Which are the large-scale geopolitical conflicts nowadays and how are they linked to the rise of nationalism? Is nationalism a temporary phenomenon? How does it affect working people (either existing workers or migrant ones)? What should the movement do?

ReInform, an anticapitalist political group of Greeks in the Netherlands, invites you to discuss together all these matters on Sunday 2 December in NieuwLand (Peter Nieuwlandstraat 93, 1098XN, Amsterdam). After our discussion we will enjoy some traditional Mediterranean and Eastern sounds and tastes.

Program:
16.30-18.30 | Short introductory talks by Manos from ReInform and Max from Internationale Socialisten
From 18.30 onwards | Culinary and music Mediterranean and Eastern exchanges with the open collective Aman Molli

By Leonidas Vatikiotis

The provocative intervention of the European Commission (indication of their great discomfort over the decision of the Court of Appeal), which continues to treat Greece as an occupied country without sovereign rights, was via the Commission’s spokesperson Annika Breidthardt, who invoked the independence of the statistical services. In essence, the mouthpiece of Brussels if anything she asked was the unaccountability of the Eurostats’ favorites, even at the expense of their country, as was repeatedly done by A. Georgiou. In addition, as rightly highlighted in the announcement of the Union of Judges and Prosecutors on August 3rd, the unequal treatment of the European Commission creates two classes of citizens. Narratives of creditors were reproduced by mainstream Press (FAZ, FT, Politico, Bloomberg, et. al.) which appeared A. Georgiou, who now lives in Maryland, as a victim.

Needless to say, that the venal and loafer bureaucracy of Brussels would have never reached the point of showing its teeth by interfering with such frequency, if the so-called left-wing government of SYRIZA (which governs with the extreme-right party of ANEL) had not given them the right. Going as far as to accept in the prerequisites of the last instalment, the acquittal of A. Georgiou (proof of the inability of his acquittal through the lawful way), as well as paying his legal costs (just for humiliating them), the message sent out by the government is that the rule of law will have the fate of the welfare state: sacrificed at the altar of Memoranda!

The judgement of the Court of Appeal may once again have angered the parasites in Brussels, but it abstained from the proposal of the Prosecutor, Mr. Lambros Patsavellas, who, in his speech, asked for the conviction of Georgiou for all three offences, which did not concern the data falsification, as this will be trialled in the Criminal Court.

Specifically, the former President of ELSTAT, A. Georgiou, was accused of the following: First, because he simultaneously occupied two critical posts (one as a President of ELSTAT and another as deputy division chief in the IMF) – for this he was acquitted. Secondly, because he did not call for the BoD meetings – for this he was acquitted. And, thirdly, because he sent the 2009 deficit figures all by himself, without ELSTAT taking knowledge – for this, he was found guilty. The contradicting fact that he was acquitted for not calling for the BoD and then convicted because he sent the data to Eurostat by himself (because he did not call for the BoD to approve them!), is utterly blatant!

Let take a look one by one the above mentioned accusations. 

Servant of Two Masters!

The position of the President of ELSTAT is a dedicated full-time position (as provided by article 15, par. 1, sentence b of the 3832/2010 law). However, when on June 29, 2010, A. Georgiou passed by the approval of the Conference of Presidents of the Greek Parliament, he concealed that he had not resigned from the IMF but had taken an unpaid leave. His direct dependency on the IMF was apparent on the e-mail he sent to the representative of IMF in Greece, Paul Thomsen, urging him to intervene on the government, via Brussels, in order to change the law on the statistical service.

Georgiou, concealed his professional relationship with the IMF because if made known, he could not even be a mere member of the Board, as the only parallel position allowed, is that of a faculty member at a University. However, Georgiou, is not a professor! He is not even a statistical scientist, since he has no relevant studies. Even at the IMF, he was not working as a statistician, but as a simple economist. It seems, that in the case of statisticians there is a constant tradition which was first pointed out by the American economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz: The IMF, recruits, second and third-class scientists to make the dirty job.

Georgiou was concealing the truth that he serves two Masters for more than a year (from July 2010 to September 2011). Thus, along with the position of President of ELSTAT he also held the post of Deputy Chief of the IMF Statistical Service, where admittedly resigned on July 16, 2010, but he only put in into effect on November 10, 2010. The fraud was uncovered by MPs and journalists, so Georgiou had to admit it. Even then, he pretended the naive, stating that he did it in order to secure his pension. The question which subsequently arises is why didn’t he wait until November 10, 2011, to complete his pensionable years at the IMF and then move to Greece? Obviously, his highly lucrative relationship of dependency with the IMF served the hateful organization who wanted to have its own people in key positions in Greece…

What if there was an evident conflict of interest between lender and borrower? A contradiction which was also described by the prosecutor himself, who in the end was applauded by dozens of ordinary people who had flooded the Court of Appeals to watch the trial …

For the offense of holding simultaneously two positions, the Court of Appeal decided that Georgiou is innocent.

ELSTAT, One Man’s Principle

From November 2010 to September 2011, Georgiou refused to convene a meeting between the other 6 members of ELSTAT (N. Logothetis, G. Georgantas, A. Philippou, G. Simiyiannis, St. Balfousia and K. Skordas) who consisted the seven-member collegial body of the independent Authority.

In order to leave no doubt regarding the motives of the BoD members we should state that (according to article 12 of law 3832 / 9.3.2010) its seven members are defined as follows: Four members (of which one is appointed as chairman and another as vice-chairman) are elected by the Presidents of the Parliament, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, following a public notice by a majority of 4/5 of its members. One member is nominated by the Governor of the Bank of Greece, one member by the Minister of Finance and another member by the Workers’ Association. As a result, they were not representatives of the protestors of Syntagma square, nor representatives of grass-roots unions … Thus, Georgiou, acted behind their back, as his illegalities were so blatant that they could not be accepted by employees who did not have the psychology of a gauleiter nor of a man in special mission who knows that whatever his actions may-be, his contractors, will cover for him.

His argument, that there was no trust between the members, and that is why Georgiou did it all by himself, was overturned by the prosecutor, who argued that if Georgiou did not trust them, he could entrust the vice-president to convene a BoD. So, why didn’t he request it from N. Logothetis?

Georgiou (who never missed a chance to insult Greece) to further strengthen his position he was issuing press releases in Greek and English. In these press releases the Board members were being presented as politically animated, with unionist-like and “abnormal” behaviour!

For the offence of the non-convergence of the BoD, the Court of Appeal decided that Georgiou was innocent.

Guilty of the 2009 Deficit

Of particular importance, however, is the decision of the three-member Court of Appeal, to convict Georgiou in two years’ imprisonment, with a three-year suspension, for the irregular transmission of the 2009 data of budget deficit. This decision angered the creditors and the neoliberal establishment in Greece. In particular, A. Georgiou he was convicted because he did not put into account ELSTAT as a collective body and because the latter did not consent on the transmission of the data, in violation of Article 10, par. 2(f) I of Law 3832/2010. More specifically, it states that “ELSTAT in particular: a. Prepares and executes the annual statistical program and produces and publishes with the status of the “national statistical office” as defined in para. 1 of article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. 223/2009, the official, national and European statistics of the country.”

Georgiou, however, chose to forward only the data for the 2009 deficit. Thus, in a completely unmonitored way, he predicted the 2009 deficit at 11.9%, first, later 13.6% of GDP later inflated it even more at 15.4% and shortly thereafter even higher: at 15.8%!

Georgiou, who was found guilty of this offense without being granted any extenuation and with the maximum penalty, violated the principles that are strictly followed in all statistical services of Europe.

The court’s decision to convict Georgiou for the arbitrary transmission of the 2009 deficit figures paves the way for revealing and putting into question the scheme that trapped Greece in order to enter the era of Memorandums under the eye of the EU-IMF and of course of the domestic economic elite. If the creditors were having a say on which of the three charges the IMF official, Georgiou, must not be convicted, they would choose this particular one, as the rejection of the way that the data of the 2009 deficit was transmitted (as much as it contradicts Georgiou’s acquittal for the non-convergence of the BoD) paves the way for the pending trials which question the 2009 deficit itself! Τhis a decision may not was the best possible, but eases the way of proving that the deficit was formed by the creditors’ orders in order to justify the literature of fiscal derailment.

