Tsipras: “Decide for democracy and dignity”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed the nation yesterday to argue for a “No” vote in the July 5 referendum on whether to accept or reject the demands of the creditors. He very strongly used the report by the International Monetary Fund which had revealed that the Greek debt is unsustainable and must be cut by at least 30%.

ANA-MPA news quoted Tsipras as saying,

and thus the government only learned about it yesterday.

He urged Greeks to head calmly to the polls:

Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis told local private radio station Sto Kokkino that a “Yes” vote implies that the Greek people can at least can bear the fact that “we live under a regime of limited sovereignty at the margins of a protectorate.” Referring to the end of the bailout program and the latest IMF report, he said, “Now that the [bail-out] program has ended we have the opportunity to set the debt issue more clearly” as the IMF report’s reference to the unsustainability of the debt “changes all the facts.”

In a combative statement, retired senior diplomat Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos told EIR that the European Union has become Greece’s enemy by literally declaring war on the government. He described the propaganda campaign as nothing less than the work of Goebbels using lies to create terror in the population.

He said that, in his estimation, if a “No” vote wins, the government is likely to go to the EU and say, “OK you have our proposals, so let’s begin negotiations.” If the creditors reject talks then, the next step would be to renounce the loan agreement and file for indemnities for damages done by the loan agreement. If the Greeks vote yes, the government will resign and then a constitutional process will occur, which may lead to elections or a caretaker government.

Either way, the fact that the EU has treated Greece like an enemy will have deep psychological effect in a very large portion, if not the majority of the population.