sigitaridio institution was shut
down, and we were marching out in the streets for our kids so that the institution would
open again and the policemen arrived with those sprays to spray us and our children,
as if they would be in danger because of us. These policemen i have witnessed yesterday
(at the funeral) though with tears in their eyes, i want to thank them and i want to congratulate
them. I have nothing else to say. Thank you very much
Reporter: I would like to have one more word with you regarding the Sigitaridio institution,
since you, as a family, you have experienced the lack of existence of state to your life
and the lack of existence of state of your child's life which is the less stronger part
of your family (speaking of the other child with the special needs that the family has).
A kid that suffers with Down syndrome and was hosted by the Sigitaridio institution,
and used to go to this school.
Father: My kid is still going there..this year the institution is working again.
Reporter: You 've said that the institution shut down last year for some months.
Father: Last year the institution shut down for 5 months.
Reporter: Why? Father: This year it is open again, i am not
aware of what kind of problems they have now, because it is still the begining of the year,
we have not asked for people to bring flowers (for the boy's funeral), the amount of 3150
euros was able to be gathered from people, and i want to thank everyone for that, and
i will make sure that this amount of money will be offered to the Sigitaridio institution,
right where there is need, the money will not be given just anywhere, so lets see what
kind of problems they are dealing with, where do they have problems, so that these money
will end up useful, this is how my child, Giorgos, would have wanted it.
Reporter: And we would like to ask from people to help, help for these initiatives to take
place. I would like now to conclude with one last
question. Was your son involved to Golden Dawn for a long time, was he there for a long
time in other words, was he a pillar (important member) of Golden Dawn?
Father: What pillar are you talking about Mrs. Tatiana? What are these things you are
saying? My son was a member and an activist of Golden Dawn.
Reporter: Could you possibly tell why am i asking you this?
Father: I know what you are talking about, probably because you 've seen him somewhere
wearing a uniform and holding a flag. Reporter: No, to be honest to you, it was
uploaded on the internet just before this show begins, i think it must have been ten
minutes, a photo of your son with Kasidiaris to a mountain climb..
Father: I know, i know Reporter: Well this is the photo (the photo
is being shown on the screen), and a discussion has started that maybe your son, Giorgos,
because he had a more of a personal relation with Ilias Kasidiaris..
Father: Yes, you are trying to say he was a big pillar (important member)?
Reporter: No, no, not that, its another thing i would like to ask you. That maybe because
the boy, because he had these contacts with Ilias Kasidiaris and because there might have
been some photos uploaded on the internet with Kasidiaris, maybe that was the reason
he was targeted like the way he was. Father: No, no, he was not targeted, the shooting
was blind, they wanted to kill overall, they wanted blood, it could have been me personally,
it could have been any other walking through that place at that moment, first of all Giorgos
was not even in the offices of Golden Dawn, he was in a coffee shop with his friend and
they were drinking coffee, discussing about jobs, because Giorgo's mother had found a
job for him, and they were just about to leave, they drank their coffee and they were about
to leave. Ilias Kasidiaris and my son had a common interest,
gym fitness. And they were walking together, they were climbing up the mountain of Penteli
to watch the sunrise, my son among many other people.
Reporter: The reason why i am asking you, because -if you'd wish- Ilias Kasidiaris is
a person intensely charged (meaning emotionally, causing lots of debates among people of different
political sides and overall politics) and because he presents this particular political
side (Golden Dawn), these contacts your son had with him and these photos uploaded with
him caused all these...
Father: No, no there was no relation with that, i do not know if it was that much coordinated,
but there was no reason for my son to be "marked" and targeted the way you describe, i mean..how
am i supposed to say it.. he was no big important member (of Golden Dawn) or anything close
to that inside the party. He just always had a bright smile on his face, everyone was drawn
to him and wanted to hang out with him. He was a boy with a good heart. I am not in a
position of eliminating my son's ideologies and beliefs. My son was disgusted from this
whole rotten political system and he was trying to find something else, more pure, he was
in general searching for something better. Like every other kid.
Reporter: And may i tell you something else Mr. Fountouli, possibly your son and possibly
the other boy, Kapelonis, who was only for 1 year in the environment of Golden Dawn since
one year ago he had just finished his academic studies, they could have not even be in Golden
Dawn in a year from now. It could have only been an ideological quest for a young boy.
In other words Kapelonis decided to be a fascist all of the sudden in the 21 years of his age
while he had a father who was a Pasok unionist for so many years.
( at this point the reporter is not facing the camera. She is constantly looking elsewhere,
looking on her left like as if she is being told from people in the panel how&what exactly
to say) They were only kids who were trying to find
some political party to belong to.
Father: The boys were going there (Golden Dawn) to listen to something different. They
were going there to listen to some other voice, some other suggestion. People who are not
trying to rob you, people who do not try to cover things, who do not say one thing and
then do another, who do not lie, who do not tear apart our lives, but, you know, it's
the entire political system's fault. It is the whole political system's fault. When media
and all channels start exercising judgments, come up with decisions, condemn and turn one
part of the society against the other, then some people try to take advantage of all that.
This is why i am saying.. Let this evil stop here.
Thank you very much.
Reporter: Mr. Fountouli, my last question is after the *** of Pavlos Fyssas (far
left anti-fascist Greek rapper), did you not have any concerns that possibly your boy or
some other kid could have been targeted ..
Father: Of course i had my concerns, of course i had some concerns.
Reporter: You've denounced that Golden Dawn supporters bought bulletproof vests to protect
themselves and the Greek police took them away just recently..
Father: I didn't even know, this is the first time i am hearing such a thing.
Reporter: Yes, they bought bulletproof vests in the offices of Golden Dawn and those along
with the weapons (at this point the reporter is looking again at her left..looking probably
to someone writing or telling her what she will say to the father)
Father: What weapons? What weapons mrs. Tatiana? Reporter: eew..well this.. (looking again
on her left, uncomfortable this time, trying to make up and justify the excuse for weapons)
Father: My son told me that one time they were told to throw in the trash bin out in
the streets five flagpoles and the police caught them -not my son, some other boys from
there- and held them in the police office all night long with the accusation of holding
weapons, claiming that the poles of the old flags were weapons. They were not weapons,
there were only 5 poles from flags and the boys were told to throw the poles to the trash
bin. Reporter: I think that this statement for
the bulletproof vests was made from Giorgo's uncle
Father: It was the security of the offices those Golden Dawn persons who wanted to wear
the bulletproof vests, like in banks you always see a security employee wearing a bulletproof
vest without holding guns, well in this way there were some kids who were standing outside
the offices wearing the vests, not my son, some others.
From the moment the police and the ministry of civil protection banned them from taking
any measures to keep them safe, they undertook themselves the task of protecting the offices.
This Friday though (the day the shootings took place), there was no protection, they
(meaning the state) made it very easy for kids to be shot and murdered, do you understand
what i am saying to you? No one can convince me that they could not
send a police car or two police motorcycles to the offices like they used to do in the
past every time, but they sent 5.000 policemen for the game of Olympiacos with Panathinaikos
(Greek football teams). This is all i wanted to say Mrs. Tatiana,
thank you very much. Goodbye.