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Georgios Papadopoulos: Dictator
Yet once shall I attempt a comparison with doctors
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00:01:33,070 --> 00:01:37,400
We have a patient;
we've placed him in a plaster cast.
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00:01:41,180 --> 00:01:44,400
Dominique Strauss-Kahn: IMF Managing Director
Don't decide against the doctor,
sometimes the doctor gives you
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00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:48,000
a medicine you don't like,
but even if you don't like the medicine
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00:01:48,001 --> 00:01:50,201
the doctor is there to try to help you.
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00:01:56,050 --> 00:01:59,390
As has been said before,
history has this wicked habit
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00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,260
of repeating itself �as farce�.
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00:02:02,270 --> 00:02:08,350
So, from a dictator/wannabe-doctor,
we moved on to the MDs of the IMF.
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00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,130
Andreas Papandreou: PM of Greece
1981-1990, 1993-1996
Everybody has to join in the
struggle, fully aware that
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00:02:25,140 --> 00:02:31,070
either the nation will obliterate its huge debt
or the huge debt will obliterate the nation.
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00:02:36,110 --> 00:02:40,150
Constantinos Mitsotakis:
PM of Greece 1990-1993
This year's incomes policy will be
strict and austere.
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00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:43,100
No raises will be given whatsoever.
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00:02:46,570 --> 00:02:51,010
Costas Simitis: Greece PM, 1996-2004
There is no more room for
benefits or tax cuts.
14
00:02:58,980 --> 00:03:02,090
Costas Karamanlis: PM of Greece, 2004-2009
We have to cut public spending,
we have to tidy up our house.
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00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:06,950
And this cannot be achieved
with your empty promises
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00:03:06,980 --> 00:03:10,160
of handing out money and privileges
at a time of such crisis.
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00:03:16,950 --> 00:03:21,950
Giorgos Papandreou: PM of Greece
Unfortunately, our country is in the ICU.
The nation's fiscal deadlock
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00:03:22,070 --> 00:03:28,120
threatens our sovereignty
for the first time since 1974.
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00:03:37,140 --> 00:03:40,150
In the last 40 years, two political
parties, 3 families of politicians
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00:03:40,950 --> 00:03:44,540
along with certain businessmen,
led the country to bankruptcy.
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00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,050
They declared suspension of payments to
the people, in order to save their lenders.
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00:03:57,110 --> 00:04:01,110
After decades of continuous austerity,
the Czars of the economy
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00:04:02,070 --> 00:04:05,040
advertised Greece as
the local financial superpower.
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00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,030
Yannos Papantoniou
Minister for Finance 1994-2001
Our work is great. We were the first
to solve the economic problems.
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00:04:09,050 --> 00:04:13,180
N. Christodoulakis
Minister for Finance 2001-2004
Once more, our economy will prove
to be our strongest asset.
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00:04:14,590 --> 00:04:20,010
Yannos Papantoniou
Minister for Finance 1994-2001
The economy sprang forward and went
from second to first league.
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00:04:20,190 --> 00:04:24,990
When their creation crumbled, those
people said behind our back
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00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:29,940
that, due to some genetic disorder,
we were incapable of handling
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00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,300
our economy without foreign aid.
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00:04:33,050 --> 00:04:36,500
Perhaps Americans may find it
difficult to understand this
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00:04:36,550 --> 00:04:40,300
but Greece lacks hability in
control of ?? and discipline.
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00:04:44,100 --> 00:04:48,900
Our government called us bums,
and our lenders �PIIGS�...
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00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,940
as was the case with all
peripheral EU countries.
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00:04:52,990 --> 00:04:58,000
And our ministers tried to convince us
that all of us had a part in this.
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00:05:02,020 --> 00:05:04,900
Brian Lenihan Ireland's Minister
of Finance 2008-2011
I accept that we failed into
our political system
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00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:08,111
but let's be fair about it,
we're all part of it.
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00:05:15,980 --> 00:05:21,140
Theodoros Pangalos
Vice-president of the Greek government
The answer to the denouncement
of the country's politicians
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00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:25,180
that makes people ask us, �what
did you do with the money?� is:
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00:05:25,180 --> 00:05:31,070
We made you civil servants!
We all had a part in this!
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00:05:33,190 --> 00:05:37,170
So are we the prodigal children
of a neat global economy
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00:05:37,171 --> 00:05:39,670
in an all-successful Europe?
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00:05:39,671 --> 00:05:45,000
Or has the system been ailing
since its youth?
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00:06:23,020 --> 00:06:28,070
Capitalist economy in the post-war period
consists of two parts.
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00:06:28,070 --> 00:06:38,020
Costas Lapavitsas
Professor in Economics
In the first 25 years after World War II,
the growth rate was high.
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00:06:38,020 --> 00:06:45,130
Real income rose,
as did the consumption of goods.
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00:06:45,130 --> 00:06:52,050
Those were novel circumstances
in the history of capitalism.
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00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,100
Joe is the king because
he can buy more with his wages
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00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,720
then any other worker
on the blow.
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00:07:02,550 --> 00:07:06,200
David Harvey - Social scientist
There's no such thing as
a crisis free capitalism.
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00:07:06,210 --> 00:07:09,210
So, there's gonna be
a crisis somewhere.
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00:07:15,060 --> 00:07:19,040
This happy period ended
in the mid-Seventies.
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00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,170
From then on, we entered a period of
low growth, recurrent crises...
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00:07:24,170 --> 00:07:32,190
suppressed, if any, rises in workers' income�
and high unemployment.
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00:07:32,190 --> 00:07:38,190
Mature capitalist countries
found it difficult...
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00:07:38,190 --> 00:07:40,190
to accrue wealth.
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00:07:40,190 --> 00:07:40,190
This period was marked by a
huge growth in the financial system
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00:07:40,190 --> 00:07:40,190
which was termed financialisation.
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00:08:48,100 --> 00:08:54,110
Financialisation brought on
and intensified the crises.
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00:10:08,070 --> 00:10:11,050
When the US housing bubble burst
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00:10:11,050 --> 00:10:15,180
the financial system came close
to total collapse.
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00:10:15,180 --> 00:10:21,970
As a result, it affected the real economy,
which had its own structural problems.
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00:10:31,170 --> 00:10:35,050
States took rescue measures.
They used tax-payers' money
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00:10:35,050 --> 00:10:35,050
to save the banks and restore demand.