The current phase of litigation about false Greek Statistics started only a few days after the last disbursement of the 7.7 million tranche, on July 7, and after the SYRIZA-ANEL government had implemented every single claim of the European creditors and the IMF. Then they realized that an unpleasant surprise was awaiting them. These included the acquittal of three members of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund S.A. (this is the super-fund of privatizations) from Italy, Spain and Slovenia and of the former President of the ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority), Andreas Georgiou, who in 2009 inflated the deficit so that Greece be placed under the Memoranda status quo. They even ratified his claim for 100.000€ compensation for his legal costs, which is an unparalleled act of political humiliation.

The surprise which followed the disbursement was related to the objection on behalf of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Xenis Demetriou against the Decree of the Counselors Appeal (No. 969/2017) issued on May 26, 2017, where Georgiou was relieved from the accusations that he artificially inflated the budget deficit. With this particular Decree, proposed by the Prosecutor of the Court of appeal, Mr. John Koutras, and adopted by the majority (only the Prosecutor Christina Romesi voted against) decided not to be referred to the three-member Athens Court of Appeal, George and two of his associates (Konstantinos Molfetas and Athanasia Xenaki) for the accusation of false attestation in criminal complicity at the expense of the Public under the particularly aggravating circumstance of the extreme high value of the object of the crime.

It should be noted that this was the second time that the Mr. George and his co-defendants were exempted by Decree of the Council of the Court of appeal. An identical discharge decision (1149/2015) from the accusation for falsification to a felony degree was preceded.

Georgiou was Never Acquitted!

Consequently, those who argued that Mr. Georgiou has been acquitted twice so far make a broad interpretation of the Decree. They turned the exculpatory acts into acquittals with apparent objective to present Mr. Georgiou as a victim of persecution. And instead of apologizing for his inability to prove his innocence to the court hearing, as any accused is obliged to do, he appears as a victim of political squabbles, when the only political conspiracy in progress aims at his acquittal.

The rage of the EU, who treats Greece as a Banana Republic, making use the slavish attitude of Tsipra’s government, is fully understandable on the basis of the possible consequences a final court decision will have for all the countries that voted for Greece’s lending in 2010, which will conclude that Georgiou and Eurostat altered fraudulently the financial figures of Greece. Hundreds of deputies across the EU have therefore been deceived with non-existent economic data in order to save the French-German banks. That being the case, the EU is now trying to not only save her valuable associate in Athens, who in fraudulent ways and in violation of not just the scientific ethics but also of laws, paved the way for the steamroller of the Memoranda, but also to conceal its own responsibility in the falsification of statistical data. That is, not to open the Windbag of Aeolus and reveal the great robbery organized by the EU and IMF at the expense of the people, using the excuse of “rescues” …

In order to better show how provocative and against of any concept of law is the intervention of the creditors on putting an end on the Georgiou chapter, it is worth a small flashback on the very serious accusations against the former powerful man of the ELSTAT who paved the way for the then Finance Minister, G. Papaconstantinou, to compare Greece with Titanic as a self-fulfilling prophecy, paving the way to the speculators…

It is worth to stand in three specific examples which demonstrate the cooking in the data of the ELSTAT that took place under Georgiou’s responsibility, so that the 2009 budget deficit would initially reach 11.9% and later 15.8% of GDP. They also show why the creditors, the pro-Memorandum governments (social-democratic PASOK, the so-called technocrats of L. Papadimou, the right-wing New Democracy and the current SYRIZA-ANEL) do not want the case before the hearing.

The “creative accounting” was used in the data of: First, hospitals, second, 17 DEKOs (Public Companies of General Interest) and hundreds of legal entities (around 500) and third the famous swap of the former Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis, who were “cooked” with the help of Goldman Sachs so that the budget deficit to rise in high levels in order to launch the “shock therapy” in 2010.

Statistical Alchemies

The amount that the ELSTAT sent as hospital debts as part of a consistent recurring process in October 2009 in order to establish the tables with the financial data of the EU Member States was “just” 2.3 billion euros. However, somehow in the notification that arrived a few weeks later at Eurostat, dated October 21st, 2008, the amount had increased by an additional 2.5 billion euros, reaching at 4.8 billion euros. Then it was considered that even this amount was not sufficient enough to get the deficit to a convenient for their purpose, therefore the Greek government added an extra 1.8 billion euros, justifying this decision with a “technical report on the review of the obligations of Hospitals” which was sent on February 3, 2010. Thus, the 2.3 billion were magically become by the “Wizard” Georgiou 6.6 billion euros! They were so determined (because of the guarantees that they certainly had outside Greece) that they did not take into account even the Court of Auditors, which, out of the alleged 6.6 billion, approved only 1.2 billion euros. They did not even “lower” the 6.6 billion when one and a half month after the unlawful increase in the budget deficit, the Finance Ministry demanded that hospital suppliers accept a 30% haircut for their unpaid services in 2005-2008. Thus, while public funds benefited from this cut, this discount was never recorded in the fiscal figures.

It is worth to underline another fundamental dimension, which was emphasized in the first report of the Truth Debt Committee in June 2015 under the aegis of Greek parliament (here is the full text) with aim to show that Greek debt was illegal and odious: “This statistical practices, which were used to calculate the liabilities of hospitals, clearly violate both the ESA95 European regulations (see . ESA95, par. 3.06, EC no. 2516/2000 Article 2 of Commission Regulation EC no. 995/2001) as well as the Code of Practice of the European Statistical System (European Statistics Code of Practice), particularly as regards the principles of independence of the statistical measurements, statistical objectivity and credibility” (page 24).

Thus, assurances of anonymous sources in Brussels, which are being republished as a whole and without criticism assuring that specific methodologies were used so Eurostat guarantees the reliability of the data are… nonsense.  They are just pulling the wool over the people’s eyes! Nowhere, the ESA95 and ESA2010 regulations indicate this recording process. The fact that the assurances of Brussels are arbitrary is obvious from the fact that even eight years later different sources of Eurostat show a different levels of deficit…So Eurostat should first decide on the level of the 2009 deficit which in every opportunity shows off the very bad quality of the data it publishes (on the contrary, with the US counterpart), and then they can issue firmans in order to put a tombstone on a debate that has a long future.

All In…

In violation of the international regulations, 17 DEKOs and hundreds of legal entities from the non-financial corporations in the General Government sector were also included in order to inflate the deficit. These entities included from ETHEL (Thermal Bus Company), ILPAP (Electric buses of Athens and Piraeus), ISAP (Urban Rail Transport SA) and OSE (Hellenic Railways Organisation) to the Center for Renewable Energy Sources, the Industrial Property Organization, the University Research Institute for Communications and Computer Systems and the Varvakeios Market of fresh meat and fishes.

The result of this actions was to raise the public debt by at least 18.2 billion EUR. In order for A. Georgiou to be able to pass this change, which was implemented without the slightest studies, he canceled the Service Board of Directors and turned it into one man’s authority. Moreover, his “daring” exploits include his effort to deceive the Parliament, where in order to justify the reclassification, he submitted 74 files that supposedly contained the relevant documentation. In fact, they did not contain studies as they should, but questionnaires, balance sheets and a multitude of other documents that were totally unprocessed.

Only pizza and souvlaki menus were missing from these files, knowing that such records are hardly even opened, not to mention… read!

The last trick that Georgiou and his associated recruited to inflate the deficit was the sinful swaps by Kostas Simitis. Specifically, the debt swap agreements signed by the Greek government with Goldman Sachs in order to hide the public debt. Instead of revealing the alchemy used for Greece’s accession to the eurozone and hold account the financial staff of K. Simitis (L. Papademos then governor of central bank and later appointed by Troika prime minister, G. Stournaras then chief of economists and now governor of central bank, etc.), these very alchemy were once again used against Greek people, as Georgiou arbitrarily AGAIN decided to allocate the € 21bn swap within the years 2006-2009, increasing retroactively and in violation of EU regulations  the public debt. Why did he distributed it in previous years and not in the next, as he could do, this is something they never want us to know.

