wände streichen ideen modern

bitsnbytes presents a documentary onthe financial crisis world, european, greek by aris chatzistefanouand katerina kitidi scientific researchleonidas vatikiotis musicyiannis aggelakas, ermis georgiadis, aris rsn editaris triantafyllou i shall reattempt a comparison with doctors. we have a patient;we've placed him in a plaster cast.

d. strauss-kahn - imf managing director: as has been said before,history has this wicked habit... of repeating itself, "as farce". so, from a dictator/wannabe-doctor,we moved on to the mds of the imf. everybody has to join in the struggle,fully aware that... either the nation will obliterate the debt,or the debt will obliterate the nation. this year's incomes policywill be strict and austere. no raises will be given whatsoever. there is no more roomfor benefits or tax cuts.

we have to cut public spending,we have to tidy up our house. and this cannot be achievedwith your empty promises... of handing out money and privilegesat a time of such crisis. unfortunately, our country is in the icu.the nation's fiscal deadlock... threatens our sovereigntyfor the first time since 1974. in the last 40 years, two politicalparties, 3 families of politicians... along with certain businessmen,led the country to bankruptcy. they declared suspension of payments tothe people, in order to save their lenders. the czars of the economy,after decades of continuous austerity,

advertised greece asthe local financial superpower. our work is great. we were the firstto solve the economic problems. once more, our economy will proveto be our strongest asset. the economy sprang forward and wentfrom second to first league. when their creation crumbled, thosepeople said behind our backâ€¦ that, due to some genetic disorder,we were incapable of handling... our economy withoutforeign intervention. our government called us bums,and our lenders "piigs"... as was the case with allperipheral eu countries.

and our ministers tried to convince usthat all of us had a part in this. br. lenihan - irish ex finance minister: the answer to the denouncementof the country's politiciansâ€¦ that makes people ask us, "whatdid you do with the money?" is this: we made you civil servants!we all partied! so are we the prodigal childrenof a neat global economyâ€¦ and an all-successful europe? or has the system been ailingsince its youth? capitalist economy in the post-war periodconsists of two parts.

in the first 25 years of the so-called"golden era" after wwii, growth rates were high. real income rose,as did the consumption of goods. those were novel circumstancesin the history of capitalism. david harvey - social scientist: this happy period endedin the mid-seventies. from then on, we entered a periodof low growth, recurrent crises... suppressed, if any, risesin workers' income... and, usually, high unemployment.

in other words, mature capitalistcountries found it difficult... to accrue wealth. this period was marked by ahuge growth in the financial systemâ€¦ which was termed "financialisation" . financialisation brought onand intensified the crises. when the us housing bubble burstâ€¦ the financial system came closeto total collapse. as a result, it affected the real economy,which had its own structural problems. states took rescue measures.they used tax-payers' moneyâ€¦

to save the banksand boost demand. thus, the financial crisis went fiscal. and those same banks whichwere saved by the tax-payersâ€¦ decided to bite the hand that fed them,by gambling on state bankruptcies. speculation makes things worsein greece, too. only, this time, the problemis even deeper. it's time for the eurozone to pay. king euro proves naked, mainlybecause he's a king without a state. there cannot be a "stateless" currency.

despite its weaknesses,the advantage of the us dollar... among other things, is that thereis a state called the usa. europe does not existas a political entity. there's no legitimized politicalpower connecting its states. in my opinion,the eurozone is not viable. in contrast to the usa,where the federal governmentâ€¦ and the federal reserve systemintervene to ameliorate inequalitiesâ€¦ among states, eurozoneaccentuates inequality. thus, it creates the "poor relatives",the piigs of european integration.

the eurozone is divided distinctlyinto central and peripheral states. the crisis is most intensein the peripheral states. the big winners thanks to the euro,are central states, especially germany. the competitiveness of eu member-statescame to vary a lotâ€¦ and the competitiveness of the peripheralcountries fell systematically behind. this was directly due to the euro. the crisis in the eu was a resultof the way europe was integrated. with greece, it's like puttingin the ring muhammad ali â€¦ the world heavyweight champion,with a featherweight boxerâ€¦

telling them: "start fightingand let's see who wins". but, why are peripheral countrieslagging behind in competitiveness? most of all, what causesthis divergence to widen? the myth of the "lazy periphery"and "industrious germany"... with its "high productivity" is just that. all the german governments managedwas to declare war on their work-force... and freeze their salariesfor a decade. in recent years, the nominal increasein german salaries was 7%â€¦ while in the eurozone it was 27%.

