As a sign of anger regarding the decision of the European Central Bank not to accept government bonds from Greek banks, many Greek citizens today are calling for a mass protest in front of Parliament in support of the Greek Government and against the blackmail of the European institutions.
The protest is scheduled for this afternoon, as an open revolt against pressures to Greece, with a clear message that the Greek people doesn’t intend to again succumb to foreign demands.
“Democracy spoke and nobody has the right to ignore it,” reads the appeal, which is expressly spread upon the social networks from the morning.
Mass counter protest to European policies, i.e. protest in support of the Greek Government, is also prepared for 17th of February, when the Greek Government will go to Brussels to formally negotiate on the Greek debt.
Such protests in support of the Greek Government and its ideology are a precedent in Greece because, in the past five years, the country went through massive violent protests against the government’s austerity policy.
The Greek Government is trying to extinguish the fire of information and concern which broke out yesterday after ECB’s decision, which derived from the concern that the government of Alexis Tsipras refuses to adhere to the agreed austerity program, an agreement which enabled Greek government bonds to be used by banks as collateral for borrowing.
Immediately after the announcement of ECB, Prime Minister Tsipras talked with the head of the Bank, Mario Draghi. According to information in Greece, Draghi assured him that the decision will not affect the Greek banking system because liquidity of Greek banks is protected by system of emergency liquidity of ECB.
The opinions are that this step of ECB is an attempt to increase the pressure on Greek Government to withdraw from the announcements for a complete abandonment of austerity program and the request for new Greek debt negotiation. It seems that Greece doesn’t want to withdraw from the government program and ideas and sends a clear message that nobody can blackmail or pauperize Greece and the Greek people.
“The Greek state has no intention of blackmailing anyone, nor will allow to be blackmailed,” reads the statement from the government, in which citizens are convinced that the banking system is safe. Greek Finance Ministry assures that ECB’s decision does not affect the financial sector in Greece, but that this is a step to put pressure on the Euro group to achieve faster new financial agreement with the Greek Government.
Regardless of the government’s assurances, the financial markets reacted negatively to the decision. Since morning, Greek Stock Exchange fell by 9.4 percent due to the announcement that Greek government bonds are no longer accepted.
Yannis Varoufakis, who is on the hottest seat as head of the Ministry of Finance, today in Berlin is to meet with his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, and to face the German shield which requires Greece to return immediately to the program and the austerity measures, reforms, and program for firing in public administration in order to complete contractual obligations – something Varoufakis flatly refused to do.
