A day ahead of a crucial vote where Greeks are being asked whether or not to accept a bailout package, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has accused Athens’ creditors with “terrorism” against the Greek people.
Speaking to Spain’s El Mundo newspaper, he said the country’s lenders wanted to “instill fear in people”.
Mr Varoufakis said the so-called “troika” of creditors— the European Central Bank, the IMF and the EU— wanted a “yes” vote to win so they could humiliate the Greeks.
“Why did they force us to close the banks? To instill fear in people. And spreading fear is called terrorism,” he said.
“What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis emphasized.
Greek prime minister Alexis imposed capital controls and forced Greek banks to close last week, after the European Central Bank’s lifeline to Greek banks expired last Tuesday.
The blame game continues on each side, as Europeans have said it was Tsipras’ decision to close the banks, while Tsipras continues to blame the European creditors.
Varoufakis, who has promised to resign if Greeks vote “yes” on Sunday, also denied a Financial Times report suggesting that Greek savers could lose 30% of any savings above €8,000.
Such a move would be intended to shore up the country’s banking system. It would be similar to what happened in Cyprus in 2013, when savers with more than €100,000 in uninsured accounts had a “haircut” imposed.
But Varoufakis’ Tweets and blogs are falling on largely deaf ears amongst many Greeks who support a “yes” vote and non-Greeks following the developments closely.
“Varoufakis is a liar,” said a Lina Antonopoulos as she waited in line to withdraw money from an ATM in Athens. He tweeted that his government opposed capital controls and I am here to show you while I wait in line that his very government of liars imposed them a few hours after his Tweet.
Capital controls within a monetary union are a contradiction in terms. The Greek government opposes the very concept.
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) June 28, 2015
Maria Tzortis chimed in offering her two cents— “Yanis is for us, the common people. Shut your mouth, madam.”