this gap logically results in lossof competitiveness in other countries. when salaries go down in one country,while they go up in all the others â€¦ naturally the competitivenessof the german economy is boostedâ€¦ while the other countriesare unable to follow. the eurozone countries are no longerable to devaluate their currency. this resulted in the establishmentof a mechanismâ€¦ which was bound to leadto the results we have today. the loss of competitivenessmanifested itself in two waysâ€¦ both of which playeda decisive part in the crisis.

firstly, great deficits occurredin current transactions. and greece had the greatest deficitof all. when you're unable to competeâ€¦ your transactions with the restof the world result in a deficit. and greece's deficit is huge. but this goes for the otherperipheral countries, as well. this phenomenon went hand-in-handwith the accruing of debt. if you have such deficits,you must balance them somehow. in the eu, greece is the "poor relative". greece belongs to the europeancontinent's semi-peripheral countries.

it's evident that greecewas bound to have a public deficitâ€¦ given the circumstances of itsintegration into european markets. i won't even bother with the ideathat greeks are lazy. that's pure racism. the eurozone destroys the immunesystem of peripheral countriesâ€¦ leaving them exposedto the global crisis. the achilles' heel of those countriesis deficit and debt. in our case, the debt is rootedâ€¦ deep in the history of the greek state.

constantly, since the beginning ofthe greek war of independence, our country started borrowing.and it's been borrowing ever since. with one exception. during a period of "prosperity",greece managed to become a lender. during the german occupation,greece lent to germany. the germans forced greece to becomea lender instead of a borrower. after the german occupation ended,the country resumed its traditional role; that of the borrower. and national debt as we know it,started to rise in the 1980s.

the high levels of nationalborrowing in greeceâ€¦ relate to greece'ssocial and class structureâ€¦ and the form of the greek economyover the last few decades. they have to do with the greek state'ssystematic inabilityâ€¦ to implement an effectiveand fair system of taxation. (history of the greek sovereign debt) andreas papandreou createdthe necessary welfare state... without increasing corporateand high income taxes. he saved jobs by nationalizingloss-making private companies.

primarily though, he savedthe companies' owners. public deficit and sovereign debtincreased dramatically. mitsotakis' government continued to borrow. maastricht treaty imposed marketsas the only mechanism for deficit control, prohibiting other means of money creation. debt skyrocketed, with the highestincrease rate in greek history. costas simitis was luckier. "creative accounting", the fallof european interest rates... and economic growth were on his side.

thus, he was able to conceal the time-bombthat he placed on sovereign debt. the percentage of debtseemed to decrease slightly. costas karamanlis decreasedcapital taxation by 10%. such measures acceleratedthe economic free fall. debt exploded once more. g. papandreou enters the stage, pushinggreece into the arms of its lenders. by the end of the "mnemonium",sovereign debt will reach 167% of gdp. the end most countries in a similar situationwere visited by the imf.

but none paid as dearlyas argentinaâ€¦ greece's mirror imageon the other side of the atlantic. argentina fell into the debt trapat the same time as greeceâ€¦ in 1824, with the first british loans. but the noose tightenedtowards the end of the 20th century. argentina's peso waspegged to the us dollar. this made it impossible for itto exercise a monetary policy. argentina experiencedits own eurozone. only, instead of berlin, they were upagainst washington dc.

m. camdessus - ex imf managing director: at the same time, the imfturned the country... into yet another experimentallaboratory for neoliberalism. (shots from the documentary film "the take") avi lewis - film-maker / journalist: gerard dumenil - economist: after argentina's economiccollapse in 2001... the imf and its neoliberal theories... became the laughing stockof economists all over the world.

