EUROZONE-GREECE/ATHENS RALLY Defiant Greeks rally behind rejection of creditor terms

Record ID: 148956

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/ATHENS RALLY Defiant Greeks rally behind rejection of creditor terms
  • Date: 30th June 2015
  • Summary: GROUND VIEWS OF RALLY PEOPLE DURING RALLY BANNERS SINGER ON PODIUM AND PEOPLE WATCHING VARIOUS OF CONCERT BANNER WITH 'No'
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Q2JQS9FA1A4HFKY5FH497Y4L
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of Greeks rallied on Monday (June 29) behind a 'No' vote in a referendum called for July 5 on the terms of an aid deal offered by Greece's international creditors, a result that risks pushing Athens out of Europe's currency union.
    With Greece set to default on a 1.6-million-euro loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday (June 30), at least 20,000 defiant supporters of Alexis Tsipras' left-wing government packed the main avenue in front of parliament, rallying behind his call to reject the package and more austerity.
    Greece's European partners have said this could see the country slide from the 19-nation eurozone, with unforeseeable consequences for Athens and for Europe's grand project to bind its nations into an unbreakable union by means of a common currency.
    Tsipras is telling Greeks a 'No' vote does not necessarily mean a euro exit. But economists, and Greece's European partners, say he is understating the danger.
    Many banners declared simply "No!" Others said, "Our lives do not belong to the lenders" and "Don't back down".
    "Everybody's message here today is a loud and powerful 'no' against all these measures that Europe wants to impose on Greece. Why? So they can give us some pocket change?," said 55-year-old civil servant Clio Karabetsou.
    "For me this is war. And we must resist and fight against this siege that we are under, as a country and as a democracy," said another woman, Angeliki.
    Greece's Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, stunned European leaders in the early hours of Saturday (June 27) by rejecting the demands of lenders in the European Union and International Monetary Fund, and saying he would put them to the people.
    The creditors wanted Greece to cut further outgoings and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst economic crises of modern times, in a country where a quarter of the workforce is already unemployed. Pensions and wages have been hammered.
    The eurozone refused to extend Greece's existing bailout until after the July 5th vote. Athens on Sunday (June 28) imposed restrictions on bank transactions and closed banks for the week to head off a run on deposits.
    A 'Yes' vote would pile pressure on Tsipras to resign, opening the door to new elections and possibly a return to the negotiating table with creditors.
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