The Europeans tried to cover up the ELSTAT scandal invoking the famous independence of statistical institutes. The European Commission statement said in a nutshell that “if we find the data credible, it should be enough for you”. This is extreme political authoritarianism that shows that the independence … seriously hampers Democracy. Prohibits the democratic control, removes sovereign rights, facilitates poverty, and becomes a policy enforcement tool that no people have decided, nor approved. The independent authorities therefore cancel Democracy, just like the EU itself that uses every means to conceal the ELSTAT scandals!

Translation: FF.

Leonidas Vatikiotis is a Greek economist and analyst.

Source:https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/30/the-road-to-the-greek-hell-is-paved-with-false-eu-and-imf-statistics/

Debt increased, public assets sold. The Greek and European elites make profits.

In January 2017 the coalition government of SYRIZA and ANEL will be two years in power. During this time, in the Dutch media there has been an almost total silence about Greece, interrupted only by short references to the ongoing negotiations for the disbursement of the loan tranches. Silence covers also the new tough measures that the Greek government imposes, dramatically deteriorating the living conditions of the great majority of people in Greece.

At every critical moment of the last two years, the SYRIZA-ANEL government has proven a loyal ally of the Greek and European elites. The year of 2016 was no exception to the long succession of years through which people in Greece have suffered hard austerity measures under the pretext of the debt crisis. These Memoranda measures were never designed to rescue Greece, as the mouthpieces of the EU have been claiming so far, despite the fact that the debt has now climbed from 127,1%  in 2009 to 179.2% of GDP. Even the IMF admitted the failure of the bailout program.

More specifically: In 2012, the Memoranda rescued the creditors with the notorious PSI, which although presented as a reduction of the Greek debt, in reality it was a transfer of the Greek sovereign debt from the German, French, Dutch and Greek banks to the governments of the EU member states. In the same vein, the Memoranda measures imposed ever since have been rescuing those responsible for the crisis in Greece, i.e., the Greek economic elite, while at the same time distributing all profitable activities of the Greek economy to the European and Greek economic elites.

It is characteristic that in 2015, fourteen of the most lucrative regional airports were sold for 1.2 billion to the German Fraport AG-Slentel Ltd. The entire amount was used to repay the debt. Furthermore, despite the pre-election commitments of SYRIZA, the water companies were recently transferred to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (Greece’s privatizations fund, the so-called TAIPED). As a result, the main multinationals specializing in the water market -and actually denying access to water for large segments of the population- are getting ready to benefit from this transfer. Another characteristic example is the sale of business and housing loans to international speculative funds, which is now on the table of negotiations with the creditors.

Meanwhile, the business elites that looted and indebted the Greek state and destroyed the Greek economy during the 35 years of PASOK and ND governments, continue to enjoy privileged and scandalous contracts as well as full tax immunity even during the so-called “government of the left”.

What about the Greek society and the refugees?

The SYRIZA-ANEL government that promised to end the memoranda policies and relieve the working classes has proven to be one of their most dangerous enemies. Its climb to power by deceiving the Greek people with the supposed negotiation with the creditors ensured their tolerance and disappointment in the face of the hardest and most class-ridden measures so far. In fact, the SYRIZA-ANEL government has been the most efficient administrator of these policies and, therefore, the best option for the Greek elite and its lenders. At the same time, this government along with the creditors are condemning the Greek people to a daily deterioration of their living standards.

A homeless man sits next to a Christmas tree on a street in Athens

Soup kitchen in Athens

According to the latest Eurostat’s data, the percentage of those at risk of poverty rose from 29.1% in 2009 to 35.7% (3.8 million) in 2015. Incidents of starvation in schools are increasing. The new cuts on pensions are plunging into poverty not only the retirees but also a large number of unemployed people who are literally being fed by their parents’ pensions. According to ELSTAT’s (Hellenic Statistical Authority) latest data, only 14% of the unemployed receive the meager unemployment allowance of 360 euros per month for the first year only. At least 500.000 private employees working part-time are paid less than the unemployment benefit. Over one million working people suffer delays in their payment that can even last for 12 months. Uninsured work (without healthcare and pension rights) has reached the staggering levels of 30%. Approximately 24% of the people was obliged to make bold cuts on basic necessities (e.g. food and fuel) in order to buy medicines, while 13% delay to perform the doctor’s prescription because they cannot pay their contribution. To save on their medication, 10% of the patients take smaller doses against their doctor’s instructions. On top of this, auctions of primary residences have begun – and have been met with strong opposition from the people.

The plans of the government and the creditors for the future will further worsen the current situation. The 2017 budget includes an increase up to 26.27 billion in indirect taxes, a decrease in pension expenditure and cuts on benefits.

As far as the refugee crisis is concerned, the SYRIZA-ANEL government has shown a most awful and inhumane face. Fully in line with the right-wing and fascistic policies of the EU, it closed the borders, forcing the refugees to risk the dangerous Aegean Sea crossing, which has cost the lives of hundreds of people. At first, it let the refugees who crossed the border helpless, depending only on the solidarity of the Greek people, and later on, it practically imprisoned them in remote detention centres under appalling conditions and away from the local populations. At the same time, it provocatively allowed the development of racist and fascist groups that committed criminal actions against the refugees. It faithfully applies the shameful EU-Turkey deal, systematically redirecting refugees to the fascist Erdogan regime. As a result of this deal, around 60.000 refugees have stranded in Greece, with 16.000 of them ending up in overcrowded jail-like centres, where three times as many people are now detained as when the deal was signed. In addition, against any notion of legality, the government intervened in the asylum procedures and changed the composition of the committees in order to ensure the massive rejection of asylum claims.

Refugee camp in Thessaloniki

Refugee camp on Chios island

In exchange for remaining in power, the SYRIZA-ANEL government is trying to persuade the Greek people that there is no alternative to the Memoranda and the agreements it has signed, such as the CETA or the EU-Turkey deals. Not only do they celebrate after every unpopular measure they vote and every shameful agreement they sign, they even brutally repress every social reaction to them. With the pretext that the police is difficult to control, they use the fascist police mechanism to repress opposition to unpopular measures and solidarity to refugees. During the SYRIZA-ANEL government, the police has not stopped attacking protests with tear gas and beat protesters. Even members of SYRIZA have been attacked by the police during their participation in demonstrations.

What lessons can be drawn for the people and the left in Europe

The conversion of SYRIZA to a political administrator of the interests of the Greek and European elites should raise concern in the European left. The experience in Greece shows that overthrowing the one-way road of extreme neoliberal policies and blocking the way to racism and fascism that is now prevailing in Europe (and not only in Europe…) cannot be achieved by the climb to power of a left-wing government coalition. With SYRIZA’s conversion, the hope and vision of change seemed to have faded away not only in Greece but also in the rest of Europe. Millions of Greek and European citizens who believed that there can be a left turn in Greece and Europe sank into disappointment.

At the same time, people in Greece learned an important lesson: radical changes cannot be entrusted to a party or a governing coalition. The solution can only come from people themselves. The Memoranda in Greece, the austerity policies in the rest of Europe and the rise of the far right are not unbeatable. People can stop them through collective organization, constant struggle and class solidarity in their places of work, study and neighbourhoods. With bottom-up politics and not by assigning politics to representatives can the people of Europe discover new ways to achieve social justice, decent living conditions and peaceful coexistence.

The lessons drawn from SYRIZA’s approach to the European Union can also be very valuable to the whole of European left. SYRIZA came to power by promising it will reform the EU in a more social welfare direction. This was either wishful thinking or a way of deceiving the Greek people. The EU and the Euro are political and economic institutions that have been created to serve the interests of the European elites at the cost of people’s rights. The results of SYRIZA’s attitude towards the EU is now clear and catastrophic for the Greek people.

The workers, the unemployed and the refugees cannot expect change from a left-wing management of power. The hope for changing the current dramatic situation can only be fulfilled through a political conflict with the EU, the European governments and their policies; through an effort to build new, anti-capitalist social and economic structures. In Greece, the economy will not recover and unemployment will not be reduced by government decrees or appeals for entrepreneurial innovation to a corrupt economic elite.

Social and economic progress can only be achieved if economy is run by the people, by those who will confront the decisions of the government, the creditors and the business elites to privatize and sell off every profitable economic structure in Greece. In the Netherlands, the gradual impoverishment of large parts of the population through lay-offs, lower earnings and poorer working conditions in vital sectors such as healthcare will not stop by the participation of the left in the government, but by massive popular resistance.