but some monsters never die. (i have 3 children and no job, please help) greece will pay dearlyfor the intervention of the imf. and, in some cases, she willeven pay for it in advance. ron paul -republican congressman: ben bernanke -chairman of fed argentina was confrontedby the imf alone. but greece found herselfserving two masters. because, in europe, neoliberaltheories were also being promotedâ€¦

by the european central bank. ironically enough,in the case of greeceâ€¦ the imf was softer than the eu. the measures applied in collaborationwith the imf, the ecb and the euâ€¦ are not only unfairand dangerous to the greek people. they were also doomed to failright from the start. they have a tragic impacton the people's quality of lifeâ€¦ and on their daily life even. and it's highly unlikely thatthey will have a positive effectâ€¦

on the economy in general, andthe management of national debt. like in argentina, the target wasto save not the economyâ€¦ but rather the banksand the big enterprises. the measures implemented nowadaysare stabilization measuresâ€¦ to prevent greecefrom defaulting on payments. they are not measureswhich will reduce the debt. it is more than obvious that the debtwill continue to increase quicklyâ€¦ regardless of the measures,and, indeed, as a result of them. the measures aim clearlyto protect the lendersâ€¦

to protect the banks,in a very clear way. within a few months, the greekgovernment gave the banksâ€¦ eur 108 billion. this is almost equal to the entire rescuepackage received from the imf and the eu. courtesy "social genocide" when argentina faceda similar situationâ€¦ several of those responsiblewere punished. the image of presidents leavingthe presidential palace in choppersâ€¦ still haunts both the imfand its collaborators.

one magical night,just like in argentinaâ€¦ we'll see who getsto hop into the chopper first! year #1 after the imf. greece has entered an intensive programme of "purging" procedures, â€¦ "asset utilisation","rationalisation measures" and "tidying up". the foreign delegates have taken uppermanent residence in athensâ€¦ and are dictating their policy throughan unconstitutional "memorandum". what is greece today? are we a free country? yes.are we independent?

no, we've been reduced to vassals. freedom is one thing,sovereignty quite another. our country's problem is thatit has lost its sovereignty. in splendid collaborationwith its foreign lendersâ€¦ the government has turned againstthe people with harsh austerity measures. the result is poverty, failed businessed,and unemployment. we consider the centre of athensâ€¦ ...to be facing a humanitarian crisis.all the distinctive features are there: people who are hungry or homeless,who lack medication and healthcare.

people who just wander around the squares. it's not much different from whatwe see in third world countries. you have to remember that we dealwith the poorest of the poor. there are people who still maintainsome social security rightsâ€¦ but that is not enough,as a poor woman-pensioner indicated. she said: "i buy either food ormedicine. i can't afford both". the government's measuresare not simply worseningâ€¦ the citizens' living conditions. they posean immediate threat to their existence. in all countries "supported"by the imf up to nowâ€¦

there has been a dramatic dropin average life expectancy. it's what we usually refer toas the average lifespan. there were countries where,after the imf ordealâ€¦ the average lifespan fell by 5-10 years.with the cuts we are facing nowâ€¦ it's clear that our life expectancywill be greatly reduced. citizens react. the government's response is in breach ofeven the basic principles of democracy. the penalisation of wearing a hood,the unjustified arrests andâ€¦ the hood-wearing policemen,all border on the deep state.

this liberality with tear-gas leaves usno money for free education crises are always solved through measuresagainst society and against the peopleâ€¦ which may be particularly harsh. this is how capitalismcontrols the situation. the problem of capitalism ishow to get these measures accepted. for that, violence is deployed. in response tothe "financial gale" alertâ€¦ democracy makes way for debtocracy. poor people, don't eat each other.eat the rich, they're plumper!

