Greek Solidarity Protesters Interrupt Merkel Speech ~ THE 5TH ESTATE ASIA

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Greek Solidarity Protesters Interrupt Merkel Speech

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Nazi Merkel, Lagarde, IMF, EU banksters circling the drain - and they know it

TELESUR TV
07/05/2015

Protesters chanted “No” in Greek, urging voters in tomorrow’s referendum to refuse the austerity measures that creditors seek to impose on Greece.

People in the Areia region of Greece burn an effigy

of German Chancellor Angela Merkel portrayed

as a Nazi

A speech by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was interrupted Saturday by a group of anti-austerity protesters who shouted “Oxi” meaning “No” in Greek, voicing their oppostion to proposals, which seek to maintain austerity measures, ahead of Sunday’s referendum.

As Merkel was about to begin her speech at an event in Beriln celebrating the 70th anniversary of her Christian Democratic Union Party, demonstrators blocked the stage while chanting “Oxi.” Security was quick to respond and escort the group out of the hall.

Merkel’s response to the protesters was also quick. “In order to balance things once again, we say “Nai,” she said, referring to the Greek word for “Yes.”

Ripping a page out of the Bush/Obama playbook

of terror Merkel still believes she can tough it out

Her response was met with applause by her fellow party members. Greece has been on edge with many groups holding demonstrations either in favor of austerity measures or against them ahead of Sunday’s referendum.

George Pittas, a writer for Workers Solidarity newspaper and a member of ANTARSYA, a coalition of the anti-capitalist leftist, told teleSUR English that Friday’s rally in Syntagma parliament Square drew thousands of people who were angry at what they saw as unbalanced media coverage and pressure from employers to vote “yes.”

“People were shouting ‘No’ with all their might in yesterday’s rally,” Pittas said, “No means no to austerity as it did in the past years. In workplaces the ‘No’ Campaign is huge.”

The symbolic protests in Berlin came as Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had accused Europe of “spreading terror” in Greece ahead of the country's historic referendum Sunday. "Why have they forced us to close the banks? To frighten people. And when it's about spreading terror, that is known as terrorism," Varoufakis told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in a surprising compromising comment, the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has been a staunch critic of a “no” vote in the referendum, has said “it is clear that we will not leave the [Greek] people in the lurch.”

He also asserted that the referendum would be on whether the Greek people wanted to hold on to the euro or be “temporarily without it."

Several economists have suggested that for a period of time Greece could return to its national currency the drachma in order to recover and then return to the euro without existing the euro zone or “Grexit”.

In his interview with El Mundo, Varoufakis also said Europe will not let Greece go under as there was so much on stake for the creditors and for the European Union.

“If Greece crashes, a trillion euros (the equivalent of Spain's GDP) will be lost,” said Varoufakis. “It's too much money and I don't believe Europe could allow it.”

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