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00:10:38,020 --> 00:10:42,110
Thus, the financial crisis went fiscal.
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00:10:42,110 --> 00:10:46,000
And those same banks which
were saved by the tax-payers
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00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,950
decided to bite the hand that fed them,
by gambling on state bankruptcies.
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00:10:55,180 --> 00:10:58,060
Speculation makes things worse
in Greece, too.
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00:10:58,060 --> 00:11:01,990
Only, this time, the problem
is even deeper.
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00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:10,990
It's time for the Eurozone
to pay.
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00:11:11,590 --> 00:11:16,970
King Euro proves naked, mainly
because he's a king without a state.
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00:11:19,090 --> 00:11:20,970
Samir Amin - Economist
-
There cannot be a currency
without a state.
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00:11:20,970 --> 00:11:24,130
Despite their weaknesses,
the advantage of the US dollar...
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00:11:24,130 --> 00:11:29,130
among other things, is that there is
a state called the USA.
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00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:34,170
Europe does not exist
as a political entity.
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00:11:34,170 --> 00:11:41,050
There's no legitimized political
power connecting its states.
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00:11:41,050 --> 00:11:45,110
In my opinion,
the Eurozone is not viable.
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00:11:48,990 --> 00:11:52,070
In contrast to the USA, where
the federal government
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00:11:52,070 --> 00:11:55,150
and the Federal Reserve System
intervene to ameliorate inequalities
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00:11:55,150 --> 00:11:59,010
among states, the Eurozone
accentuates inequality.
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00:11:59,010 --> 00:12:04,170
This is how the PIIGS, the poor relatives
of the EU, came into existence.
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00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,090
The Eurozone is divided distinctly
into central and peripheral states.
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00:12:13,790 --> 00:12:18,130
The crisis is most intense
in the peripheral states.
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00:12:20,130 --> 00:12:29,140
The central states, especially Germany,
are winners because of the Euro.
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00:12:31,140 --> 00:12:33,030
The competitiveness of EU states
came to vary a lot
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00:12:33,030 --> 00:12:38,010
and the competitiveness of peripheral
countries fell steadily and systematically behind.
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00:12:38,010 --> 00:12:41,990
This was directly due to the Euro.
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00:12:53,130 --> 00:13:01,110
�ric Toussaint, president of the Committee
for the Abolition of Third World Debt
-
The crisis in the EU was a result
of the way Europe was integrated.
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00:13:05,110 --> 00:13:10,070
With Greece, it's like putting
Muhammad Ali
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00:13:10,070 --> 00:13:15,020
the World Heavyweight Champion,
in the ring with a featherweight boxer
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00:13:15,020 --> 00:13:19,170
and telling them: �Start fighting
and let's see who wins�.
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00:13:22,150 --> 00:13:26,140
Why are the peripheral countries
lagging behind in competitiveness?
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00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:29,990
Most of all, what causes
this divergence to keep increasing?
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00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,190
The myth of the "lazy periphery"
and "industrious Germany"...
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00:13:47,190 --> 00:13:53,080
with its "high productivity" is just that.
All the German governments managed
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00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,140
was to declare war
on their own work-force...
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00:13:56,140 --> 00:13:59,960
and freeze their salaries
for a decade.
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00:14:08,970 --> 00:14:17,090
Sahra Wagenknecht - Deputy Chairperson, Die Linke
-
In recent years, the nominal increase
in salaries was 7% (in Germany)
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00:14:17,090 --> 00:14:20,020
while in the Eurozone it was 27%.
99
00:14:20,020 --> 00:14:24,130
This gap logically results in loss
of competitiveness in other countries.
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00:14:24,130 --> 00:14:31,170
When salaries go down in one country,
while they go up in all the others
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00:14:31,170 --> 00:14:31,170
it's only natural that the competitiveness
of the German economy is boosted
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00:14:35,110 --> 00:14:38,950
while the other countries
are unable to follow.
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00:14:38,950 --> 00:14:44,160
The Eurozone countries are no longer
able to devaluate their currency.
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00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,130
This resulted in the establishment
of a mechanism
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00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:51,190
which was bound to lead
to the results we have today.
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00:15:26,060 --> 00:15:30,040
Costas Lapavitsas - Professor in Economics:
-
The loss of competitiveness
manifested itself in two ways
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00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,110
both of which played
a decisive part in the crisis.
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00:15:32,110 --> 00:15:37,010
Firstly, great deficits occurred
in current transactions.
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00:15:37,010 --> 00:15:43,030
And Greece had the greatest deficit
of all. When you're unable to compete
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00:15:43,030 --> 00:15:46,100
your transactions with the rest
of the world result in a deficit.
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00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:48,050
And Greece�s deficit is huge.
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00:15:48,050 --> 00:15:51,990
But this goes for the other
peripheral countries, as well.
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00:15:51,990 --> 00:15:57,170
This phenomenon went hand-in-hand
with the accruing of debt.
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00:15:57,170 --> 00:16:02,060
If you have such deficits,
you must balance them somehow.
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00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,040
In the EU, Greece is the poor relative.
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00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:17,050
Greece belongs to the European
Continent's semi-peripheral countries.
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00:16:22,050 --> 00:16:29,110
It's evident that Greece
was bound to accrue national debt
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00:16:29,110 --> 00:16:33,060
given the circumstances of its
integration into European markets.
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00:16:33,060 --> 00:16:37,180
I won't even bother with the rumour
that Greeks are lazy.
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00:16:37,180 --> 00:16:39,040
That's pure racism.
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00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,000
The Eurozone destroys the immune system
of peripheral countries
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00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,020
leaving them exposed
to the global crisis.
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00:16:55,050 --> 00:16:59,110
The Achilles' heel of those countries
is deficit and debt.
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00:16:59,110 --> 00:17:03,110
In our case, the debt is rooted
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00:17:03,110 --> 00:17:06,060
deep in the history of the Greek state.
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00:17:09,030 --> 00:17:15,140
Manolis Glezos - historical figure of the Greek Left
-
From the time of the Revolution of 1821,
our country
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00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:20,160
started borrowing.
And it's been borrowing ever since.
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00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,030
With one exception.
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00:17:22,030 --> 00:17:30,980
During an extraordinarily "happy" period,
Greece managed to become a lender.
