By the Jubilee Debt Campaign
Greece’s debt crisis is coming to a head. On Sunday, Greeks will vote on whether to accept the further round of austerity ‘offered’ by the institutions last Friday – a deal which would bind Greece to the same plan that has deepened the country’s crisis over the last 5 years.
Whatever happens on Sunday, the fundamental problem of the injustice of Greece’s debt will remain. Greece will still need debt cancellation if it is ever to break out of the chains that its debts have become.
More than 25,000 people have now signed the #CancelGreekDebt petition since we launched it two weeks ago. If you haven’t yet, please sign and share the petition now to help send the strongest message of support to the Greek people in the coming days >>
If you’ve signed already, there are several extra actions you can take in the days ahead:
- Print paper copies of the petition to collect signatures in your community
- Donate your Facebook or Twitter status for a mass simultaneous tweet of support for Greeks against austerity at noon tomorrow
- Join the Greece solidarity rally in Trafalgar Square tomorrow afternoon, for those of you in London
Of course, we also need to get the word out about the reality of Greece’s debt, and the precedents for debt cancellation in Europe. Here are the main resources on Greece’s debt:
- How Europe cancelled Germany’s debt in 1953
- At least 90% of the Greek bailout has paid off reckless lenders
- The IMF has made €2.5 billion profit out of Greece loans
- 6 key points about Greece’s debt
Already, since the referendum was called, there has been a significant breakthrough on debt. First, a leaked IMF document showed that by its own definition, Greece’s debt will be unsustainable even if it has strong economic growth every year for the next 15 years. Just as with the previous bailouts, 93% of the €15 billion bailout being voted on in the referendum would go straight back out to pay Greece’s creditors. (1)
Then yesterday the IMF announced that Greece needs debt relief if it is to get its economy back on track – something that European leaders are still refusing to admit (2). The cracks in the unity of the Troika are getting greater as the day of the referendum gets closer, as everyone from Nobel Prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman to faith leaders like Rowan Williams recommend a ‘No’ vote in the referendum. (3)
Our petition has already helped sparked thousands of conversations around the UK and around Europe about the injustice of Greece’s debt. Those conversations need to continue happening in the days and months ahead, however Greece votes on Sunday. So please sign and share the petition now, if you haven’t already >>
Thank you for everything you do,
Jonathan Stevenson
Jubilee Debt Campaign
PS. The situation is changing fast and there’s lots being written about it. We’re sifting through the media and putting the best articles and information on our Facebook and Twitter.
NOTES
1. IMF: austerity measures would still leave Greece with unsustainable debt, 30 June 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/
2. Greece needs another €50bn bail-out and massive debt relief to survive, admits IMF, 2 July 2015
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
3. Paul Krugman: Grisis, 28 June 2015
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.
Joseph Stiglitz: Europe’s Attack on Greek Democracy, 29 June 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.
Greeks, don’t give in to the EU’s austerity ultimatum, Guardian letter, 29 June 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/