a crisis of capitalism causesextensive devaluation. the value is lost throughfinancial speculation. somebody has to payfor this devaluation. the capitalists do not intend to payfor it. we understand that. they're not altruistic. but if those who caused the crisisdo not intend to pay for itâ€¦ why should we pay? in the past, dozens of countrieshave successfully repudiated debtsâ€¦ not incurred by their citizens,in accordance with provisionsâ€¦

of the international law, such asthe concept of odious debt. the history of odious debt our story starts in the 1920s,with alexander sack. a minister in czarist russia and law specialist,sack, after the 1917 revolution, started teaching in universitiesin europe and the usa. in 1927, he came up witha brilliant concept: the concept of odious debt. in order to define a debt as odious,three prerequisites are needed. 1. the government of the countryreceives a loanâ€¦

without the knowledge and approvalof the people. 2. the loan is spent on activitiesnot beneficial to the people. 3. the lenders know of this situationâ€¦ but play possum. sack's proposals sound progressive,even revolutionary. actually, at that time, they servedthe interestsâ€¦ of a rising superpower:the united states of america. the usa had found themselves in needof the "odious debt" concept in 1898â€¦ when they won the spanish-american warand annexed cuba.

their problem was that,together with cubaâ€¦ they acquired the debt incurredby the spanish colonial regime. and, since spanish colonialismhad lasted four centuriesâ€¦ from 1492, when columbus set footin america, till 1898â€¦ that debt was quite heavy. of course, the usa had no intentionof paying for the mistakes of past regimes. they decided that cuba's debtwas odiousâ€¦ and simply refused to pay it. the same had happened in mexicoa few decades earlier.

when the republicans overthrewemperor maximilian iâ€¦ they decided that the debthe had incurred was odious. maximilian had borrowed huge sumsat excessively high interest ratesâ€¦ to deal with the uprisingagainst him. and since he owed a lot,mainly to the people of mexicoâ€¦ he was sentenced to deathand sent to the firing squad. in the late 19th-early 20th century,most instances of odious debtâ€¦ concerned underdeveloped countrieson the american continent. actually, a rising superpower wasinvolved in all those debt repudiations:

the united states of america. and this same superpowerbrought the concept of odious debtâ€¦ into the 21st century. december 2002: the white houseis putting the finishing touchesâ€¦ to the planned invasionand occupation of iraq. before the attack starts, however,american officialsâ€¦ are preparing for the day aftersaddam hussein's overthrowal. the state department knows thatthey will have to deal withâ€¦ iraq's huge sovereign debt.therefore, they are trying to proveâ€¦

that this debt is odious. a secret task-force is formed,and they propose thatâ€¦ the first provisional government of iraqdeclare cessation of due paymentsâ€¦ on the pretext that the iraqi peoplemust not pay the odious debt... incurred by the iraqi regime. all is now ready for the attack. in march 2003, the usa andtheir allies invaded iraq. three weeks later, the us secretaryfor the treasury called for a summit meetingâ€¦ of g8 finance ministers in washington, andannounced that hussein's debt was odious.

he said: "hussein's regime is dictatorialand its debt must be repudiated". "the new government of iraqmust be free of hussein's debt". george w. bush instructed formersecretary of state, james bakerâ€¦ to convince the international communitythat iraq's debt was odious. and baker claimed that saddam husseinwasted his people's moneyâ€¦ on building palaces and buying arms. among other things, american diplomatsproved that iraq owedâ€¦ billions of dollars to france and russia,for the purchase of exocet missilesâ€¦ and fighter aircraft such asmirage f1 and mig.

actually, hussein's waywas not that differentâ€¦ from what many western leaders do. to the arabs, palaces are whatthe olympic games are to the west: a demonstration of economicand geopolitical dominance. american diplomacy finally provedthat iraq's debt was odiousâ€¦ and the iraqi people werenot obliged to pay it. however, washington suddenly realisedthat it pried open a can of worms. for the first time in the 21st century,the ultimate superpower had legitimisedâ€¦ so, they chose to sweepthis case under the carpet.

the other countries said: "we'll cut 80%off iraq's debt through the paris club". "but the concept of odious debtmust not be used officiallyâ€¦" "because other countries may claimthis right as well". "for example, the dr congowill repudiate mobutu's debtâ€¦" "the philippines will refuseto pay the debt of dictator marcosâ€¦" "and south africa will refusethe debt of the apartheid regime". to prevent the extension of the conceptof odious debt into the 21st centuryâ€¦ they reached an ad hoc decisionon iraq. however, it is obvious to us thatthe odious debt doctrine was used.