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00:17:30,980 --> 00:17:33,960
During the German Occupation,
Greece lent to Germany.
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00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,080
The Germans forced Greece to become
a lender instead of a borrower.
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00:17:43,030 --> 00:17:47,150
After the German Occupation ended,
the country resumed its traditional role;
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00:17:47,150 --> 00:17:49,030
that of a borrower.
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00:17:49,030 --> 00:17:54,950
And national debt as we know it,
started to rise in the 1980s.
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00:17:57,170 --> 00:17:59,970
The high levels of national
borrowing in Greece
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00:17:59,970 --> 00:18:03,180
relate to Greece's
social and class structure
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00:18:03,180 --> 00:18:07,980
and the form the Greek economy has assumed
over the last few decades.
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00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:12,130
It has to do with the Greek state's
systematic inability
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00:18:12,130 --> 00:18:19,130
to implement an effective and fair
system of taxation.
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00:18:19,130 --> 00:18:22,130
(History of Greek sovereign debt)
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00:18:22,940 --> 00:18:26,850
Andreas Papandreou created
the necessary welfare state
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00:18:26,940 --> 00:18:30,850
without increasing corporate
and high income taxes.
143
00:18:30,940 --> 00:18:34,850
He saved jobs by nationalizing
loss-making private companies.
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00:18:34,940 --> 00:18:37,850
Primarily though, he saved
the companies' owners.
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00:18:37,940 --> 00:18:43,850
Public deficit and sovereign debt
increased dramatically.
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00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:45,850
Mitsotakis� government continued to borrow.
147
00:18:45,940 --> 00:18:49,850
The Maastricht treaty imposed world markets
as the only mechanism for deficit control,
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00:18:49,940 --> 00:18:52,850
prohibiting other means of money creation.
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00:18:53,940 --> 00:18:58,850
Debt skyrocketed with the highest
increase rate in Greek history.
150
00:18:59,940 --> 00:19:03,850
Kostas Simitis was luckier.
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00:19:03,940 --> 00:19:06,850
�Creative accounting�,
the fall of European interest rates
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00:19:07,940 --> 00:19:09,850
and economic growth were on his side.
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00:19:09,850 --> 00:19:09,850
This way, he was able
to conceal the bomb
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00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:15,850
that he placed on sovereign debt.
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00:19:16,940 --> 00:19:19,850
During his premiership,the percentage of
debt seemed to decrease slightly.
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00:19:21,940 --> 00:19:25,850
Kostas Karamanlis decreased
capital taxation by 10%.
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00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:30,850
The economic free fall accelerated
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00:19:31,940 --> 00:19:34,850
and debt exploded once more.
159
00:19:57,940 --> 00:20:03,850
Most countries in a similar situation
were visited by the IMF.
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00:20:04,940 --> 00:20:07,850
But none paid as dearly
as Argentina
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00:20:07,940 --> 00:20:10,850
Greece's mirror image
on the other side of the Atlantic.
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00:20:57,940 --> 00:21:00,850
Argentina fell into the debt trap
at the same time as Greece
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00:21:00,940 --> 00:21:04,850
in 1824, with the first British loans.
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00:21:04,940 --> 00:21:07,850
But the noose tightened
towards the end of the 20th century.
165
00:21:07,940 --> 00:21:11,850
Argentina locked the rate
of its peso against the US dollar.
166
00:21:13,940 --> 00:21:16,850
This made it impossible for them,
to exercise a monetary policy.
167
00:21:16,940 --> 00:21:19,850
Argentina experienced
its own Eurozone.
168
00:21:20,940 --> 00:21:24,850
Only, instead of Berlin, they were up
against Washington DC.
169
00:21:25,940 --> 00:21:31,850
M. Camdessus - IMF Managing Director, 1987-2000:
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00:21:33,940 --> 00:21:37,850
At the same time, the IMF
turned the country into...
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00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:41,850
yet another experimental laboratory
for Neoliberalism.
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00:21:42,940 --> 00:21:45,850
(Excerpt from the documentary film The Take)
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00:21:48,940 --> 00:21:53,850
Avi Lewis - Film-maker / Journalist:
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00:22:19,940 --> 00:22:23,850
Gerard Dumenil - Economist
175
00:22:45,940 --> 00:22:48,850
After Argentina's economic
collapse in 2001...
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00:22:48,940 --> 00:22:52,850
the IMF and its Neoliberal theories...
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00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:56,850
became the laughing stock
of economists all over the world.
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00:22:56,940 --> 00:22:59,850
But some monsters never die.
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00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:34,850
(I have 3 children and no job, please help)
180
00:23:37,940 --> 00:23:40,850
Greece will pay dearl
for the intervention of the IMF.
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00:22:40,940 --> 00:23:45,850
And, in some cases, she will
even pay for it in advance.
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00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:57,850
Ron Paul -
Republican Congressman -
183
00:23:57,940 --> 00:24:04,850
Ben Bernanke
Chairman of FED -
184
00:24:09,940 --> 00:24:13,850
Argentina was confronted
by the IMF alone.
185
00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:16,850
But Greece found herself
serving two masters.
186
00:24:16,940 --> 00:24:21,850
Because, in Europe, Neoliberal
theories were also being promoted
187
00:24:21,940 --> 00:24:24,850
by the European Central Bank.
188
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:38,960
Ironically enough, in the case of Greece
189
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:43,850
the IMF was softer than the EU.
190
00:24:49,950 --> 00:24:54,850
The measures applied in collaboration
with the IMF, the ECB and the EU
191
00:24:54,940 --> 00:24:57,850
are not only unfair
and dangerous to the Greek people.
192
00:24:57,940 --> 00:25:00,850
They're also doomed to fail
right from the start.
193
00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:05,850
They have a tragic impact
on the people's quality of life
194
00:25:05,940 --> 00:25:08,850
and on their daily life even.
195
00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:12,850
And it's highly unlikely that
they will have a positive effect
196
00:25:12,940 --> 00:25:16,000
on the economy in general, and
the management of national debt.
197
00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:28,850
Like in Argentina, the target was
to save not the economy
198
00:25:28,940 --> 00:25:30,850
but rather the banks and the big enterprises.
199
00:25:54,940 --> 00:25:57,850
The measures taken now are
stabilization measures
200
00:25:57,940 --> 00:26:02,850
to prevent Greece from proceeding
to a cessation of due payments.