Both in Greece and the Netherlands, the improvement of the quality of life for the lower classes, the reversal of the fascist tendencies and the cancellation of the refugee policies that are now treating the refugees as inferior beings and a threat, cannot be accomplished within the neoliberal and authoritarian limits of the EU and the Eurozone. The common struggle and class solidarity of the working people, the unemployed and the refugees in Greece,  the Netherlands and the rest of Europe against the EU’s policies feeding poverty, insecurity, nationalism, racism and xenophobia, are required.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Twee jaar SYRIZA-ANEL-bewind in Griekenland: twee jaar met de ergste bezuinigingen

De schuld steeg, publieke goederen verkocht. De Griekse en de Europese elites maken winst.

In januari 2017 zal de coalitieregering van SYRIZA en ANEL twee jaar aan de macht zijn. Gedurende deze tijd heerste er in de Nederlandse media een bijna volledige stilte over Griekenland. Stilte over de nieuwe harde maatregelen en dramatische verslechtering van de levensomstandigheden van de grote meerderheid van de Griekse bevolking. Soms werd die stilte slechts onderbroken door korte verwijzingen naar de lopende onderhandelingen over de uitbetaling van de lening tranches.

Op elk cruciaal moment in de afgelopen twee jaar heeft de SYRIZA-ANEL regering bewezen een trouwe bondgenoot van de Griekse en Europese elites te zijn. Het jaar 2016 was geen uitzondering in de lange reeks van jaren waarin de mensen in Griekenland hebben geleden onder de harde bezuinigingsmaatregelen. Deze memoranda maatregelen zijn nooit bedoeld om Griekenland te redden zoals de spreekbuis van de EU tot nu toe beweert. Integendeel de schuld is nu gestegen van 127,1% in 2009 naar 179,2% van het BNP. Zelfs het IMF gaf de mislukking van het bailout-programma toe.

Meer in het bijzonder: In 2012 hebben de memoranda de schuldeisers gered met de beruchte PSI die voorgesteld was als een vermindering van de Griekse schuld. Maar de PSI was in werkelijkheid een overdracht van de Griekse staatsschuld van de Duitse, Franse, Nederlandse en de Griekse banken naar de regeringen van de EU-lidstaten. In dezelfde geest hebben de memoranda maatregelen de Griekse economische elite, degenen die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de crisis in Griekenland, gered. Tegelijkertijd werden alle winstgevende activiteiten van de Griekse economie aan de Europese en Griekse economische elites overgedragen.

Het is kenmerkend dat in 2015 veertien van de meest lucratieve regionale luchthavens werden verkocht voor 1,2 miljard euro aan de Duitse Fraport AG-Slentel Ltd. Het gehele bedrag werd gebruikt om de schuld terug te betalen. Bovendien, ondanks de pre-electorale toezeggingen van SYRIZA, zijn de waterbedrijven onlangs overgedragen aan het Helleense Republiek Asset Development Fund (het Griekse privatiseringsfonds). Als gevolg daarvan hebben de belangrijkste multinationals die gespecialiseerd zijn in de watermarkt, zich klaar gemaakt om te profiteren van deze overdracht. Een ander typisch voorbeeld is de verkoop van bedrijfsleningen en hypotheken aan internationale speculatieve fondsen die nu op de onderhandelingstafel met de schuldeisers ligt.

Ondertussen bleven de zakelijke elites die de Griekse staat geplunderd en in de schulden gestoken hadden, genieten van bevoorrechte en schandalige contracten maar ook van een volledige fiscale immuniteit. Dezelfde elites die de Griekse economie in de loop van de 35 jaar PASOK- en ND-regeringen vernietigd hadden.

Hoe zit het met de Griekse samenleving en de vluchtelingen?

De SYRIZA-ANEL-regering die beloofde het memoranda beleid te beëindigen en de situatie van de werkende klassen te verlichten, heeft bewezen een van de meest gevaarlijke vijanden van die werkende klasse te zijn. Hun greep naar de macht door het Griekse volk te bedriegen met de vermeende onderhandelingen met de schuldeisers heeft het volk ernstig teleurgesteld door de hardste en meest klasse teisterende maatregelen tot nu toe op te leggen. In feite is de SYRIZA-ANEL-regering de meest efficiënte uitvoerder van dit beleid en dus de beste optie voor de Griekse elite en zijn kredietverstrekkers geweest.

Volgens de meest recente gegevens van Eurostat is het percentage van degenen die risico lopen op armoede, gestegen van 29,1% in 2009 tot 35,7% (3,8 miljoen) in 2015. Incidenten van uithongering in scholen nemen toe. De nieuwe bezuinigingen op de pensioenen storten niet alleen de gepensioneerden in armoede maar ook een groot aantal werklozen die letterlijk worden gevoed door de pensioenen van hun ouders. Volgens de laatste gegevens van ELSTAT (het Griekse bureau voor de statistiek) ontvangt slechts 14% van de werklozen de schamele werkloosheidsuitkering van 360 euro per maand voor allen het eerste jaar. Minstens 500.000 particuliere werknemers die in deeltijd werken, krijgen minder betaald dan de werkloosheidsuitkering. Meer dan een miljoen werkende mensen krijgen hun salaris te laat uitbetaald en dit kan oplopen tot 12 maanden. Onverzekerd werk (zonder gezondheidszorg en pensioenrechten) heeft het duizelingwekkende niveau van 30% bereikt. Ongeveer 24% van de mensen moest ernstig bezuinigingen op basisbehoeften (bijvoorbeeld voedsel en brandstof) om medicijnen te kunnen kopen. Tegelijkertijd vertraagt 13% van de mensen het uitvoeren van de voorschriften van de arts omdat zij hun bijdrage niet kunnen betalen. Om te besparen op hun medicatie neemt 10% van de patiënten, tegen de instructies van hun arts, kleinere doses in. Daar komt nog bij dat men is begonnen met het veilen van primaire woningen dat gestuit is op sterke tegenstand van het volk.

De plannen van de overheid en de schuldeisers voor de toekomst zullen de huidige situatie verder verergeren. De begroting voor 2017 voorziet in een stijging tot 26,27 miljard in de indirecte belastingen, een daling van de pensioenuitgaven en bezuinigingen op de uitkeringen.

Wat betreft de vluchtelingen crisis heeft de SYRIZA-ANEL-regering een vreselijk en onmenselijk gezicht getoond. Geheel in lijn met het rechtse en fascistische beleid van de EU sloot het de grenzen waardoor het de vluchtelingen dwong om het risico te nemen de gevaarlijke Egeïsche Zee over te steken. Dat heeft het leven van honderden mensen gekost. In eerste instantie liet de regering de vluchtelingen die de grens overstaken zitten zonder hulp en geheel afhankelijk van de solidariteit van de Griekse bevolking. Later zetten ze hen praktisch gevangen in afgelegen detentiecentra onder erbarmelijke omstandigheden en uit de buurt van de lokale bevolking. Op hetzelfde moment liet het provocerend de ontwikkeling van racistische en fascistische groepen toe die misdadige acties tegen de vluchtelingen begingen. De regering voerde trouw de beschamende EU-Turkije deal uit door systematisch vluchtelingen terug te sturen naar het fascistische Erdogan regime. Als gevolg van deze deal zijn er al 60.000 vluchtelingen gestrand in Griekenland. 16.000 van hen belanden in overvolle gevangenis-achtige centra waar nu drie keer zo veel mensen worden vastgehouden als toen de overeenkomst werd ondertekend. Bovendien greep de overheid, in strijd met elk legaliteitsbeginsel, in in de asielprocedures en veranderde de samenstelling van de commissies om de massale afwijzing van de asielverzoeken te waarborgen.

Om aan de macht te blijven probeert de SYRIZA-ANEL-regering het Griekse volk ervan te overtuigen dat er geen alternatief is voor de memoranda en de overeenkomsten die het heeft ondertekend, zoals de CETA  en de EU-Turkije deal. Ze vieren niet alleen elke onpopulaire maatregel die ze goedgekeurd krijgen en iedere schandelijke overeenkomst die ze tekenen, ze onderdrukken zelfs brutaal elke sociale reactie daarop. Met het voorwendsel dat de politie moeilijk onder controle te houden is, gebruiken ze het fascistische politieapparaat om oppositie tegen impopulaire maatregelen en solidariteit met vluchtelingen te onderdrukken. Tijdens de SYRIZA-ANEL-regering is de politie niet gestopt met het aanvallen van demonstraties met traangas en het slaan van demonstranten. Zelfs leden van SYRIZA zijn aangevallen door de politie tijdens hun deelname aan demonstraties.

