Open Letter to the People of Greece: You Are Being Slaughtered
By Peter Koenig
You
are being slaughtered right in front of the world’s eyes and nobody
says beep. Least the Greek elite. Your Government. A few, but a few too
many, allow the slaughter because it doesn’t concern them. They are
blinded by the false glamour of the euro and of belonging to the ‘elite
class’ of the noble Europeans (sic!).
They
apparently live well enough, including the caviar socialists of Syriza.
They let their country bleed to death literally, morally, socially and
psychologically. Medical care is no longer available or privatized and
unaffordable. Pensions were reduced five times. They were never more
than a survival kit. By now they have been slashed in some cases by over
50%. Hordes of people live on food handouts. Most social services,
including to a large extent education have been sold out, privatized.
Gone with a flicker. Gone, by order of Germany – and the holy troika –
the criminal gang of three, IMF, European Central Bank (EIB) and the
European Commission (EU); the latter a mere bunch of unelected corrupt
puppets, deciding the fate of some 800 million Europeans – with YOU, the
Greek people, accepting carrying the brunt end of the stick.
In
September 2016, the unelected European Commission sent Greece a
Brussels-drafted legislation of over 2,000 pages, in English, to be
ratified by the Greek Parliament within a few days – or else. – Nobody
asked: ‘What is else’?
Brussels
didn’t even bother translating this unreadable legalistic heap of paper
into Greek, nor did they allow the Parliament enough time to read,
digest and debate the new fiscal legislation. Most parliamentarians
could not read them, either because of language or due to the imposed
time limit. The Parliament ratified the legislation anyway.
Under
this new law, Greece is transferring all public assets (public
infrastructure, airports, ports even public beaches, natural resources,
etc.), unconditionally, for 99 years, to the European Stability
Mechanism (ESM) which is free to sell (privatize) them at fire sales
prices to whomever is interested – supposedly to pay back the Greek
debt. The fund was originally estimated, certainly under-estimated – at
about 50 billion euros. In the meantime, the value of the Greek assets
has been further downgraded by the troika to between 5 and 15 billion
euros, as compared to Greece’s debt of more than 350 billion euros. The
ESM is a supranational undemocratic apparatus, accountable to no one.
With
this legislation, the Greek Parliament – YOUR Parliament, Esteemed
People of Greece! – has annulled itself. It is no longer allowed to pass
any budget or fiscal (tax) legislation. Everything is decided in
Brussels in connivance with the IMF and the ECB. The last time a similar
situation happened was in 1933, when the German “Reichstag”
(Parliament) transferred all of its legislative power to Chancellor
Adolf Hitler.
This,
Dear People of Greece – is sheer economic fascism, right in front of
your eyes, the world’s eyes, but nobody wants to see it. The worst blind
is the one who doesn’t want to see.
This
asset seizure was confirmed when the last hope for at least some debt
relief was dashed at the end of February this year. Even the IMF
initially recommended and today still privately recommends debt relief.
However, Germany without mercy announced the final pillage of Greece,
requesting Greece to surrender gold, utilities and real estate to the
ESM – largely managed by Germany. The next ‘bailout’ amount, if Greece
goes to her knees and surrenders everything, might be 86 billion euros,
meaning NEW DEBT. In exchange of what? More interest, a higher debt
service (interest and debt amortization) — and an even bleaker outlook
to ever, and I mean ever, getting out of this US-European fascism
imposed process of killing of a nation.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel is reported to have said, “Berlin’s stance on Greece’s
bailout program remained unchanged”, after she met with IMF chief
Christine Lagarde a few days ago (http://russia-insider.com/en/greece-surrender-gold-public-utilities-and-real-estate-exchange-pieces-paper-printed-brussels).
Some facts about Greece’s debt, as of 9 March 2017:
Population 10.8 million.
Debt: 352 billion euros (interest per second: 617 euros; debt per citizen: 32,580 euros).
Interest per year: 19.5 billion euros.
Total
Greek bailout funds from 2010 to end 2016: in excess of 250 billion
euros – none of which went to Greece for the benefit of the people, but
to pay debt service to the troika and pay off mostly German and French
private banks.
