Boutaris: Fascists must be identified and isolated

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris has urged authorities to find the instigators behind the "footmen" carrying out attacks like that on him last Saturday by far-right extremists during a public ceremony.

"We all have a collective and individual obligation" not to allow the country to turn into a "jungle," he said in a statement Thursday, adding that the plight of the people is being exploited by violent groups.

"Their plan is to promote a very specific political, operational and communication model. That of fascism," he said, adding that "we must name the organizers and instigators of these fascist plans and isolate them."