StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 10 September 2012 broadcast.
By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart
- Elected MPs from Greece’s radical parties, SYRIZA and Golden Dawn, participated and cooperated in an organized demonstration by the Greek police to protest looming cuts in their wages and pensions.
StopCartel’s Dr. Giorgos Kosmopoulos commented, “Every citizen and every party agrees with their cause. (Instead of joining forces with Golden Dawn) SYRIZA should limit their support for the police to an official statement.”
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- On Saturday, while their bodyguards looked the other way, three MPs from the radical ultra-nationalist party Golden Dawn led a group of supporters on a rampage against foreign vendors at outdoor markets in Messolongi and Rafina, located in Central Greece.
Greek Minister for Public Order Nikos Dendias, reacting to public criticism, suspended the Rafina police chief. His ministry said it also removed the state-appointed bodyguards protecting Golden Dawn MP’s, “to spare policemen the conflict of having to either protect the deputies or stop them from illegal behavior.”
This is the first time security detail has been revoked for Members of Parliament.
Update from Athens News:
The Neo-Fascist Golden Dawn has reacted angrily to the public order minister’s decision to withdraw all police protection from the party’s MPs. Nikos Dendias ordered an end to the security detail after Golden Dawn said it would continue its attacks against alleged unlicensed street traders. “The memorandum regime and the loan sharks are violating the constitution and exercising raw terrorism against a legal political party,” Golden Dawn said, adding that the police had failed to supply guards for its central offices, in violation of its legal obligations. The party also said it would be taking legal action.
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- The Troika arrived in Athens over the weekend to conclude a report on Greece’s progress in meeting the terms of the Memorandum. The results of this report will determine whether Greece will receive the next installment of 31€ billion in ‘rescue loans.’
On Monday, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said, “We have submitted the 11.5-billion package to the Troika. A discussion and an evaluation are taking place,”
Socialist (PASOK) leader Evangelos Venizelos, whose unpopular party is part of the cobbled-together Greek coalition government, said:
“We have not finished because the Troika has not accepted all of the proposals but we have made alternative ones. That’s because there are issues over which we cannot yield, benefits for the disabled cannot be harmed, we cannot make horizontal cuts on the issue of pensions, there has to be fairness and justice thus there are limits.”
“Europeans need to understand that the Greek people cannot take any more,” said Fotis Kouvelis, head of moderate leftists Democratic Left.
The scripted theater performance will continue throughout the week, with various meetings scheduled between Finance Minister Stournaras and the Troika’s clerks, who will try to come to an agreement on 11.9€ million in new austerity measures. It is well known that the cuts in wages and pensions are economic measures against working people in both the public and private sector.
Without the next tranche of ‘aid,’ Athens faces bankruptcy and a potential exit from the Eurozone.
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- On Monday, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras made the following statements, “Education is the mirror of every society. The brutal attack on Greek schools shows us that the Troika wants to devalue Greece to a country incapable of having a future – without even the prospect of a future. It is our duty to unite ourselves to prevent these developments from becoming reality. There is a need for a very wide front without division, including teachers from both the public and private sector. Parents don’t want to see their children studying in a devaluated school. Our society is inclusive. We must not stand divided. We need to create a wide front of resistance to stop the calculated impoverishment of our country.”
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- French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici offered this statement just 24 hours ahead of his arrival in Athens. “Greece’s withdrawal from the euro cannot be accepted. The Greeks must honor their commitments.”
In his address, Moscovici appealed not only to Athens, but for the whole of Europe to honor their commitments. The French Finance Minister will be in Athens on Thursday to meet with his Greek counterpart, Yannis Stournaras.
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This week, new demonstrations are taking place throughout Greece:
- On Monday, Postbank workers went on strike to protest the privatization of the state-owned bank.
- The Ministry of Health put forth a time frame for repayment of public debt to pharmacies around Greece. Pharmacists announced that they are opposed to the proposal and plan to continue their protest action, to withhold drugs on credit to policyholders.
- Teachers from universities and technical colleges organized a 48-hour strike on Monday and Tuesday to protest the new cuts in their salaries ranging from 5% to up to 30%. And the Federation of University Teachers (POSDEP) have organized a protest in Syntagma Square to be held at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
- A 24-hour strike will take place on September 12 and September 17 for clinicians and support workers in public hospitals across the country.
- Teachers from the public and private sector have organized a strike for Wednesday, September 12.
- Judges and prosecutors will halt all court business from 11 a.m. to the end of the shift on September 17 – 22 to protest cuts to their salaries and pensions.
- Local municipal workers will begin a 48-hour strike on September 12. Protests will be held at 11:00 a.m. starting in Klafthmonos Square.
- The public sector union ADEDY is calling for all civil servants in Athens and Thessaloniki to strike on Wednesday for a half-day, from noon to the end of the shift. This type of strike affects archeological sites, museums, post offices, public offices, customs, public transportation and similar services
More strikes, protests and actions are planned for the rest of the week. We will continue to provide updates in this column.
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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.
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StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/...