Debt as a percentage of GDP: 181% (GDP 195 billion euros);
2008 Debt to GDP: 109% (less than today’s US debt to GDP ratio of 109.63%).
Greece’s GDP amounts to less than 2% of EU’s GDP.
Greek GDP has collapsed by more than 25% since 2008.
Unemployment is rampant – with an average of 26% – and close to 50% for young people (18 to 35).
Greece’s
debt in 2008 would have been totally manageable internally, without
outside interference, or so-called ‘bailouts’ – which are really not
bailouts but forced debt accumulation.
Greece’s
debt was NEVER a threat to the European Union, as the FED / ECB / WS
bankster propaganda made you believe. The Greek and subsequent “European
Crisis” was entirely fabricated by the banksters for their benefit, at
the detriment of Greece and Europe. It had nothing to do with the Greek
or European debt. But nobody questioned it. Those European and
international top economists and politicians who knew, didn’t dare to
speak out. The voices of those who did dare to speak the truth were
muffled. The people of Europe were lied to, including the Greek, as
usual by the presstitute media.
Let’s put the Greek debt in perspective.
In
September 2011, without warning, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) devalued
the Swiss franc by about 12% against the euro to protect its economy.
This was an unfair move – to say the least, since none of the euro-zone
bound countries has the liberty to re-or devalue its currency, as deemed
necessary by their economy, i.e. Greece. While Switzerland is not a
direct member of the EU, Switzerland is nevertheless bound to the EU by
more than 120 bilateral contracts, thereby de facto a EU member.
During
the 3 ¼ years of locking the exchange rate into a fixed rate of at
least CHF 1.20 per euro, the SNB amassed more than 500 billion francs in
extra foreign currency, mostly in euro. This is about 150% of Greece’s
current debt.
Switzerland,
a country of 8 million people, in theory, could bail out Greece’s full
debt, say, at no interest, by a 50-year loan (World Bank IDA terms) – in
solidarity; and to compensate a bit for the SNB’s questionable ethics
vis-à-vis EU members. Switzerland would not suffer. To the contrary,
such a move would help stem the risk of a Swiss currency inflation, due
to the huge amounts of Swiss francs that needed to be ‘printed’ to
maintain the artificial exchange rate against the euro. Would
Switzerland be prepared to engage in such a solidary rescue action?
–Probably not.
People of Greece! – Wake up.
Take
things in your own hands! Don’t believe you politicians, your media!
Get out of this criminal organization called the European Union, and
this fraudulent western monetary system that is strangling you to death.
Take back your sovereignty, your own currency. Default on your debt –
the west can do nothing about it. Not if you run your country with your
own public banks, and your own money, gradually but surely rebuilding a
destroyed economy. Debt repayment is negotiable. Cases abound around the
world. Argentina is one of the more recent ones. Even Germany
renegotiated its foreign debt in 1952 (see London Agreement of German
External Debt).
Germany, the leader of this economic massacre of Greece, owes Greece huge WWII reparation payments. On
8 February 2015, PM Tsipras requested Germany to pay up her full
reparation debt to Greece of an equivalent of 279 billion euros, in
today’s terms. Germany replied in April 2015 that the reparation
issue was resolved in 1990 – which, of course, it wasn’t. It cannot be
excluded that much of the German pressure on Greece today is a means of
deviating the world’s attention of the reparation debt Germany owes to
Greece.
People
of Greece, be aware of what is going on. Do NOT ACCEPT what your
government, Brussels and the troika are doing to YOU and YOUR country.
To the contrary, request the full reparation payment from Germany – and
demand GREXIT, as a fully legitimate follow-up to YOUR July 2015
overwhelming NO vote to more austerity-imposing troika ‘rescue’
packages.
Break Free From The Matrix
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If
you do, you will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel — a light
that has been blacked-out for too long by Germany and the gangsters of
the troika and your own government.
Threats of Expulsion from the Euro Zone
German
Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble still is attempting bluffing the
Greeks and impressing the rest of the world by threatening Greece with
expulsion from the Euro. Any sane government would turn that threat into
its own initiative and abandon this putrefied monster called European
Union, along with its fake and fraudulent common currency, called euro.
But that’s the problem, Greece is reigned by insanity.