201
00:26:02,940 --> 00:26:04,850
They are not measures
which will reduce the debt.
202
00:26:05,940 --> 00:26:10,850
It is more than obvious that the debt
will continue to increase quickly
203
00:26:11,940 --> 00:26:14,850
regardless of the measures,
and, indeed, as a result of them.
204
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:18,850
The measures aim clearly
to protect the lenders
205
00:26:18,940 --> 00:26:22,850
to protect the banks.
206
00:26:25,940 --> 00:26:29,850
Within a few months, the Greek
government gave the banks
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00:26:29,940 --> 00:26:31,850
EUR 108 billion
208
00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:38,850
which is almost the entire rescue
package received from the IMF and the EU.
209
00:26:39,940 --> 00:26:41,850
(Excerpt from the documentary film Social Genocide)
210
00:26:41,940 --> 00:26:45,850
When Argentina faced
a similar situation
211
00:26:45,940 --> 00:26:48,850
several of those responsible
were punished.
212
00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:52,850
The image of presidents leaving
the presidential palace in choppers
213
00:26:52,940 --> 00:26:57,850
still haunts both the IMF
and its collaborators.
214
00:27:07,940 --> 00:27:11,850
One magical night,
just like in Argentina
215
00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:16,850
we'll see who gets
to hop into the chopper first!
216
00:27:16,850 --> 00:27:16,850
Year #1 after the IMF intervention.
217
00:27:30,100 --> 00:27:34,140
Greece has entered an intensive programme
of "purging" procedures, "asset utilisation"
218
00:27:34,140 --> 00:27:36,140
"rationalisation measures" and "tidying up".
219
00:27:43,130 --> 00:27:45,170
The delegates of the IMF, EUand ECB have
taken up permanent residence in Athens
220
00:27:45,170 --> 00:27:50,130
and are dictating their policy through
an unconstitutional memorandum.
221
00:27:52,170 --> 00:27:58,130
Dominique Strauss - Kahn IMF Managing Director -
222
00:28:10,090 --> 00:28:12,130
What is Greece today?
223
00:28:12,130 --> 00:28:15,110
Are we a free country? Yes.
224
00:28:15,110 --> 00:28:21,100
Are we independent?
No, we've been reduced to vassals.
225
00:28:21,100 --> 00:28:27,180
Freedom is one thing,
sovereignty quite another.
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00:28:27,180 --> 00:28:31,980
Our country's problem is that
she has lost her sovereignty.
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00:28:43,110 --> 00:28:45,040
In splendid collaboration
with their foreign lenders
228
00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:49,150
the government has turned against the people
with harsh austerity measures.
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00:28:49,150 --> 00:28:49,150
The result is poverty, failed businessed,
and unemployment.
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00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,170
We consider the centre of Athens to be
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00:29:16,950 --> 00:29:20,060
N. Kanakis : president - Doctors of the World � Greece
-
facing a humanitarian crisis.
All the distinctive features are there;
232
00:29:20,060 --> 00:29:26,150
people who are hungry or homeless,
who lack medication and healthcare.
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00:29:26,150 --> 00:29:29,080
And they just wander around the squares.
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00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:34,050
It's not much different from what
we see in Third World countries.
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00:29:36,050 --> 00:29:39,980
You have to remember that we deal
with the poorest of the poor.
236
00:29:39,980 --> 00:29:43,970
There are people who still maintain
some social security rights
237
00:29:43,970 --> 00:29:47,950
but that is not enough,
as a poor woman-pensioner indicated.
238
00:29:47,950 --> 00:29:52,950
She said: "I buy either food or
medicine. I can't afford both".
239
00:29:57,010 --> 00:29:59,030
The government's measures
are not simply worsening
240
00:29:59,030 --> 00:29:59,030
the citizens' living conditions. They pose
an immediate threat to their lives.
241
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:22,090
Panos Papanicolaou: Neurosurgeon
-
In all of the countries "supported"
by the IMF up to now
242
00:30:22,850 --> 00:30:26,020
there has been a dramatic drop
in average life expectancy
243
00:30:26,020 --> 00:30:29,130
It's what we usually refer to
as the average lifespan.
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00:30:29,130 --> 00:30:33,150
There were countries where,
after the IMF ordeal
245
00:30:33,150 --> 00:30:38,950
the average lifespan fell by 5-10 years.
With the cuts we are facing now
246
00:30:38,950 --> 00:30:42,060
it's clear that our life expectancy
will be greatly reduced.
247
00:30:59,950 --> 00:31:00,970
The citizens react.
248
00:31:00,970 --> 00:31:10,160
The government's response is in breach of
even the basic principles of democracy
249
00:31:18,980 --> 00:31:23,190
The penalisation of wearing a hood,
the unjustified arrests and
250
00:31:23,850 --> 00:31:27,090
the hood-wearing policemen,
all border on the para-state.
251
00:31:39,970 --> 00:31:43,950
This liberality with tear-gas leaves us
no money for free education
252
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:49,960
Alain Badiou Philosopher: Philosopher
-
Crises are always solved through measures
against society and against the people
253
00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:53,110
which may be particularly harsh.
254
00:31:53,110 --> 00:31:58,070
This is how capitalism
controls the situation.
255
00:31:58,070 --> 00:32:03,950
The problem of capitalism is
how to get these measures accepted.
256
00:32:03,950 --> 00:32:07,080
For that, violence is deployed.
257
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,000
In response to
the "financial gale" alert
258
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,130
Democracy makes way for
Debtocracy.
259
00:32:27,950 --> 00:32:30,080
Poor people, don't eat each other.
Eat the rich, they're plumper!
260
00:32:32,010 --> 00:32:37,160
A crisis of capitalism causes
extensive devaluation.
261
00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:42,120
The value is lost through
financial speculation.
262
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:46,110
Somebody has to pay
for this devaluation.
263
00:32:46,110 --> 00:32:49,150
However, the capitalists
do not intend to pay for it.
264
00:32:49,150 --> 00:32:53,960
They're not at all altruistic.
265
00:32:55,140 --> 00:32:59,000
But if those who caused the crisis
do not intend to pay for it
266
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,020
why should we pay?
267
00:33:06,180 --> 00:33:10,170
In the past, dozens of countries
have successfully repudiated debts
268
00:33:10,170 --> 00:33:15,080
not incurred by their citizens,
in accordance with provisions
269
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:20,070
of the international law, such as
the concept of odious debt.