the usa continued to help iraqto cancel old debts. but nobody in washingtonever wanted to hear againâ€¦ the expression "odious debt". iraq managed to write offa big part of its debtâ€¦ with the support of an empire.but another country resolvedâ€¦ to stand on its own two feetand stand up against the imfâ€¦ and its other big lenders.they managed to prove that their debtâ€¦ was not only odious, but alsoillegitimate and unconstitutional. welcome to ecuador.

rafael correa - president of ecuador-we have urgent national commitments. we'll fulfill our national commitmentsbefore the international commitments. in due time, we will fulfill them. but our priorities are clear.life comes before debt. ecuador could have been one ofthe richest countries in south america. but, from the moment thatoil was discovered... all the country knew was dictators,poverty, debt and economic hit-men. john perkins - activist, former economic hit-man: in 1982, ecuador was visited by the imfand a committee of wise menâ€¦

representing the country's big lenders.ecuador had been forced to borrowâ€¦ more and more, in order to fulfill past obligations. ecuador was constantly being lootedby the countries of the north. for example, from 1980-1990up to 2005â€¦ almost 50% of the government budgetwas used to repay debts. namely, about3-4 billion us dollars a year. only 4% was for health care. four billion for repaying the debt,400 million for health care. four billion for the debt,800 million for education.

we were killing our own people. the people of ecuador protested.the crisis seemed momentarily in control, when lucio gutierrez took over,promising social benefits. he spoke like a socialistâ€¦ but, as soon as he took office,he made a new deal with the imfâ€¦ and implemented measuresof extreme austerity. the people decided that he should leavewith the same means of transportâ€¦ favoured by argentinian presidents:the chopper. vice-president palacio takes over.

he has good intentions, but soonsuccumbs to washington. so the people turn to the only politicianwho'd resisted international pressure. rafael correa. from the first roundâ€¦ correa, from the first round. from the first round, ecuador. hope is triumphant. we are a united people. strike on, ecuador alliance.

fight for justice. fight for your rights. march on, correa, for ecuador. from the first round, ecuador! correa studied economicsin europe and the usaâ€¦ and knows very well how to handlethe world bank and the imfâ€¦ as long as one has the political will. in 2005, as minister of finance,correa declared that it was unnaturalâ€¦ to use all oil revenuesin order to pay back the debt.

this was unfair to the people.he said that 80% of oil revenuesâ€¦ should be used for benefits, in health,education and the creation of jobsâ€¦ and only 20% should be channeledtowards repayment of the debt. the world bank said that they wouldn'tlend to ecuador if such a law passed. this was an obvious interferencewith ecuador's internal policy. correa declared that he would neverfollow such instructions from the wb. he chose to resign rather than succumb.this made him very popular. the people said: "this manchose to resign from ministerâ€¦" "in order to defend the dignityand the interests of the people".

correa was finally elected in 2006.one of his first actions wasâ€¦ to deport the representative ofthe world bankâ€¦ and ask the imf delegationto leave the central bank's premises. officials of the imf, such as bob traa,who later came to greeceâ€¦ had already been dubbed "unwanted"by the people of ecuador. those callous, dishonest bureaucratshave to respect our country. this is why we deported the wb delegate.we maintain the right to restoreâ€¦ the damage done to our country anddeclare our debt to the wb illegitimate. six months later, correawent a step further.

he fulfilled the demandof social organisationsâ€¦ for an audit committee. i was one of the peoplecorrea chose for the committee. eighteen individuals and 4 nationalinstitutions participated. we were to examine all debt contracts,from 1976 to 2006. we worked for 14 months.we examined the bond debtâ€¦ the debts to the imf, the world bankand other international organisations. we examined the debt to countriessuch as france, japan and germany. finally, we examined ecuador'sinternal national debt.

the battle to access the datawas tremendous. in the ministry of finance, ourassociate alejandro olmos jrâ€¦ and myself, were declared"personae non gratae". the officials in the ministry of financewrote to the ministerâ€¦ to complain and denounceboth mine and olmos' actionsâ€¦ claiming that we were inflictingharm on the ministry's employees. we laughed it off, but you imaginehow difficult it wasâ€¦ after we'd been accusedof being the "bad guys"â€¦ in that auditing procedure.

