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Troika Rejects Greek Bailout Extension |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Rape involves violating the physical integrity of another
person's body forcibly. Washington and Troika powers do it to nations. They target ones they control or intend to. Greece is in the eye of a financial storm. Its June 30 bailout deadline approaches. Eurozone finance ministers rejected Athens' extension request until after a July 5 national referendum to decide up or down to accept or reject Troika terms. Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem/Eurogroup chair said "(t)he Greek government has broken off the process. However regrettable, the program will expire on Tuesday." Previous articles explained Troika officials made demands no responsible government would accept. Greece capitulated multiple times earlier when it should have renounced its odious debt entirely, walked away, reclaimed its sovereignty, and begun the painful process of rebuilding its economy freed from Troika diktats preventing it. The longer this nightmare continues, the worse off things get for ordinary Greeks. Why is a referendum scheduled now instead of letting people decide their fate straightaway when financial crisis struck and hard decisions needed to be made? Greek debt was far less than now. Increased borrowing at the cost of harming its population unconscionably is no deal any government should accept - not earlier or now. Given the reluctance of SYRIZA to do the right thing, it's hard seeing a good outcome to this nightmare. The longer it continues, the worse things get. Troika predators are bleeding Greece to death. Accepting their terms amounts to slow-motion suicide. Talks collapsed Friday after Prime Minister Tsipras accused Brussels of blackmailing his country. Angela Merkel's "extremely generous" offer amounts to greater than ever debt peonage with no way to repay. Failure to obtain financial aid virtually assures defaulting or delaying on repaying a $1.8 billion IMF commitment due June 30 - with endless more onerous debt repayment obligations ahead. The latest from Brussels as this is written is Eurozone finance ministers excluded their Greek counterpart, Yanis Varoufakis, from a meeting on what's next for Greece. They issued a statement saying: "The current financial assistance arrangement with Greece will expire on June 30, 2015, as well as all agreements related to the current Greek program." No grace period extension was offered. Varoufakis said refusing "damage(s) the credibility of the Eurogroup as a democratic union of partner member states. I'm very much afraid that damage will be permanent." What Troika officials proposed offered "no hope" for resolving things equitably, he stressed. Less onerous terms Tsipras expressed willingness to accept continues Greece on a path to economic self-destruction - a choice no responsible government would make. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. |
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