Welke lessen kunnen worden getrokken voor de mensen en links Europa

De verandering van SYRIZA in een politieke beschermer van de belangen van de Griekse en Europese elites moet links Europa grote zorgen baren. De ervaring in Griekenland heeft geleerd dat de omverwerping van het eenrichtingsverkeer van het extreem neoliberale beleid en het blokkeren van de weg naar racisme en fascisme die nu heerst in Europa (en niet alleen in Europa) niet kan worden bereikt door de greep naar de macht van een linkse regeringscoalitie. Met de verandering van SYRIZA leek de hoop op en de visie van de verandering niet alleen in Griekenland, maar ook in de rest van Europa te zijn vervaagd. De hoop van miljoenen Griekse en Europese burgers die geloofden dat er een weg naar links in Griekenland en Europa ingeslagen kon worden, zonk in diepe teleurstelling.

Terzelfder tijd hebben de mensen in Griekenland een belangrijke les geleerd: radicale veranderingen kunnen niet worden toevertrouwd aan een partij of een regeringscoalitie. De oplossing kan alleen komen van de mensen zelf. De memoranda in Griekenland, het bezuinigingsbeleid in de rest van Europa en de opkomst van extreemrechts zijn niet onverslaanbaar. Mensen kunnen ze stoppen door middel van collectieve organisatie, constante strijd en klasse solidariteit op hun werk, tijdens hun studie en in hun omgeving. Met bottom-up politiek en niet door het toewijzen van de politiek aan vertegenwoordigers kunnen de burgers van Europa nieuwe manieren ontdekken om sociale rechtvaardigheid, fatsoenlijke levensomstandigheden en een vreedzame samenleving te bereiken.

De getrokken lessen uit SYRIZA’s benadering van de Europese Unie kunnen ook zeer waardevol zijn voor het geheel van links Europa. SYRIZA kwam aan de macht met de belofte om de EU te hervormen in de richting van meer sociaal welzijn. Dit was ofwel “wishful thinking” of een manier om het Griekse volk te bedriegen. De EU en de Euro zijn politieke en economische instellingen die zijn opgericht om de belangen van de Europese elites te dienen ten koste van de rechten van mensen. Het resultaat van SYRIZA’s houding ten aanzien van de EU is nu duidelijk en catastrofaal voor het Griekse volk.

De arbeiders, de werklozen en de vluchtelingen kunnen geen verandering verwachten van een links machtsmanagement. De hoop op verandering in de huidige dramatische situatie kan alleen worden vervuld door middel van een politiek conflict met de EU, de Europese regeringen en hun beleid door middel van een poging om nieuwe, antikapitalistische sociale en economische structuren op te bouwen. In Griekenland zal de economie zich niet herstellen en de werkloosheid niet worden verminderd door de decreten van de overheid of door oproepen voor innovatie en ondernemerschap aan een ​​corrupte economische elite.

Sociale en economische vooruitgang kan alleen worden bereikt als de economie wordt gerund door het volk, door hen die de confrontatie aangaan met de beslissingen van de overheid, de schuldeisers en de zakelijke elites. In Nederland zal ook de geleidelijke verarming van grote delen van de bevolking door middel van ontslagen, lagere lonen en slechtere arbeidsomstandigheden in vitale sectoren zoals de gezondheidszorg niet stoppen door de deelname van links in de regering, maar door massaal volksverzet.

Zowel in Griekenland als in Nederland kan de verbetering van de kwaliteit van leven voor de lagere klassen, de omkering van de fascistische tendensen en de annulering van het vluchtelingenbeleid niet worden bereikt binnen de neoliberale en autoritaire grenzen van de EU en de eurozone. De gemeenschappelijke strijd en klasse solidariteit van de werkende bevolking, de werklozen en de vluchtelingen in Griekenland, in Nederland en de rest van Europa tegen het EU-beleid van verhoging van armoede, onveiligheid, nationalisme, racisme en vreemdelingenhaat, zijn vereist.

In July 2011, a few months after being abandoned by its owners, Vio.Me. was occupied by its workers. Since February 2013, Vio.Me., managed by the general assembly of its workers, has been producing organic soaps and cleaning products. Many solidarity groups participate in the decisions concerning Vio.Me., while its products are distributed through a dense solidarity network across Europe.

After the screening of the film “Occupy, Resist, Produce” by Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler (watch here with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fg2akSUvFM), a discussion was held via Skype with Kostas Charitakis on behalf of Vio.Me. Thanks to the questions posed by the audience and Charitakis’ eloquent answers, a vivid picture of the current state of Vio.Me. but also of the potential and necessity of work-ins in Greece, was formed. References to the occupied factories in Argentina were also made.

With more than 1.000 factories closed down in Greece after the outbreak of the crisis, restarting the production under workers’ control is more necessary and realist than ever, was one of the main conclusions of yesterday’s discussion. Thus, although the difficulties and challenges of self-management are great, so are its possibilities to develop. Self-management of production, the active participation of society in the decision-making process and the unmediated contact between producers and consumers, as it is the case in Vio.Me., point to a different model of production, consumption, life. Even more significantly, they point to a realist way of building an alternative against the deadlocks that the existing system poses to the survival, happiness and peaceful coexistence of people in today’s Europe and the world.

The people who attended yesterday’s event could buy Vio.Me.’s soaps and sign the solidarity appeal against the upcoming auctions of Vio.Me., the first one being on the 26th of November. The signatures were sent today to the workers of Vio.Me.

The threat of eviction that Vio.Me. is faced with on the 26th of November “inaugurates” the cycle of evictions threatening an enormous number of indebted households in Greece under the laws of the 3rd Memorandum voted by Syriza’s government last July. This is an additional reason why Vio.Me.’s first auction and the ones to follow should be blocked!

In view of this situation, Vio.Me.’s workers invite individuals and collectivities in Greece and abroad to show their solidarity with more actions of this kind.

Special thanks to the Nieuwland’s people for a very welcoming environment, a delicious dinner and their great help.

ReINFORM

]]> http://www.reinform.info/?feed=rss2&p=8176 0 http://www.reinform.info/?p=8154 http://www.reinform.info/?p=8154#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2015 14:39:23 +0000 patti http://www.reinform.nl/?p=8154 We, the students of Rethymno city on the island of Crete, have just entered the third week of our fight for free education, lower transportation costs and free food-coupons. This letter is an open appeal to the students of the world to inform them about our fight and to express our solidarity with the struggle of the students in South Africa.

In the context of the capitalist crisis in Greece, the government has decided to cut all expenses for Health Care, Education and Social Policy forcing the universities in this way either to closure or privatization. Although the latter was the “ruling’s class” goal in the last two decades, it has been opposed by the continuous struggle of the Greek student movement, and this is an attribute rather characteristic of the Greek Youth. Through various laws in the past, Greece’s ruling parties have been trying to provide universities with the legal ability to accept private investments by promoting joint ventures of universities with commercial third parties. As the Greek crisis has deepened, the ruling parties have tried to take advantage of the situation by putting through their own agenda in the Public Education. Many universities were short of public funding and were forced to seek for private subsidies. The fact that Syriza has now come to power hasn’t changed anything since the neoliberal attack to education is further intensified.

The University of Crete was hit very hard by the crisis. The budgets have been minimized to such a degree that the institution cannot even finance basic functions. Therefore many university departments face closure and are being pushed to accept the commercialization of their research. Tuition fees were introduced for many master programs and there were efforts of imposing fees for bachelor programs as well. Since Greece has never set tuition fees for its Higher Education, these changes are now considered very radical. The cut of state expenses was also reflected in transportation, housing and catering for students. The private transportation company “KTEL Chanion – Rethimnou” decided to raise the ticket price for journeys to and from the university due to reduced profitability. As far as the housing is concerned, due to the economical crisis and the growing unemployment many students can’t even afford to pay their rent. The government’s decision to stop the construction of new and free student hostels deprives students from their right to free education. In the past, Greek universities have always provided catering for students and free meals for those ones entitled to them. But now the company which has recently taken over the catering has decided to stop the free meals, to raise the prices and to lower the quality of the food.