270
00:33:22,070 --> 00:33:25,140
The history of odious debt [animation]
271
00:33:27,940 --> 00:33:32,850
Our story starts in the 1920s,
with Alexander Sack.
272
00:33:32,940 --> 00:33:35,850
Sack was a minister and law specialist
in Czarist Russia.
273
00:33:35,940 --> 00:33:42,850
After the 1917 Revolution, he taught
in universities of Europe and the USA.
274
00:33:42,940 --> 00:33:46,850
In 1927, he came up with
a brilliant concept:
275
00:33:46,940 --> 00:33:49,850
the concept of odious debt.
276
00:33:50,940 --> 00:33:54,850
In order to define a debt as odious,
three prerequisites are needed.
277
00:33:55,940 --> 00:33:58,850
1. The government of the country
receives a loan
278
00:33:58,940 --> 00:34:01,850
without the knowledge and approval
of the people.
279
00:34:02,940 --> 00:34:07,850
2. The loan is spent on activities
not beneficial to the people.
280
00:34:07,940 --> 00:34:11,850
3. The lenders know of this situation
281
00:34:11,940 --> 00:34:14,850
but play possum.
282
00:34:15,940 --> 00:34:19,850
Sack's proposals sound progressive,
even revolutionary.
283
00:34:19,940 --> 00:34:24,850
Actually, at that time, they served
the interests
284
00:34:24,850 --> 00:34:24,850
of a rising superpower:
the United States of America.
285
00:34:29,940 --> 00:34:33,850
The USA had found themselves in need
of the "odious debt" concept in 1898
286
00:34:34,940 --> 00:34:38,850
when they won the Spanish-American war
and annexed Cuba.
287
00:34:39,940 --> 00:34:41,850
Their problem was that,
together with Cuba
288
00:34:41,940 --> 00:34:46,850
they acquired the debt incurred
by the Spanish colonial regime.
289
00:34:46,940 --> 00:34:50,850
And, since Spanish colonialism
had lasted four centuries
290
00:34:50,940 --> 00:34:56,850
from 1492, when Columbus set foot
in America, till 1898
291
00:34:56,940 --> 00:34:59,850
that debt was quite heavy.
292
00:35:00,940 --> 00:35:04,850
Of course, the USA had no intention
of paying for the mistakes of past regimes.
293
00:35:04,940 --> 00:35:08,850
They decided that Cuba's debt
was odious
294
00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:10,850
and simply refused to pay it.
295
00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:17,850
The same had happened in Mexico
a few decades earlier.
296
00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:23,850
When the Republicans overthrew
emperor Maximilian I
297
00:35:23,940 --> 00:35:26,850
they decided that the debt
he had incurred was odious.
298
00:35:28,940 --> 00:35:32,850
Maximilian had borrowed huge sums
at excessively high interest rates
299
00:35:32,940 --> 00:35:35,850
to deal with the uprising
against him.
300
00:35:36,940 --> 00:35:41,850
And since he owed a lot,
mainly to the people of Mexico
301
00:35:41,940 --> 00:35:44,850
he was sentenced to death
and sent to the firing squad.
302
00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:52,850
In the late 19th-early 20th century,
most instances of odious debt
303
00:35:52,940 --> 00:35:56,850
concerned underdeveloped countries
on the American continent.
304
00:35:56,940 --> 00:36:00,850
Actually, a rising superpower was
involved in all those debt repudiations:
305
00:36:00,940 --> 00:36:05,850
the United States of America.
306
00:36:06,940 --> 00:36:09,850
And this same superpower
brought the concept of odious debt
307
00:36:09,940 --> 00:36:12,850
into the 21st century.
308
00:36:39,050 --> 00:36:43,950
December 2002: the White House
is putting the finishing touches
309
00:36:43,950 --> 00:36:47,060
to the planned invasion
and occupation of Iraq.
310
00:36:51,010 --> 00:36:54,190
Before the attack starts, however,
American officials
311
00:36:54,190 --> 00:36:58,990
are preparing for the day after
Saddam Hussein's overthrowal.
312
00:37:00,990 --> 00:37:03,180
The State Department knows that
they will have to deal with
313
00:37:03,180 --> 00:37:07,190
Iraq's huge national debt.
Therefore, they are trying to prove
314
00:37:07,190 --> 00:37:08,950
that this debt is odious.
315
00:37:14,950 --> 00:37:18,980
A secret task-force is formed,
and they propose that
316
00:37:18,980 --> 00:37:22,960
the first provisional government of Iraq
declare cessation of due payments
317
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:28,040
on the pretext that the Iraqi people
must not pay the odious debt incurred
318
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:33,150
by the Iraqi regime.
All is now ready for the attack.
319
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:12,110
�ric Toussaint: President of CADTM
-
In March 2003, the USA and their allies
invaded Iraq.
320
00:38:12,110 --> 00:38:19,180
Three weeks later, the US Secretary
for the Treasury called for a summit meeting
321
00:38:19,180 --> 00:38:31,040
of G8 finance ministers in Washington, and
announced that Hussein's debt was odious.
322
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:40,040
He said: "Hussein's regime is dictatorial
and its debt must be repudiated".
323
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:44,020
"The new government of Iraq
must be free of Hussein's debt".
324
00:39:03,110 --> 00:39:07,120
George W. Bush instructed former
Secretary of State, James Baker
325
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:07,120
to convince the international community
that Iraq's debt was odious.
326
00:39:11,050 --> 00:39:15,190
And Baker claimed that Saddam Hussein
wasted his people's money
327
00:39:15,190 --> 00:39:18,130
on building palaces and buying arms.
328
00:39:22,950 --> 00:39:25,190
Among other things, American diplomats
proved that Iraq owed
329
00:39:25,190 --> 00:39:30,070
billions of dollars to France and Russia,
for the purchase of Exocet missiles
330
00:39:30,070 --> 00:39:34,050
and fighter aircraft such as
Mirage F1 and MiG.
331
00:39:38,150 --> 00:39:41,990
Actually, Hussein's way
was not that different
332
00:39:41,990 --> 00:39:46,950
from what many Western leaders do.
To the Arabs, palaces are
333
00:39:46,950 --> 00:39:50,970
what the Olympic Games are to the West:
a demonstration of economic
334
00:39:50,970 --> 00:39:53,060
and geopolitical dominance.
