Thousands protest racism in Athens rally

Thousands of protesters marched in the center of Athens on Saturday afternoon, denouncing racism following a fatal attack against a Pakistani immigrant earlier this week. Approximately 4,000 Greeks and foreigners living in Greece chanted slogans against fascist violence, as members of the Pakistani community held prayers in front of the City hall and carried the coffin of a Pakistani migrant stabbed to death by two Greeks aged 29 and 25 years old on Thursday in Athens. According to local media reports, the two Greeks told prosecutors that they attacked 27-year old Shehzad Luqman after a strong verbal argument, because he blocked their motorbike with his bicycle. However, the discovery of pre-election posters of the far-Right "Chryssi Avgi" (Golden Dawn) party at the home of one of the attackers indicated that the attack could be racist. The Golden Dawn which calls for the ousting of all illegal migrants from Greece, entered the parliament for first time in last year's general elections with some 7 percent of voters' support. Several of its deputies and members have been linked to racist attacks which are on the rise in the recession-hit country. Migrants and Greek anti-racist activists, students, members of trade unions and representatives of municipal authorities who marched in front of the Greek parliament on Saturday replied that "neo-Nazi should get out of Greece" instead. Greece has been a gateway for hundreds thousands illegal migrants from Asia and Africa to other European countries over the past decade. Immigrants living in Greece have reported an increasing number of incidents of hostility against them by groups of ultra-Right racists.