We, the students of Rethymno, have decided to fight against the dismantling of the university and protect our right to free education. The last three weeks, through democratic procedures during our general assemblies, we have decided to occupy the rectorate and then the whole campus. These assemblies were massively-attended and as the weeks passed by our determination to continue our struggle has grown by standing decisively against the lies of the representatives of the Right (DAP-NDFK) and the neoliberal Social Democrats (PASP).

In a provocative and revengeful manner the private catering decided to close down the restaurant as long as the occupation continues in order to turn the students against the protest. The answer of the student movement was to rally in the catering offices. This action pushed the catering business to reverse its decision to close the restaurant and secured the right to free meals for 150 fellow students. We rallied also in the bus station blocking the entrance to buses, and in the town hall as well to claim our demands to the local administration.

We believe that collective action can achieve victories nowadays. The enemy is not only the ministry which plays the leading role in this attack but also and more importantly the companies which are profiting or trying to profit from it. If tuition fees are imposed to students, then this means that more money will go to the black hole of the sovereign debtors, the IMF and the bankers. The capitalists are trying to change the power relations in their own interests in order to keep their profit rates high even if that means exclusion of many students from education.

We see that the same situation exists in many countries around the world. Many students, regardless of where they come from, share the same burden due to student loans they need to take or unbearable costs related to their study. That means that the enemy has the same goal which is of course the creation of the commercial neoliberal university. In this sense we, the students of Rethymno, support the struggle of the students in South Africa for lower tuition fees and we condemn the reaction of their government which is police brutality and oppression. The students must be united based on their common class interests and not divided by their religion or the colour of their skin.

Our common targets represent the future of the society and this cannot be a future for the privileged few!

The General Assembly of the Occupied University of Rethymno

29 October 2015

The Assembly’s group on Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/683366928450287/?fref=ts

Several interventions of the students :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Lsrp241Qg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hljMM1XhXq0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qGwPsJA0Dg

A considerable number of anti-fascists joined the demonstration, over 400 in particular. Such anti-fascist actions are necessary to block fascism and actively support migrants. But for the anti-fascist movement to accomplish its goals, it should overcome its limitations. To this end, some self-criticism may be useful. The dark clouds of racism and fascism gather over Europe. We must not allow this to happen again.

Of course anti-fascism is not just about opposing some lunatics who believe in blood purity and race. Anti-fascism is mainly a struggle against the political parties implementing neoliberal policies to the interests of the bourgeoisie. These policies equal to a sheer attack on working people’s rights, income, pensions and access to public healthcare and education. These parties might not have a fascist rhetoric, but they pave the way for the rise of fascist movements and ideologies by creating social instability, obscene inequality and massive poverty. In sum, by plunging people and countries into debts and despair.

From this perspective, only if anti-fascists show how fascism is linked to the capitalist system will they be effective. It is only by perceiving anti-fascism as a form of class confrontation that simplistic chauvinist arguments, such as those attributing unemployment to migrants, can be resisted and fought. In the example of the Syrian refugee crisis, anti-fascists should point out that Syrians are migrating because the interests of the European and American bourgeoisie are best served in conditions of a continuing war.

To defeat fascism in all its expressions we should be united and open to society. The success of any anti-fascist action is premised on the unity of the trade unions and the left-wing and anarchist organizations. At the same time, the anti-fascist movement should be inviting every individual or social group that wants to oppose racism and fascism to join in. However, such unity and broadness would be fake and fragile if not based on political criticism. Thus, although people who have voted for PvdA or other neoliberal political parties are welcome in anti-fascist actions, we should be clear about the responsibility that these parties have for the rise of racism and fascism and the launch of imperialist wars. Crying crocodile tears for the refugees, while voting measures against migration or harsh austerity policies should be openly criticised and condemned.

Anti-fascism is not a matter of an one-day battle. All of us, either Dutch or migrants, who want to live peacefully with one another, should work on a long-term, multifaceted plan for this common cause. Creating anti-fascist committees in every city, which will explain to society how fascist phenomena and migration are linked to political decisions and strategies imposed by the neoliberal governments, the EU and the NATO, is such a long-term anti-fascist action. The Dutch left-wing and anarchist organizations and groups should come up with such actions and back up the creation of a broad popular front against racism and fascism.

United against whom?

After the anti-fascist protest at Janskerkhof, a big part of the anti-fascists tried to reach the rally of Pegida. Their anti-rally was prohibited by the police and considered as illegal. When the anti-fascists gathered, the police tried to turn them away even resorting to physical violence and arrests. These actions prove that there cannot be any “state anti-fascism”, as some people claim. When the state and police protect Pegida, they share responsibility for Pegida’s views and deeds.

With the political decision to allow Pegida’s rally, Dutch bourgeois parties and the state give the message that fascist rhetoric and ideology are welcome. And when dealing with people who believe that migrants should either drown in the Mediterranean or die in their countries by the bombs of Europe, the US and ISIS, it is not about ensuring the right to the freedom of speech. Despite the claims about preventing episodes of violence among the protesters, the prohibition of the anti-Pegida rally resulted in the protection of Pegida from the Dutch mainstream media spotlight and public exposure. Dutch mainstream media are now focusing on the Pegida phenomenon in Germany and not on its persistent attempt to set foot in the Netherlands. In view of Pegida’s comeback to Utrecht on the 8th of November, such prohibitions by the police and the media coverage of the issue should be among the subjects addressed by the anti-fascist movement.

The enemy is not only Pegida, but also the neoliberal political parties that create the conditions for fascism to rise and the police, prohibiting and repressing anti-fascist rallies. To defend the migrants, we should struggle against all those who want the Dutch society hypnotized with lies and terrorized by the police or fascist brutality. We should struggle against capitalism and the 21^st century comeback of fascism that it gives rise to.

ReINFORM

In September 2012, while hundreds of refugees are held in inhuman conditions at the police stations of Lesbos or they are left out in the open vulnerable to any racist attacks; the “Village of all together” requests the municipality of Mitilini to allow the use of the abandoned summer camps in Neapoli to be used as a hospitality center for the refugees. With this act, the “Village of all together” defends the right of the refugees to a fair
treatment and simultaneously, it promotes the creation of open hospitality centers in support of local community.

PIKPA is a self-managed-autonomous space and has no access to any state or European funds. This self-managed space has hosted during this time more than 6.000 refugees, some for few days and others up to a year. The refugees include asylum and family unification applicants and/or vulnerable groups of newly arrived refugees e.g. people with disabilities, sick, pregnant etc. There, we offer food, clothes, medicines, hygiene, legal counseling, and medical help as well as we organize activities for children and classes of Greek and English and occasionally, we provide them transport expenses and social support.

Due to the growing number of refugees arriving in Lesbos on a daily basis, the “Village of all together” is in constant need of resources and funds to cover the increasing needs of these people as well as to maintain the human living conditions in the camp. Although the core of our activities are centred in the PIKPA summer camp, we are in continuous communication with other groups of our network to better assess the situation and the needs,
offering help where is needed, on the streets, at the port and other self-created camps.

Our main objective is to stand in solidarity with the refugees and fight against the illegal arrests and any practice of humiliation or atrocities conducted in the sea or at the borders e.g. In June 2015 and while the law was still criminalizing any altruistic acts, we, the “Village of all together” organized a convoy with over forty cars that traveled from Molivo to Mitilini in order to transport refugees to the hospitality center. Moreover, we participated
in trials against citizens who transported refugees to the cities when the respective authorities pointing the law, were leaving thousands of people walking long distances all over the island.

Currently, we act as the focal point among medical centres, social pharmacies and other medical groups all over the country in order to provide sufficient medical services to the refugees. Our aim is to create proper reception and hospitality centres for every refugee as well any Greek national who has been a victim of the economic crisis, racism and any xenophobic propaganda.

