NEW YORK TIMES: EUROPE reported that there were 3,500 protestors in Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament building protesting on Saturday; Reuters said there were well over 10,000 demonstrators. Inside Greek legislators had begun debating a new austerity program that would set aside 3.3 billion Euros in wage, pension, and job cuts alone this year. While foreign news sources differ on the amount, somewhere between 130 billion and 170 billion Euros have been proposed as a bailout by the European Union and the IMF, if the Greek Parliament agrees to the austerity bill now before parliament.
Black masked protestor threw petrol bombs in Syntagma Square, and Greek police responded with tear gas. It was reported that tear gas reached the inner chamber of the Greek Parliament building. Fourteen people were injured, 50 people had breathing problems, and 8 policemen died.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venezelos told parliament that Greece that there is no easy way out. He said that declaring bankruptcy and withdrawing from EU would be much worse than agreeing to yet another austerity program; former Prime Minister Lucas Papademos echoed his sentiments. Germany announced that it is time to see actions coming from the Greek government and not just words.
Leftist Manolis Giezos shouted in the crowd outside the parliament building, “Enough is enough! They have no idea what a Greece uprising means!” Gliezos is famous for climbing the Acropolis building in 1941 during the NAZI occupation and tearing down the German flag.
The 2009 economic crisis that drew world attention to Greek economics actually started 10 years earlier. Admission reports presented to EU when Greece joined the European Union were less than factual. EU requires a budget deficit that does not exceed 3% of any potential member’s GDP; they also expect the national debt of applicants not to be greater than 60% of the GDP. A derivatives plan that the American company Goldman-Sachs put into place covered up the true nature of the Greek deficit in 2001. On one report to EU Greece omitted certain military expenses, on another they did not report the costs of Greek hospitals.
When Georgios Papandreou was elected he announced that the Greek budget deficit was 13.6% of the GDP. Stock markets around the world fell due to the woes of Greece; that country’s tourism fell off due to the unrest. By May 2010 unemployment had risen to 12% as compared to the 8.5 % rate in 2009.
The EU/International Money Fund bailouts are now history. The Papandreou election slogan of “change” has now been replaced with a technocrat Prime Minister.
One Greek citizen put matters this way: “We feel very disappointed by the lies and the corruption, we feel trapped by years and years of bad governing, and we feel stupid because we voted for them. . . bad economy has affected our innate tendency to be extroverted and to have fun.”
Comments