So,
the Greek Government responds to insanity (from the troika) with insane
submissiveness, namely with meek compliance – to the detriment of
millions of their already deprived and enslaved compatriots.
Among
those (still) influential Greek highflyers is Former Greek Finance
Minister Yanis Varoufakis; the legendary and charming, ‘radical’,
Motorcycle Minister. Though he resigned in apparent protest of the
Syriza compliance with the troika’s requests despite the NO vote, today
he is nothing more than a conformist, who is seeking few nominal
‘reforms’ in Brussels, but by no means wants Grexit, let alone the
collapse of the EU – which, by the way, is fortunately imminent. As
Greek Minister of Finance, Varoufakis never even had the ‘Option Grexit’
as a Plan ‘B’
(http://www.defenddemocracy.press/greece-disaster-capitulation/).
Nobody
screams, yells, revolts, takes to the streets, blocks streets, bridges,
railways, for days, weeks, interrupts the still ongoing commerce of the
foreign owners of what’s left of YOUR country’s public assets. Nobody.
This is not to blame the Greek who have to fight for sheer survival, who
have to find ways to feed their kids and families, but the j’accuse goes
to the Tsipras- Syriza clan and all those Greek elitists, the media
(are they all bought like in Germany by the CIA?) and parliamentarians,
who just watch in awe – but stand by. No action. Watching Greece – YOUR
country, People of Greece! – bleeding to death.
Be
aware, this is in fact not about debt and bailouts. If they tell you
that the European ‘debt crisis’ is Greece’s fault, and that a new crisis
is brewing, depending on how well Greece will conform to the rules of
the next bail out – it is an outrageous lie. This crisis is manufactured
by the very European, their elite, the FED-led Goldman Sachse’s of this
world, who run the European Central Bank through Mario Draghi, a former
GS executive – who de facto runs the European economy.
Why
do they want Greece under their boots? – They, the scum of Brussels and
‘swamp’ of Washington (as President Trump used to call the Washington
Deep State ‘establishment’), want a submissive Greece. Because Greece is
in a highly strategic geographic location, at the cross-roads of west
and east. Greece is a NATO country. Maybe the second most important NATO
country (after Turkey), because of its strategic position. They don’t
want Greece to be run by a ‘left-wing’ government. Syriza, of course, is
everything but left-wing. It is as neoliberal as they come. The masters
of the universe want ‘Regime Change’ – the good old regime change that
threatens all those who do not bend to the rules of the west. Right now,
the Syriza government is bending backwards over to please the money
masters and to let her people be miserably humiliated and ruined.
Were Greece to hold new elections and let a right-wing party and Prime Minister win, à la New Democracy or even the fascist Golden Dawn,
or a coalition of the two – the debt problem would go away, almost
overnight. What Washington wants, and Brussels by (puppet) extension, is
a compliant Greece that will never ever question its role in NATO,
never question the EU, never question its shackles to the euro, and
never question the US access to the Mediterranean Sea – rich in deep
off-shore minerals and hydrocarbons. The same applies, by the way, also
to Italy, Spain and Portugal – also riparian states of the Mediterranean
Sea. Their governments have already been changed by outside (US / EU)
interference to right-wing neoliberal compliant stooges.
The
Greek elite and government inaction is inexcusable. This is Stockholm
syndrome at its worst. Submissive to their hangman, until death do us
part. And death in the form of total destruction, total pillage, total
slavery, is not far away.
Do
you, People of Greece, want to continue this path to slavery by a
predatory empire, that will eventually call the shots on every move you
make?
Or
do you want to get your sovereignty back, your own currency – and be
unshackled from the dictate of Brussels – and start afresh – as the
noble and wise Greek people, who brought Democracy to the world some
2500 years ago? – Surely, Greece still has visionaries and the wisdom to
remake Democracy. Remember, while we cannot change our geographic
location – the future is irrefutably in the EAST.
Let’s live again Greece!
Long live the People of Greece!
Peter Koenig is
an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank
staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of
environment and water resources. He lectures at universities in the US,
Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research, ICH,
RT, Sputnik, PressTV, The 4th Media, TeleSUR, TruePublica, The Vineyard
of The Saker Blog, and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.
The
views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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