If you want to support the volunteers in Lesvos, here are the details, received from Efi Latsoudi

Village of all together

IBAN: GR7901107620000076271413353

SWIFT (BIC) ETHNGRAA

Michalis Aivaliotis

Milou 10

Pirgrelia

Mytilene / Greece

The Truth Committee on Public Debt (Debt Truth Committee) was established on April 4, 2015, by a decision of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Ms Zoe Konstantopoulou, who confided the Scientific Coordination of its work to Dr. Eric Toussaint and the cooperation of the Committee with the European Parliament and other Parliaments and international organizations to MEP Ms Sofia Sakorafa.

Members of the Committee have convened in public and closed sessions, to produce this preliminary report, under the supervision of the scientific coordinator and with the cooperation and input of other members of the Committee, as well as experts and contributors.

This is the link to the report in English: http://cadtm.org/IMG/pdf/Report.pdf

Below follows  the Executive Summary of the report from the Debt Truth Committee in Dutch. It is translated into Dutch by the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam:

Samenvatting van het verslag van de Waarheidscommissie Schuld

17 juni door de Waarheidscommissie Schuld

In juni 2015 staat Griekenland op een kruispunt. Het land moet óf kiezen voor het voortzetten van de mislukte macro-economische aanpassingsprogramma’s opgelegd door zijn schuldeisers, of voor echte verandering om de ketenen van de schuld te verbreken. Vijf jaar nadat de economische aanpassingsprogramma’s in gang zijn gezet, zit het land nog altijd muurvast in een diepe economische, sociale en ecologische crisis. De zwarte doos van de schuld blijft hermetisch gesloten en tot nu toe heeft geen enkele bevoegde instantie, Grieks dan wel internationaal, gepoogd om de waarheid aan het licht te brengen over hoe en waarom Griekenland is onderworpen aan het regime van de Trojka. De schuld, omwille waarvan niets en niemand is ontzien, blijft de regel door middel waarvan neoliberale aanpassing wordt opgelegd, en de diepste en langste recessie ooit in Europa in vredestijd ervaren.

Er is een dwingende noodzaak en een maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid om actie te ondernemen op een waaier aan juridische, sociale en economische kwesties die nodig gericht moeten worden aangepakt. Om hieraan tegemoet te komen, heeft het Griekse parlement in april de Waarheidscommissie inzake de Staatsschuld ingesteld, met een mandaat om een onderzoek in te stellen naar het ontstaan en de toename van de staatsschuld, de manier waarop en de redenen waarom schulden zijn aangegaan, en de impact die de randvoorwaarden verbonden aan de leningen hebben gehad op de economie en de bevolking. De Waarheidscommissie is gemachtigd om de bewustwording te bevorderen rond zaken gerelateerd aan de Griekse schuld, zowel op nationaal als internationaal niveau, en argumenten aan te dragen voor kwijtschelding van de schuld en manieren waarop dit zou kunnen.

Het onderzoek van de Commissie zoals gepresenteerd in dit voorlopige rapport belicht het feit dat het hele aanpassingsprogramma waaraan Griekenland is onderworpen een politiek georiënteerd programma is en blijft. De technische exercitie rond macro-economische variabelen en schuldprojecties – cijfers die rechtstreeks raken aan het leven en de bestaansmogelijkheden van mensen -, heeft het mogelijk gemaakt dat discussies over de schuld zich zuiver op het technische niveau konden blijven afspelen en dan vooral rond het verhaal dat de maatregelen die werden opgelegd Griekenland beter zouden toerusten op het terugbetalen van de schuld. De feiten zoals gepresenteerd in dit rapport zetten grote vraagtekens bij dat betoog.

Al het bewijs dat we in dit rapport aandragen, laat zien dat Griekenland niet alleen niet in staat is tot het terugbetalen van deze schuld, maar die schuld ook niet zou moeten terugbetalen, om de simpele reden dat de schuld die voortkomt uit de regelingen van de Trojka een directe inbreuk vormt op de fundamentele mensenrechten van de inwoners van Griekenland. Op die gronden zijn wij tot de conclusie gekomen dat Griekenland deze schuld niet zou moeten terugbetalen: deze is onrechtmatig, onwettig en schandelijk.

Het is de Commissie ook duidelijk geworden dat de onhoudbaarheid van de Griekse staatsschuld de internationale crediteuren, de Griekse autoriteiten en de commerciële media van meet af aan al duidelijk was. Toch verzetten de Griekse autoriteiten zich, tezamen met enkele andere EU-regeringen, in 2010 tegen de herstructurering van de staatsschuld teneinde financiële instellingen te beschermen. De commerciële media verhulden de waarheid richting de publieke opinie door de zaken zo af te schilderen als zou deze bailout in het voordeel zijn van Griekenland, en tegelijkertijd een discours op te tuigen bedoeld om de bevolking neer te zetten alsof zij gewoon hun verdiende loon kregen voor hun wangedrag.

De steunfondsen waarin de programma’s van 2010 en 2012 voorzagen zijn extern beheerd middels complexe structuren, die elke fiscale autonomie onmogelijk maakten. De aanwending van de steunfondsen wordt volledig gedicteerd door de crediteuren, waarbij in het oog springt dat minder dan 10% van deze fondsen zijn ingezet voor lopende uitgaven van de overheid.

Dit voorlopige verslag schetst de belangrijkste problemen en aandachtsgebieden m.b.t. de staatsschuld, en vestigt de aandacht op belangrijke schendingen van de wet m.b.t. het aangaan van de schuld; het brengt ook de juridische grondslag in kaart op grond waarvan unilaterale opschorting van de schuldaflossingen zou kunnen worden gebaseerd. De bevindingen worden gepresenteerd in negen hoofdstukken, die als volgt zijn gestructureerd:

Hoofdstuk 1, Schuld voor de Trojka, analyseert de aanwas van de Griekse staatsschuld sinds de jaren 1980. Het concludeert dat de toename van de schuld niet te wijten was aan excessieve overheidsuitgaven, die in feite achterbleven bij de publieke uitgaven in andere landen van de Eurozone, maar veeleer veroorzaakt werd door uitkering van extreem hoge rentepercentages aan crediteuren, buitensporige en ongerechtvaardigde defensie-uitgaven, een verlies aan belastinginkomsten als gevolg van onrechtmatige kapitaalvlucht, herkapitalisatie van private banken door de overheid, en de interne onevenwichtigheden die ontstonden door onvolkomenheden in de structuur van de Monetaire Unie zelf.

De invoering van de euro leidde tot een drastische toename van private schulden in Griekenland, waaraan zowel grote Europese particuliere banken als de Griekse banken werden blootgesteld. Een aanzwellende bankencrisis droeg bij aan de Griekse staatsschuldencrisis. De regering van George Papandreou hielp in 2009 om de elementen van een bankencrisis te presenteren als een staatsschuldencrisis door het overheidstekort en de staatsschuld te benadrukken en te vergroten.

Hoofdstuk 2, Ontwikkeling van de Griekse staatsschuld in de periode 2010-2015, concludeert dat het eerste pakket leningen van 2010 primair gericht was op het redden van de Griekse en andere Europese particuliere banken, en de banken in staat te stellen hun belang in Griekse staatsobligaties omlaag te brengen.

Hoofdstuk 3, Griekse staatsschuld uitgesplitst naar crediteuren in 2015, beschrijft het controversiële karakter van de huidige Griekse schuld middels een uiteenzetting van de basiskenmerken van de leningen, die aan een nadere analyse worden onderworpen in hoofdstuk 8.

Hoofdstuk 4, Schuldenmechanisme in Griekenland beschrijft de mechanismen die in het leven zijn geroepen door de overeenkomsten die sinds mei 2010 zijn geïmplementeerd. Die hebben een aanzienlijke hoeveelheid nieuwe schulden aan bilaterale crediteuren en het Europese Financiële Stabiliteitsfonds (EFSF) gecreëerd, terwijl ze tegelijkertijd zorgden voor oneigenlijke kosten die de crisis verder hielpen versterken. Deze mechanismen laten zien hoe het merendeel van de geleende fondsen rechtstreeks is overgeheveld naar financiële instellingen. In plaats van dat zij ten goede zijn gekomen aan Griekenland, hebben zij het proces van privatisering helpen versnellen middels het gebruik van financiële instrumenten.