335
00:39:58,140 --> 00:40:01,170
The American diplomacy finally proved
that Iraq's debt was odious
336
00:40:01,170 --> 00:40:05,090
and the Iraqi people were
not obliged to pay it.
337
00:40:05,090 --> 00:40:09,950
However, Washington suddenly realised
that they'd pried open a can of worms.
338
00:40:09,950 --> 00:40:14,990
For the first time in the 21st century,
the ultimate superpower had legitimised
339
00:40:14,990 --> 00:40:19,030
the concept of odious debt.
So, they chose
340
00:40:19,030 --> 00:40:22,120
to sweep this case under the carpet.
341
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:33,120
The other countries said: "We'll cut 40%
off Iraq's debt through the Paris Club".
342
00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:41,110
"But the concept of odious debt
must not be used officially"
343
00:40:41,110 --> 00:40:48,970
"because other countries may claim
this right as well".
344
00:40:48,970 --> 00:40:53,990
"For example, the DR Congo
will repudiate Mobutu's debt"
345
00:40:53,990 --> 00:40:59,180
"the Philippines will refuse
to pay the debt of dictator Marcos"
346
00:40:59,180 --> 00:41:04,040
"and South Africa will refuse
the debt of the apartheid regime".
347
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:14,110
To prevent the extension of the concept
of odious debt into the 21st century
348
00:41:14,110 --> 00:41:20,070
they reached an ad hoc decision
on Iraq.
349
00:41:20,070 --> 00:41:25,170
However, it is obvious to us that
the odious debt doctrine was used.
350
00:41:37,060 --> 00:41:41,090
The USA continued to help Iraq
to cancel old debts.
351
00:41:41,090 --> 00:41:44,160
But nobody in Washington
ever wanted to hear again
352
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,990
the expression "odious debt".
353
00:41:58,060 --> 00:42:01,960
Iraq managed to write off
a big part of its debt
354
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,080
with the support of an empire.
But another country resolved
355
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:09,080
to stand on its own two feet
and stand up against the IMF
356
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:14,040
and its other big lenders.
They managed to prove that their debt
357
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:18,090
was not only odious, but also
illegitimate and unconstitutional.
358
00:42:19,090 --> 00:42:21,180
Welcome to Ecuador.
359
00:42:51,100 --> 00:42:58,970
Rafael Correa President of Ecuador
-
We have national commitments,
more urgent than international ones.
360
00:42:58,970 --> 00:43:02,120
We'll fulfill our international
obligations as soon as we are able.
361
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:05,180
But our priorities are clear.
Life comes first, repaying debts second.
362
00:43:18,990 --> 00:43:22,190
Ecuador could have been one of
the richest countries in South America.
363
00:43:23,190 --> 00:43:26,060
But, from the moment that
oil was discovered...
364
00:43:26,060 --> 00:43:31,190
all the country knew was dictators,
poverty, debt and economic hit-men.
365
00:43:36,060 --> 00:43:40,190
John Perkins: Activist, former economic hit-man
-
366
00:44:18,030 --> 00:44:22,110
In 1982, Ecuador was visited by the IMF
and a committee of wise men
367
00:44:22,110 --> 00:44:27,180
representing the country's big lenders.
Ecuador had been forced to borrow
368
00:44:27,180 --> 00:44:32,010
more and more, in order to fulfill past obligations.
369
00:44:33,980 --> 00:44:40,040
Hugo Arias: Head of Ecuador audit committee
-
Ecuador was constantly being looted
by the countries of the North.
370
00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:47,000
For example, from 1980-1990
up to 2005
371
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:56,070
almost 50% of the government budget
was used to repay debts.
372
00:44:56,070 --> 00:45:04,140
Namely, about
3-4 billion US dollars a year.
373
00:45:04,140 --> 00:45:10,050
Only 4% was for health care.
374
00:45:10,050 --> 00:45:12,110
Four billion for repaying debts,
400 million for health care.
375
00:45:12,110 --> 00:45:12,110
Four billion for the debt,
800 million for education.
376
00:45:25,190 --> 00:45:30,010
We were killing our own people.
377
00:45:37,090 --> 00:45:40,950
The people of Ecuador protested.
For a moment
378
00:45:40,950 --> 00:45:43,950
things appeared to be in control
when Lucio Guti�rrez took over.
379
00:45:43,950 --> 00:45:50,110
Guti�rrez promised social benefits.
He spoke like a socialist
380
00:45:50,110 --> 00:45:56,030
but, as soon as he took office,
he made a new deal with the IMF
381
00:45:56,030 --> 00:45:59,080
and implemented measures
of extreme austerity.
382
00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:07,000
The people decided that he should leave
with the same means of transport
383
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:12,050
favoured by Argentinian presidents:
the chopper.
384
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:19,160
Vice-president Palacio takes over.
385
00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:24,100
He has good intentions, but soon
succumbs to Washington.
386
00:46:24,100 --> 00:46:28,980
So the people turn to the only politician
who'd resisted international pressure.
387
00:46:28,980 --> 00:46:31,010
Rafael Correa.
388
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:33,160
Song: una sola vuelta
-
From the first round
389
00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:36,970
Correa, from the first round.
390
00:46:36,970 --> 00:46:44,020
Ecuador from the first round.
391
00:46:44,020 --> 00:46:47,010
Hope is triumphant.
392
00:46:47,010 --> 00:46:50,140
We are your united people.
393
00:46:50,140 --> 00:46:50,160
We stand united.
394
00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:55,060
March on, Ecuador Alliance.
395
00:46:55,060 --> 00:47:00,030
March on for justice.
396
00:47:00,030 --> 00:47:03,180
March on for your rights.
397
00:47:03,180 --> 00:47:08,150
March on, Correa, for Ecuador.
398
00:47:08,150 --> 00:47:12,140
From the first round
399
00:47:12,140 --> 00:47:15,950
Correa, from the first round.
400
00:47:15,950 --> 00:47:22,170
Ecuador from the first round!
401
00:47:24,020 --> 00:47:27,060
Correa studied economics
in Europe and the USA
402
00:47:27,060 --> 00:47:31,060
and knows very well how to handle
the World Bank and the IMF
403
00:47:31,060 --> 00:47:34,120
as long as one has the political will.
