Thousands of
people have flooded the streets of EU cities in mass demonstrations
expressing solidarity with Greece ahead of this weekend’s
referendum on a cash-for-reform deal with its Troika of creditors.
The participants of UK-based Global Justice Now staged a solidarity
protest at the British Museum. The banners read: “OXI [No in
Greek],” “No More Looting” and “Support Greece.”
“We’re
here to say OXI to the modern-day looting of Greece through forced
austerity and privatization to pay off the reckless loans of European
banks,” said Jonathan Stevenson from the Jubilee Debt Campaign
while taking part in the protest.
Hundreds of
demonstrators gathered in Glasgow chanting “From Glasgow to Greece,
no justice no peace” and “the Troika says cut-back, we say
fight-back.
“The
Troika and the corporate media are attempting to blackmail the Greek
people, so acts of solidarity like today are important in letting
Greeks know that they are not alone,” Jonathon Shafi from the
Radical Independence Campaign, which organized the protest, told
CommonSpace News Service.
Crowds have
also been rallying across Germany. “Alle Sagen OXI [All say NO]”
and “NoTroika” read the banners held by protesters in Frankfurt,
while Berliners marched with placards reading “No to pressure,”
“Solidarity instead of Austerity” and “Fight Austerity
Everywhere.” Similar protests supporting Greece were held in Spain,
Denmark, the Netherlands, France, and many other states across the
EU.
On Sunday,
Greeks will vote on whether the government should accept their
creditors’ bailout terms. If they vote ‘Yes’ the current
government is likely to resign and the people will have to accept the
harsh austerity measures demanded by the Troika, including additional
wage and pension cuts.
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