despite the setbacks, the committeemanaged to complete its workâ€¦ and discovered that a big partof the debt was illegitimate. they acknowledged their findingsto the state, who told the people. it was very important that the workof the committee was made public. the people of ecuador knewwhy the debt contracts of past regimesâ€¦ especially those of the year 2000,were illegitimate. strike on, rafael correa! our homeland is marching againstâ€¦ the decadent congressâ€¦

and the bureaucratic dictatorshipâ€¦ of the old politicians. power belongs to the people.your brother tells you so. the people of ecuadorwant a new constitution. strike on, correa. strike against the "bosses"who devastated our homeland. strike on, rafael correa. based on the findings of the committee,the government proved thatâ€¦ the debt was illegitimateand declared cessation of paymentsâ€¦

for 70% of ecuador's debt in bonds. those in possession of ecuador's debtsold bonds at 20% of their value. the government startedto buy them secretly. they gave 800 million dollars andbought off 3 billion dollars of debt. this significant reduction allowedan improvement in living conditions. they rid themselves of the interestthey would have to pay till 2012 or 2030. they saved at least 7 billion dollars,which was great for the country. this allowed the government to increaseexpenditure on education, healthâ€¦ the creation of new jobs,and improvement in infrastructure.

in greece, historians,economists and political analystsâ€¦ use up tons of ink daily to tell ushow to handle sovereign debt. yet, there is one questionvery few pose. does the greek people really oweas much as its creditors claim? the most recent greek debtbears evidence of illegitimacy and illegality. for example, the authorities received"gifts" from companies like siemensâ€¦ which, together with siemens hellas,bribed ministers and officialsâ€¦ for at least a decade,in order to gain contracts. in this case, we have evidenceof illegality and illegitimacy.

so, this debt should be examinedin court. to me, this is evident. greek justice proved inadequatein the siemens case. and it was too slowin other cases of dealsâ€¦ made behind the people's back,which have increased the debt. with the infamous swaps of 2001,the government mortgaged the futureâ€¦ to present a false prosperous present.they made the greek debt look lowerâ€¦ by changing a loan from jpy to eur,using outdated exchange rates. they were assisted in thisby goldman sachs, who madeâ€¦ millions out of this deal.

mark kirk - us senator: the trick worked for many years.and the greek political eliteâ€¦ showed they could rewardtheir allies amply. they re-hiredâ€¦ goldman sachs as consultant andpaid them with the people's money. goldman sachs consulted and attackedthe greek government simultaneously. the scandal was revealed in 2010.a few days earlierâ€¦ a former employee of goldman sachsâ€¦ had been assigned leader of the greekpublic debt management agency. hiring an employee of goldmansachs is like hiring a criminal.

it's the same as hiring a bank robberto guard your house. you think that he knows the otherrobbers and he'll stop them. but there's great danger that one dayhe'll profit from your absence and rob you. who can guarantee to me thatthis former goldman sachs manâ€¦ will handle greek affairsin the best possible way? several countries blame greecefor her transactions with goldman sachs. only these are the same countrieswho exploit their liaisonsâ€¦ with greek governments, to sell at a good price weapons to greece. when, one year ago, germanywas negotiating to support greeceâ€¦

one of the main terms was that greecewould continue to import german weapons. greece should cut down on pensions andsocial benefits, not on arms' imports. this is indicative of the interestsinvolved. germany protectsâ€¦ the interests of weaponmanufacturers, and its export industry. those people want to continue tradingdespite the crisis. we're hypocrites! last month, francesold 6 frigates to greece for 2.5 billion. also, helicopters worth 400 millionand rafale aircraft at 100 million each. i don't know if we sold 10, 20, or 30.the total cost is almost 3 billion. germany sold 6 submarinesto greece, worth 1 billion.