404
00:47:35,180 --> 00:47:40,130
As Minister of Finance, in 2005,
Correa declared that it was unnatural
405
00:47:40,130 --> 00:47:45,190
to use oil revenues
in order to pay back the debt.
406
00:47:45,190 --> 00:47:55,010
This was unfair to the people.
He said that 80% of the revenues
407
00:47:55,010 --> 00:48:01,030
should be used for health benefits,
education and the creation of jobs
408
00:48:01,030 --> 00:48:06,090
and only 20% should be channeled
towards repayment of the debt.
409
00:48:06,090 --> 00:48:13,020
The World Bank said that they wouldn't
lend to Ecuador if such a law passed.
410
00:48:13,020 --> 00:48:26,040
This was an obvious interference
with Ecuador's internal policy.
411
00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:37,030
Correa declared that he would never
follow such instructions from the WB.
412
00:48:37,030 --> 00:48:42,110
He chose to resign rather than succumb.
This made him very popular.
413
00:48:42,110 --> 00:48:51,990
The people said: "This man
chose to resign from minister"
414
00:48:51,990 --> 00:48:56,990
"in order to defend the dignity
and the interests of the people".
415
00:48:58,110 --> 00:49:02,980
Correa was finally elected in 2006.
One of his first actions was
416
00:49:02,980 --> 00:49:06,040
to deport the representative of
the World Bank
417
00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:12,020
and ask the IMF delegation
to leave the Central Bank's premises.
418
00:49:12,020 --> 00:49:16,180
Officials of the IMF such as Bob Traa,
who later came to Greece
419
00:49:16,180 --> 00:49:21,010
had already been dubbed "unwanted"
by the people of Ecuador.
420
00:49:21,970 --> 00:49:27,180
Those callous, dishonest bureaucrats
have to respect our country.
421
00:49:27,180 --> 00:49:39,000
This is why we deported the WB delegate.
We maintain the right to restore
422
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:44,080
the damage done to our country and
declare our debt to the WB illegitimate.
423
00:49:46,110 --> 00:49:50,060
Six months later, Correa
went a step further.
424
00:49:50,060 --> 00:49:52,190
He fulfilled the demand
of social organisations
425
00:49:52,190 --> 00:49:54,150
for an Audit Committee.
426
00:49:55,040 --> 00:50:00,990
I was one of the people
Correa chose for the Committee.
427
00:50:00,990 --> 00:50:08,000
18 individuals and 4 national
organisations participated.
428
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:18,110
We were to examine all debt contracts,
from 1956 to 2006.
429
00:50:18,110 --> 00:50:24,120
We worked for 14 months.
We examined the bond debt
430
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:31,970
the debts to the IMF, the World Bank
and other international organisations.
431
00:50:31,970 --> 00:50:39,040
We examined the debt to countries
such as France, Japan and Germany.
432
00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:43,000
Finally, we examined Ecuador's
internal national debt.
433
00:50:52,020 --> 00:50:57,150
The battle to access the data
was tremendous.
434
00:50:57,150 --> 00:51:02,970
In the Ministry of Finance, our
associate Alejandro Olmos Jr
435
00:51:02,970 --> 00:51:09,990
and myself, were declared
"personae non gratae".
436
00:51:09,990 --> 00:51:16,110
The officials in the Ministry of Finance
wrote to the Minister
437
00:51:16,110 --> 00:51:22,150
to complain and denounce
both mine and Olmos' actions
438
00:51:22,150 --> 00:51:28,110
claiming that we were inflicting
harm on the Ministry's employees.
439
00:51:28,110 --> 00:51:37,170
We laughed it off, but you imagine
how difficult it was
440
00:51:37,170 --> 00:51:43,080
after we'd been accused
of being the "bad guys"
441
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,130
in that procedure.
442
00:51:46,030 --> 00:51:49,140
Despite the setbacks, the Committee
managed to complete its work
443
00:51:49,140 --> 00:51:53,190
and discovered that a big part
of the debt was illegitimate.
444
00:51:53,190 --> 00:51:58,070
They acknowledged their findings
to the state, who told the people.
445
00:51:58,950 --> 00:52:03,050
The work of the Committee was made
public, and this is very important.
446
00:52:03,050 --> 00:52:17,130
The people of Ecuador now knew
why the debt contracts of past regimes
447
00:52:17,130 --> 00:52:22,150
especially those of the year 2000,
were illegitimate.
448
00:52:22,960 --> 00:52:25,120
Song: "Dale Correa Rafael"
-
March on, Rafael Correa!
449
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:28,110
Our homeland is marching against
450
00:52:28,110 --> 00:52:30,990
the decadent Congress
451
00:52:30,990 --> 00:52:33,950
and the bureaucratic dictatorship
452
00:52:33,950 --> 00:52:35,160
of the old politicians.
453
00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:35,160
Power belongs to the people.
Your brother tells you so.
454
00:52:41,010 --> 00:52:43,160
The people of Ecuador
want a new constitution.
455
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,180
March on, Correa.
456
00:52:45,180 --> 00:52:49,180
Correa, strike against the "bosses"
who devastated our homeland.
457
00:52:49,180 --> 00:52:52,010
March on, Correa.
458
00:52:52,010 --> 00:52:54,030
March on, Rafael Correa.
459
00:52:56,960 --> 00:52:59,970
Based on the findings of the Committee,
the government proved that
460
00:52:59,970 --> 00:53:03,040
the debt was illegitimate
and declared cessation of payments
461
00:53:03,040 --> 00:53:06,130
for 70% of Ecuador's debt in bonds.
462
00:53:07,190 --> 00:53:11,140
Those in possession of Ecuador's debt
sold bonds at 20% of their value.
463
00:53:11,140 --> 00:53:11,140
The government started
to buy them secretly.
464
00:53:11,140 --> 00:53:33,080
They gave 800 million dollars and
bought off 3 billion dollars of debt.
465
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:43,050
This significant reduction allowed
an improvement in living conditions.
466
00:53:48,060 --> 00:53:57,130
Furthermore, they rid themselves of the interest
they would have had to pay till 2012 or 2030.
467
00:53:57,130 --> 00:54:07,150
They saved at least 7 billion dollars,
which was great for the country.
468
00:54:07,150 --> 00:54:13,100
This allowed the government to increase
expenditure on health, education
469
00:54:13,100 --> 00:54:18,000
the creation of new jobs,
and improvement in infrastructure.
