You can see here The Final Plan of Agreement submitted by the IMF, ECB and EC that we are called to accept or reject.
This coming Sunday, depending on our social status, political beliefs, level of ignorance or knowledge, current existing or non existing salary or job, expectations...our fears, hopes etc. each Greek citizen will vote for a YES or for a NO.
The final plan of agreement that IMF, ECB and EC put on the negotiations table of the Eurogroup goes directly against a future with dignity. It would only bring more austerity, more socio economic inequality, more privatisations...less sovereignty and control.
Philippe Ligroin comments on his article: Why Greece should reject the final offer from each Creditors? "Yet in exchange for additional liquidity, Greece’s creditors are demanding a return to the failed austerity policies of the past five years, which have shrunk the economy by 21 percent and thrown one in four people — and one in two youth — out of work. The hypothesis that austerity can cure insolvency has been tested to destruction. Another dose of it would be perverse."
During these 5 months already the greek government has been accepting on its final proposals to the IMF, ECB and EC some unfavourable measures for the greek economy. So why after all this time of fierce negotiations an agreement has not been reached yet and the Greek government has been offered to implement more and more austerity measures that we all know that they are not sustainable and will only cause more damage to the greek economy. Is it just because of the neoliberal ideology that characterises the institutions that we negotiate with or perhaps the reason behind it is not pure economics?
The Greek government decided to use the fair democratic procedures that the European Union should be known for. A referendum in order to let the people decide; and asked for time and an extension of the bailout till the 6th of June.
Of course, the ECB rejected the extension, cause their only weapon to direct our voting choice favourably to their interest, is to create a climate of fear, where mothers will worry on how will they buy milk to their children, how companies will pay their employees etc.
Indeed the ATMs of the country are full of people waiting in long lines. However the Greek government closes the banks for a week till the referendum in order to ensure the liquidity and implements capital controls that are not as severe, a 60 euro limit per account, online transactions are unaffected and all the pensions will be paid normally.
In few hours, on 1st of July at 1 am , Greece becomes the first developed nation in history to default to IMF: "A Greek government official confirmed on Monday that Athens would not make the €1.6bn loan instalment, which is due to the IMF by 6pm Washington time (11pm BST, midnight in Brussels and 1am in Athens). The Washington-based fund has long said that late-payers do not get a grace period."
Suddenly European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker few hours before Greece defaults to IMF makes another final offer to the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras. "The European Commission President asked Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to accept the creditors’ proposal (with a small improvement on Greek pensions), support the YES vote on the upcoming referendum, and make this known to Eurogroup president Jeroen Disjelbloom, as well as to German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande before the end of the day. "
Going back to the question, if perhaps the reason behind of all this mess it is just not pure economics? I think the war against the referendum, as a democratic right and the imposed fear from the media, ECB, IMF and EC can give us a sense what is happening behind the scenes.
A NO Vote proves that democracy can actually work and that a socialist government can give more rights to its citizens than a controlled by the markets government.
A No Vote can inspire the citizens of other countries in Europe to demand equally their rights and elect governments that do not lean on the interests of the few - and such inspiration is already present in many European Cities. (See:- Greece Solidarity Campaign in London- Todos somos Grecia - Ireland with Greece and many other initiatives in France, Germany, Portugal etc.)
We may not have any European government on our side for now, but we have the European people on the squares of their cities encouraging us.
The more citizens will vote for a NO, the more negotiating power the Greek government will and may use it to reach a sustainable deal within the Eurozone.
A NO vote does not mean NO to Euro, even though it is presented as such by the majority of the mainstream media and the EU Leaders.
The Drachma scenario has been forecasted as catastrophic, not just for Greece but the whole Eurozone. It is obvious, that most of us hope for a Europe that will stand firm next to each long history of preserving its human rights and the democratic ideals.
A NO vote is really a YES to democracy, that unfortunately the European leaders are so afraid of.
They fear that a different more democratic Europe with social welfare is possible.
They want to kill the alternative social paradigm that here in Greece and slowly among other Southern European countries is emerging.
As Greeks, European and citizen of the world we prefer sovereignty and freedom.
It's part of our long tradition. We know how circle and jump over the fire.
Few Days Ago:
We take inspiration from countries in Latin America, such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina that have dealt with IMF 30 years ago. The vice president of Bolivia Alvaro Garcia Linera and Luis Brito Garcia an intellectual from Venezuela came last week at the Resist Festival in Athens to advise us on how to run a socialist democratic country. Of course each country has it own peculiarities, but these examples prove that saying no to the IMF and is not the end. There are alternative ways to run a country that place the citizen first and then the capital.
Garcia Linera, talked about the difficulty of running a socialist country, the contradiction having to choose to support the most vulnerable while still needing the most powerful as part of the society, how to keep the activists' critical spirit active when they become bureaucrats and have to govern, how do you protect the environment while you want to develop. There are criticisms around his politics, but still at least he openly talks about the challenges a socialist government has faced and we can learn from it.