we're such hypocrites! we give themmoney so they can buy our weapons. before the hypocrisy of europe,criminal back-downs comeâ€¦ hand-in-hand with criminal decisions,always for "greece's national interest"â€¦ or to support a new greek "expansionism"that led to economic devastation. g. voulgarakis - ex minister of public order: there were huge, exaggerated expensespaid by the people. the loans for the olympic gameswere paid with tax-payers' money. it's only natural that the people demandto know why the budget explodedâ€¦ and where that money went.

the olympic games and the corrupttransactions with siemens or goldman sachsâ€¦ are but a small fraction of the shadydeals made at the people's expense. however, there are more importantmatters which concernâ€¦ not only greece, but allperipheral european countries. have all the rules which governthe issuing of bonds been followed? also, are there any questionsof legitimacyâ€¦ about the banks who playedthe main role for issuing bondsâ€¦ either in the primaryor the secondary market? which banks took part?how were they reimbursed?

under what terms and conditionsdid they participate? part of the national debts incurredin eurozone countries is illegitimateâ€¦ because they resulted from policiesagainst the peopleâ€™s interests. so these debts must notbe paid by the people. ecuador demonstrated how all thoseillegitimate or odious contractsâ€¦ can come to light throughan audit committe. why don't they tell uswhat kind of debt this is? how much is it?how was it incurred? to whom do we owe money?

this is why an audit is necessary.an audit will defineâ€¦ exactly what this debt is about.we have to know and denounceâ€¦ all the lies told bythe government and the corporationsâ€¦ who seize the greek people's money,and all those who get amply paidâ€¦ to parrot and praise the government. but who's going to set upthe audit committee? and most of all, how can wemake sure that it won't beâ€¦ yet another parliament committee,consisting of the same peopleâ€¦ that got us into this situation?

the audit committee's members shouldnot be specialists. it's not necessary. because if the government formsa committee of specialistsâ€¦ even if they are called from abroad,even if ordinary citizens are includedâ€¦ the committee may proveto be the government's mouthpiece. only the people have the authorityand the right to request an auditâ€¦ because they suffer the consequences.all greeks must become involved. all social organisations mustprotest and demand an audit. the greek political parties nd and pasok,who benefited from the creation of debtâ€¦ are very negative towards an audit, astheir responsibility will be revealed.

public opinion must be mobilized. organisations must be mobilized, as well asunions, judges, intellectuals, artists. they must express their views and exertpressure on political authority. in march 2011, a group of peoplefrom different backgroundsâ€¦ took the initiative to demandthe formationâ€¦ of an audit committee in greece. academics, writers, artists, unionrepresentatives from all over the worldâ€¦ supported this initiative willingly. the audit committee will findwhich parts of the debtâ€¦

are odious or illegitimateâ€¦ and will prove that, as provided bygreek and international lawâ€¦ the greek people are notobliged to pay such debt. however, the decision is basicallypolitical, not financial. even if the debt was legitimate,no government has the rightâ€¦ to kill its peoplein order to satisfy its lenders. even if the entire greek national debtof 350 billion proves legitimateâ€¦ which is clearly not going to be the case,greece can never pay back. it will have to be cancelled.

if honouring the debt andmaking it sustainable involvesâ€¦ dismantling health care,dismantling educationâ€¦ dismantling the transport system,then the debt is socially unsustainable. nobody is obliged to pay this debtâ€¦ since it was accrued by the viciousworkings of financial markets. it's immoral to pay an immoral debt. the formation of an audit committee,is ultimatelyâ€¦ just a valuable weaponin a broader battle. this battle will followthe traditional rules by whichâ€¦

battles have been foughtfor centuries. without this battle, even if werepudiate the debt repeatedlyâ€¦ it will always risefrom its ashes. this means that a fieldfor ideological, politicalâ€¦ and class struggle will form.the debt is a result of class struggle. don't hesitate to stand up for your rightsagainst the eu and the greek government. respect is gained through struggle,not by obeying one's creditors. look at tunisia and egypt. only when the people take actioncan the situation really change.

we have to shake off submissiveness,liberate ourselves from the imfâ€¦ liberate ourselves from the ecb,and liberate ourselves from the lendersâ€¦ because they are equal to theeconomic enslavement of greece. g. papandreou - pm-now is the crucial moment. let's go! translation - subtitleszoi siapanta