Hoofdstuk 5, Voorwaarden in strijd met houdbaarheid, laat zien hoe de crediteuren verstrekkende voorwaarden koppelden aan hun kredietovereenkomsten, die rechtstreeks leidden tot de economische uitzichtloosheid en onhoudbaarheid van de schuld. Deze voorwaarden, waaraan de crediteuren nog altijd vasthouden, hebben niet alleen bijgedragen tot een lager BBP en tot meer lenen door de staat, wat weer gezorgd heeft voor een hogere schuldquote, wat de schuld van Griekenland nog onhoudbaarder heeft gemaakt, maar hebben eveneens gezorgd voor dramatische veranderingen in de samenleving en een humanitaire crisis veroorzaakt. De Griekse staatsschuld moet inmiddels als volledig onhoudbaar worden beschouwd.

Hoofdstuk 6, Impact van de “bailout-programma’s” op mensenrechten concludeert dat de maatregelen die onder de “bailout-programma’s” zijn doorgevoerd, rechtstreeks hebben aangegrepen op de leefomstandigheden van de bevolking en hebben gezorgd voor schendingen van mensenrechten die Griekenland en zijn partners onder zowel het nationale als het regionale en het internationale recht gehouden zijn te respecteren, te beschermen en te bevorderen. De drastische aanpassingen opgelegd aan de Griekse economie en maatschappij als geheel hebben gezorgd voor een snelle verslechtering van de levensstandaard en zijn onverenigbaar met sociale rechtvaardigheid, sociale cohesie, democratie en mensenrechten.

Hoofdstuk 7, Juridische kwesties inzake het MoU en de kredietovereenkomsten betoogt dat er sprake is van schending van de mensenrechtenverplichtingen zowel door Griekenland zelf als door zijn geldschieters, d.w.z. de geldverstrekkende landen uit de Eurozone, de Europese Commissie, de Europese Centrale Bank en het Internationaal Monetair Fonds, die deze maatregelen aan Griekenland hebben opgelegd. Al deze actoren zijn in gebreke gebleven als het gaat om het in kaart brengen van de mensenrechtenschendingen als gevolg van het beleid dat zij Griekenland dwongen te voeren. Zij schonden ook rechtstreeks de Griekse grondwet door Griekenland de facto te beroven van het gros van zijn soevereine rechten. De overeenkomsten bevatten oneigenlijke clausules, die Griekenland feitelijk dwingen tot het opgeven van belangrijke aspecten van zijn soevereiniteit. Dat komt letterlijk tot uitdrukking in de keuze voor het Engelse recht als het toepasselijk recht voor deze overeenkomsten, hetgeen het mogelijk maakte om de Griekse grondwet en internationale verplichtingen op het gebied van de mensenrechten te omzeilen.

Strijdigheid met mensenrechten en gewoonterechtelijke verplichtingen, diverse aanwijzingen dat contractpartijen te kwader trouw hebben gehandeld, die samen met het onredelijke karakter van de overeenkomsten, deze overeenkomsten ongeldig maken.

Hoofdstuk 8, Beoordeling van de schulden uit oogpunt van onrechtmatigheid, schandelijkheid, onwettigheid en onhoudbaarheid geeft een evaluatie van de Griekse staatsschuld op basis van de definities inzake onrechtmatige, schandelijke, onwettige en onhoudbare schulden zoals vastgesteld door de Commissie.

Hoofdstuk 8 concludeert dat de Griekse staatsschuld zoals die op 15 juni bestond onhoudbaar is, omdat Griekenland momenteel niet in staat is om aan zijn aflossingsverplichtingen te voldoen zonder zijn vermogen om tegemoet te komen aan basale mensenrechtenverplichtingen ernstig geweld aan te doen. Bovendien verschaft het rapport inzake elke crediteur bewijzen van illustratieve gevallen van onrechtmatige, onwettige en schandelijke schulden.

De schuld aan het IMF moet onwettig worden geacht, omdat de toezegging ervan in strijd was met de statuten van het IMF zelf, en omdat de eraan gekoppelde voorwaarden in strijd waren met de Griekse grondwet, het internationaal gewoonterecht en verdragen waarin Griekenland partij is. Hij is tevens onrechtmatig, omdat de voorwaarden ook beleidsvoorschriften omvatten die inbreuk maakten op mensenrechtenverplichtingen. Tot slot is hij schandelijk omdat het IMF wist dat de opgelegde maatregelen ondemocratisch en ineffectief waren, en zouden leiden tot ernstige schendingen van sociaaleconomische rechten.

Source of the documents: http://cadtm.org/Preliminary-Report-of-the-Truth

The Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) said initial results from Sunday’s election showed it would take 80 of 550 seats, a stunning result for a party that pollsters had said would struggle to cross the required 10% threshold.

It also marks a major setback for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had hoped for a crushing victory for the AK party he founded, allowing it to change the constitution and give him broad executive powers.

Erdogan had repeatedly lashed out at the HDP and its charismatic leader Selahattin Demirtaş before the elections.

“This result shows that this country has had enough. Enough of Erdoğan and his anger,” said Seyran Demir, a 47-year-old housewife who was among the thousands who gathered in the streets around the HDP’s provincial headquarters. “I am so full of joy that I can’t speak properly.”

The crowds brought traffic to a standstill in parts of the city. Elsewhere, people drove through sidestreets hanging out of car windows and waving HDP flags. Men fired pistols into the air, a traditional sign of celebration.

Just two days earlier, bombs tore through a HDP rally in Diyarbakir, killing two and wounding at least 200.

The HDP had looked to reach beyond Turkey’s roughly 20% Kurdish population, attempting to woo centre-left and secular voters disillusioned with Erdoğan.

“The reason the HDP has won this many votes is because it has not excluded any members of this country, unlike our current rulers,” said 25-year-old Siar Senci. “It has embraced all languages, all ethnicities and members of all faiths and promised them freedom.”

The HDP’s entrance into parliament as a party – previously candidates ran as independents to skirt the 10% threshold – could also herald a step forward for the Kurdish peace process.

Ankara launched peace talks with the militant Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) two years ago. The PKK took up arms in 1984 in an insurgency for greater autonomy that has killed 40,000 people.

“We have waited for this day for years. During those dark times, I wondered if I could see Turks and Kurds living in solidarity in my own lifetime. Thank God it happened,” said 63-year-old Ersin Ates.

“Now we don’t want another single bullet to be shot. Our fight will continue in the parliament.”

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/07/joy-as-turkish-election-result-puts-pro-kurdish-party-into-parliament

With ever growing securitization and militarization of its immigrations policies, the European Union is closing the gates to the unwanted outsiders and covers the Mediterranean in blood.

The media talk about a tsunami of refugees, and hordes of ‘illegal’ immigrants. They use a language that refers to war or environmental disaster and therefore, justifies all kinds of control and repression measures.

The law draws an arbitrary line between ‘forced’ and ‘voluntary’ migration. In reality, very little difference exists between those fleeing persecution and those fleeing hunger. At the end of the day, every human life has the same value.

Days after the deadliest incident in the Mediterranean, where more than 800 migrants lost their lives, the European Council called an emergency summit to respond to the crisis in the Mediterranean. There, it became clear that the incentive of the EU leaders is not to save lives but to forbid people from dying at their doorstep.

The EU and its member states try to seal their borders making regular ways of entry practically inaccessible, criminalizing irregular migration, and employing the latest military technology and brutal force to block access to their territory.

The result of these policies is violence and death. The EU denies responsibility for the thousands of lives lost at sea, the hundreds of thousands rotting in immigration detention, and all those forced to return to fear and want.

Instead, the recent mass drowning is used once again as an excuse for even further militarization, even stricter controls and closer cooperation with countries with problematic human rights records. The EU declared war on smugglers and stated that it would burn migrant vessels before departure, in order to protect migrants from the dangers of the sea.

Targeting smugglers is fighting only the symptoms of a disease that is as deadly as the system itself.

The European Union and its member states cannot deny their role in supporting and participating in the wars and the financial imperialism that drives people away from their homes. When this is coupled with human mobility, a phenomenon as natural as humanity itself, then desperate young men and women will put their lives at risk to cross a human-made border.

Drownings are not a natural phenomenon. It is a result of the EU migration policies.

ReInform

Source of featured image: dw.de