Linera last words were that "Us the revolutionaries have to be careful not to forget once in power what we are fighting for. We should only fight for socialism"
The second day of the Resist Festival, Samir Amin and Tariq Ali participated at a panel with the topic "An aged Europe, in world of crisis" They were both defending that Greece should default the bailout package of IMF, ECB and EC convinced that it is fruitless to negotiate with the ones that are since the beginning unwilling to change their stand. Tariq Ali said " That a GREXIT will bring more difficulties during the first year, but politically and socially it will begin to improve, like it has happened in Latin America"
And few days ago, at a square by my neighbourhood, members of the truth committee came to explain to us what we really owe and what not and to dissolve some myths. The myth that Greece has a huge public sector, that Greeks are lazy, and that is is our ethical obligation to pay back the debt etc. This committee composed from economists, journalists, politicians etc are the ones that investigate if the debt has to be repaid legally under the international law.
They did find big scandals where German, French and other banks along with European governments have been involved.
Truth Committee Preliminary Findings: "All the evidence we present in this report shows that Greece not only does not have the ability to pay this debt, but also should not pay this debt first and foremost because the debt emerging from the Troika’s arrangements is a direct infringement on the fundamental human rights of the residents of Greece. Hence, we came to the conclusion that Greece should not pay this debt because it is illegal, illegitimate, and odious."
My dear friend Natalia from far away Brasil sent me just now this article with the Title:
"Less than 10% of the money was used by the government for reforming its economy and safeguarding weaker members of society"
To end with a positive note, Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate in economics, writes regarding all this:
"It is hard to advise Greeks how to vote on 5 July. Neither alternative – approval or rejection of the troika’s terms – will be easy, and both carry huge risks. A yes vote would mean depression almost without end. Perhaps a depleted country – one that has sold off all of its assets, and whose bright young people have emigrated – might finally get debt forgiveness; perhaps, having shrivelled into a middle-income economy, Greece might finally be able to get assistance from the World Bank. All of this might happen in the next decade, or perhaps in the decade after that.
By contrast, a no vote would at least open the possibility that Greece, with its strong democratic tradition, might grasp its destiny in its own hands. Greeks might gain the opportunity to shape a future that, though perhaps not as prosperous as the past, is far more hopeful than the unconscionable torture of the present.
I know how I would vote."
I also Know how I would vote.
What would you vote?
Χριστίνα
P.S ---
An interview from Sakis Gekas at CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2015/06/29/greek-debt-crisis/
We take inspiration from countries in Latin America, such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina that have dealt with IMF 30 years ago. The vice president of Bolivia Alvaro Garcia Linera and Luis Brito Garcia an intellectual from Venezuela came last week at the Resist Festival in Athens to advise us on how to run a socialist democratic country. Of course each country has it own peculiarities, but these examples prove that saying no to the IMF and is not the end. There are alternative ways to run a country that place the citizen first and then the capital.
Garcia Linera, talked about the difficulty of running a socialist country, the contradiction having to choose to support the most vulnerable while still needing the most powerful as part of the society, how to keep the activists' critical spirit active when they become bureaucrats and have to govern, how do you protect the environment while you want to develop. There are criticisms around his politics, but still at least he openly talks about the challenges a socialist government has faced and we can learn from it.
Linera last words were that "Us the revolutionaries have to be careful not to forget once in power what we are fighting for. We should only fight for socialism"
The second day of the Resist Festival, Samir Amin and Tariq Ali participated at a panel with the topic "An aged Europe, in world of crisis" They were both defending that Greece should default the bailout package of IMF, ECB and EC convinced that it is fruitless to negotiate with the ones that are since the beginning unwilling to change their stand. Tariq Ali said " That a GREXIT will bring more difficulties during the first year, but politically and socially it will begin to improve, like it has happened in Latin America"
And few days ago, at a square by my neighbourhood, members of the truth committee came to explain to us what we really owe and what not and to dissolve some myths. The myth that Greece has a huge public sector, that Greeks are lazy, and that is is our ethical obligation to pay back the debt etc. This committee composed from economists, journalists, politicians etc are the ones that investigate if the debt has to be repaid legally under the international law.
They did find big scandals where German, French and other banks along with European governments have been involved.
Truth Committee Preliminary Findings: "All the evidence we present in this report shows that Greece not only does not have the ability to pay this debt, but also should not pay this debt first and foremost because the debt emerging from the Troika’s arrangements is a direct infringement on the fundamental human rights of the residents of Greece. Hence, we came to the conclusion that Greece should not pay this debt because it is illegal, illegitimate, and odious."
My dear friend Natalia from far away Brasil sent me just now this article with the Title:
"Less than 10% of the money was used by the government for reforming its economy and safeguarding weaker members of society"
To end with a positive note, Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate in economics, writes regarding all this:
"It is hard to advise Greeks how to vote on 5 July. Neither alternative – approval or rejection of the troika’s terms – will be easy, and both carry huge risks. A yes vote would mean depression almost without end. Perhaps a depleted country – one that has sold off all of its assets, and whose bright young people have emigrated – might finally get debt forgiveness; perhaps, having shrivelled into a middle-income economy, Greece might finally be able to get assistance from the World Bank. All of this might happen in the next decade, or perhaps in the decade after that.
By contrast, a no vote would at least open the possibility that Greece, with its strong democratic tradition, might grasp its destiny in its own hands. Greeks might gain the opportunity to shape a future that, though perhaps not as prosperous as the past, is far more hopeful than the unconscionable torture of the present.
I know how I would vote."
I also Know how I would vote.
What would you vote?
Χριστίνα
P.S ---
An interview from Sakis Gekas at CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2015/06/29/greek-debt-crisis/