On the 25th of January, dignity was restored to the people of Greece.
In the five months that intervened since then, we became the first government that dared raise its voice, speaking on behalf of the people, saying NO to the damaging irrationality of our extend-and-pretend ‘Bailout Program’.
We
•spread the word that the Greek ‘bailouts’ were exercises whose purpose was intentionally to transfer private losses onto the shoulders of the weakest Greeks, before being transferred to other European taxpayers
•articulated, for the first time in the Eurogroup, an economic argument to which there was no credible response
•put forward moderate, technically feasible proposals that would remove the need for further ‘bailouts’
•confined the troika to its Brussels’ lair
•internationalised Greece’s humanitarian crisis and its roots in intentionally recessionary policies
•spread hope beyond Greece’s borders that democracy can breathe within a monetary union hitherto dominated by fear.
Ending interminable, self-defeating, austerity and restructuring Greece’s public debt were our two targets. But these two were also our creditors’ targets. From the moment our election seemed likely, last December, the powers-that-be started a bank run and planned, eventually, to shut Greece’s banks down. Their purpose?
•To humiliate our government by forcing us to succumb to stringent austerity, and
•To drag us into an agreement that offers no firm commitment to a sensible, well-defined debt restructure.
The ultimatum of 25th June was the means by which these aims would be achieved. The people of Greece today returned this ultimatum to its senders; despite the fear mongering that the domestic oligarchic media transmitted night and day into their homes.
Today’s referendum delivered a resounding call for a mutually beneficial agreement between Greece and our European partners. We shall respond to the Greek voters’ call with a positive approach to:
•The IMF, which only recently released a helpful report confirming that Greek public debt was unsustainable
•The ECB, the Governing Council of which, over the past week, refused to countenance some of the more aggressive voices within
•The European Commission, whose leadership kept throwing bridges over the chasm separating Greece from some of our partners.
Our NO is a majestic, big YES to a democratic Europe.
It is a NO to the dystopic vision of a Eurozone that functions like an iron cage for its peoples.
It is a loud YES to the vision of a Eurozone offering the prospect of social justice with shared prosperity for all Europeans.
Yanis Varoufakis is the current finance minister of Greece.
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Greece Referendum: Partial Results – ‘No’ Vote Ahead
By BBC
July 05, 2015 “Information Clearing House” – “BBC” – With more than a third of votes counted, results from the Greek referendum suggest voters have rejected the terms of an international bailout.
Results published by the interior ministry showed about 60% of those whose ballots had been counted voting “No”, against some 40% voting “Yes”.
Greece’s governing Syriza party campaigned for a “No”, saying the bailout terms were humiliating.
The “Yes” campaign warned this could see Greece ejected from the eurozone.
Senior European officials had also said that a “No” would be seen as an outright rejection of talks with creditors.
But Greek government officials have insisted that a “No” vote would strengthen their hand and that they could rapidly strike a deal for fresh funding in resumed negotiations.
Greek banks will reopen by Tuesday, they say.
Follow our live updates
“The mandate from the Greek people is for the government to defend its own proposal and its own positions,” government spokesperson Gabriel Sakellaridis said as results began to come in on Sunday. “The real negotiations must start from tonight.”
‘New popular mandate’
Euclid Tsakalotos, Greece’s deputy foreign minister, told Star TV that two developments would allow Greece to pursue “a solution that is financially viable”.
“Firstly, the government now has a new popular mandate and the second is the latest [International Monetary Fund] report which says that the Greek debt is unsustainable.”
Greece had been locked in negotiations with its creditors for months when the Greek government unexpectedly called a referendum on the terms it was being offered.
Banks have been shut and capital controls in place since last Monday, after the European Central Bank declined to give Greece more emergency funding.
Withdrawals at cash machines have been limited to €60 per day.
Official Greferendum Results Show “No” Landslide: Singular Logic Projects “Oxi” Victory
The Greek interior ministry vendor Singular Logic projects that “No” vote will prevail with over 61% of vote in Greek referendum.
BREAKING: Greek interior ministry projection says ‘no’ camp will get more than 61 percent of vote.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 5, 2015
It would seem that the Troika’s fearmongering campaign backfired:
And:
Even the dogs in the streets are saying it in Athens: ht @henryjfoy pic.twitter.com/7y5uTdJFzf
— Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) July 5, 2015
Earlier:
It seems the early forecasts showing the No vote in the lead were right: according to the Ministry of the Interior, with over 31% of the vote counted, the “No’s” have a resounding lead with well over 60% of the vote.
Keep track of the votes as they come in live at the following page:
Source: ekloges
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