A Loud Message of Resistance for Greece

Thousands of Syriza supporters rallied in Athens on Sunday, June 21 to send “a loud message of resistance” against demands for more cuts and tax hikes. About 10,000 people demonstrated in front of the Parliament.

In their statement on Sunday, announcing their planned protest, the Syriza party said:

There were pro-Greece demos in other European cities. In Brussels several thousand demonstrated and several hundred in Amsterdam.  Addressing the crowd in Amsterdam, veteran 92-year-old Greek MEP Manolis Glezos declared, “This crisis was caused by the financial sector, not by the Greek people. It’s the financial sector that has to pay, not the Greek people.”

Another demonstration took place in Athens yesterday called by Syriza’s youth movement in front Greece’s central bank demanding the resignation of its Governor, Yannis Stournaras,  for making an illegal intervention into the country’s political debate. Last week, Stournaras, who is supposed to be “neutral,” issued a bogus warning in the Central Bank’s annual report claiming if Greece does not accept a deal with its creditors, it would face an “uncontrollable crisis.”

The report was rejected by the President of the Greek Parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou, when Stournaras delivered it on a USB thumb drive without even bothering to print it. Stournaras could be in even more trouble because Konstantopoulou has demanded that he testify in Parliament over his role in the notorious Siemens corruption case; as Finance Minister in the previous government, Stournaras signed an out of court settlement with Siemens which let the company off scot free from litigation.

Stournaras, who was named central bank governor by the previous government in order to undermine the new Syriza-led government, has been organizing a run on the banks by his insane statements. Previously, as finance minister, he unquestioningly implemented all the orders from the EU Commission/ECB/IMF Troika.