Greek Finance Minister Accuses Creditors Of ‘Terrorism’

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Yanis Varoufakis has accused Athens’ creditors of ‘terrorism’, in an interview the day before the referendum on an international bailout.

What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis told Spain’s El Mundo. “What Brussels and the troika want today is for the yes [vote] to win so they could humiliate the Greeks. Why did they force us to close the banks? To instil fear in people. And spreading fear is called terrorism.

Varoufakis said that whatever the result of tomorrow’s vote, the banks would reopen and Athens would end up reaching an accord with its creditors.

Ahead of Sundays bailout referendum rallies of thousands gathered in Athens

The BBC reports:

The government has urged voters to say “No” to the terms of a bailout package. But opponents warn this would see Greece ejected from the eurozone.

Greece’s current bailout programme with the European Commission, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) ran out on Tuesday.

Banks have been shut all week, with limits imposed on cash withdrawals.

Mr Varoufakis said the so-called “troika” of creditors wanted a “yes” vote to win so they could humiliate the Greeks.

“Why did they force us to close the banks? To instil fear in people. And spreading fear is called terrorism,” he said.

He added that PM Alexis Tsipras would still reach an agreement with creditors if the result was “No”, and that banks in Greece would reopen on Tuesday whatever the outcome.

Correspondents say it is unclear whether this will happen.

Nasty rhetoric

The BBC’s Chris Morris in Athens says that, for many, this has become a choice about whether to stay in the eurozone.

With so much at stake, he says, the rhetoric is getting nasty.

Tens of thousands of Greeks attended rival rallies on Friday night.

Mr Tsipras told supporters Greece needed “say a proud ‘No’ to [European] ultimatums” to sign up to fresh austerity.

But “Yes” campaigners said they believed Mr Tsipras could not deliver on such a promise.

 

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