470
00:54:47,130 --> 00:54:49,950
In Greece, historians,
economists and political analysts
471
00:54:49,950 --> 00:54:54,150
use up tons of ink daily to tell us
how to handle our national debt.
472
00:54:58,150 --> 00:55:02,000
Yet, there is one question
very few pose.
473
00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:05,080
Do the Greek people really owe
as much as their creditors claim?
474
00:55:18,130 --> 00:55:23,080
The debt incurred by Greece recently
bears evidence of illegitimacy.
475
00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:38,180
For example, the authorities received
"gifts" from companies such as Siemens
476
00:55:38,180 --> 00:55:50,190
who, together with Siemens Hellas,
bribed ministers and officials
477
00:55:50,190 --> 00:55:56,110
for at least a decade,
in order to gain contracts.
478
00:56:08,040 --> 00:56:13,010
In this case, we have evidence
of illegality and illegitimacy.
479
00:56:13,010 --> 00:56:19,180
So, this debt should be examined
in court. To me, this is evident.
480
00:56:21,100 --> 00:56:25,020
Greek justice proved inadequate
in the Siemens case.
481
00:56:25,020 --> 00:56:28,150
And it was too slow
in other cases of deals
482
00:56:28,150 --> 00:56:33,090
made behind the people's back,
which have increased the debt.
483
00:56:50,980 --> 00:56:55,990
With the infamous swaps of 2001,
the government mortgaged the future
484
00:56:55,990 --> 00:57:00,990
to present a false prosperous present.
They made the Greek debt look lower
485
00:57:00,990 --> 00:57:05,990
by changing a loan from JPY to EUR,
using outdated exchange rates.
486
00:57:05,990 --> 00:57:10,020
They were assisted in this
by Goldman Sachs, who made
487
00:57:10,020 --> 00:57:12,110
millions out of this deal.
488
00:57:13,090 --> 00:57:17,080
Mark Kirk: US Senator
-
489
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:38,000
The trick worked for many years.
And the Greek political elite
490
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:41,980
showed they could reward
their allies amply. They re-hired
491
00:57:41,980 --> 00:57:46,140
Goldman Sachs as consultant and
paid them with the people's money.
492
00:57:48,120 --> 00:57:54,980
Jean Quatremer: Journalist, Liberation
-
Goldman Sachs consulted and attacked
the Greek government simultaneously.
493
00:57:56,090 --> 00:58:00,000
The scandal was revealed in 2010.
A few days earlier
494
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:02,070
a former employee of Goldman Sachs
495
00:58:02,070 --> 00:58:06,960
had been assigned leader of the Greek
Public Debt Management Agency.
496
00:58:08,160 --> 00:58:14,120
Hiring an employee of Goldman
Sachs is like hiring a criminal.
497
00:58:14,120 --> 00:58:20,190
It's the same as hiring a bank robber
to guard your house.
498
00:58:20,190 --> 00:58:26,980
You think that he knows how robbers
think, so he'll be a better guard.
499
00:58:26,980 --> 00:58:34,040
But there's great danger that one day
he'll rob you and vanish.
500
00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:38,130
Who can guarantee to me that
this former Goldman Sachs man
501
00:58:38,130 --> 00:58:41,970
will handle Greek affairs
in the best possible way?
502
00:58:44,980 --> 00:58:48,050
Several countries blame Greece
for her transactions with Goldman Sachs.
503
00:58:48,050 --> 00:58:52,020
Only these are the same countries
who exploit their liaisons
504
00:58:52,020 --> 00:58:55,150
with Greek governments,
to sell weapons to Greece
505
00:58:55,150 --> 00:58:58,020
at a good price.
506
00:59:00,170 --> 00:59:04,180
Sahra Wagenknecht: Deputy Chairperson, Die Linke
-
When, one year ago, Germany
was negotiating to support Greece
507
00:59:04,180 --> 00:59:10,120
one of the main terms was that Greece
would continue to import German arms.
508
00:59:10,120 --> 00:59:18,160
Greece should cut down on pensions and
social benefits, not on arms' imports.
509
00:59:18,160 --> 00:59:26,030
This is indicative of the interests
involved. Germany protects
510
00:59:26,030 --> 00:59:29,120
the interests of military equipment
manufacturers, and its export industry.
511
00:59:29,120 --> 00:59:33,020
Those people want to continue trading
despite the crisis.
512
00:59:39,980 --> 00:59:48,950
Daniel Cohn-Bendit : president,
European Greens-European Free Alliance
-
We're hypocrites! Last month, France
sold 6 frigates to Greece for 2.5 billion.
513
00:59:48,950 --> 00:59:55,080
Also, helicopters worth 400 million
and Rafale aircraft at 100 million each.
514
00:59:55,080 --> 01:00:03,110
I don't know if we sold 10, 20, or 30.
The total cost is almost 3 billion.
515
01:00:03,110 --> 01:00:11,050
Germany sold 6 submarines
to Greece, worth 1 billion.
516
01:00:11,050 --> 01:00:16,110
We're such hypocrites! We give them
money so they can buy our arms.
517
01:01:16,110 --> 01:01:20,020
Before the hypocrisy of Europe,
criminal back-downs come
518
01:01:20,020 --> 01:01:24,970
hand-in-hand with criminal decisions,
always for "Greece's own good"
519
01:01:24,970 --> 01:01:31,120
or to support a new Greek expansionism
that will lead to economic devastation.
520
01:01:35,050 --> 01:01:41,020
Giorgos Voulgarakis
Minister of Public Order, 2004-2006
521
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:28,170
�ric Toussaint: President of CADTMT
-
here were huge expenses and
the cost now burdens the people.
522
01:02:28,170 --> 01:02:41,130
The loans for the Olympic Games
were paid with tax-payers' money.
523
01:02:41,130 --> 01:02:50,160
It's only natural that the people demand
to know why the budget exploded
524
01:02:50,160 --> 01:02:51,990
and where that money went.
525
01:03:07,070 --> 01:03:11,950
The Olympic Games and the corrupt
transactions with Siemens or Goldman Sachs
526
01:03:12,180 --> 01:03:17,140
are but a small fraction of the shady
deals made at the people's expense.
527
01:03:17,140 --> 01:03:21,190
However, there are more important
matters which concern
528
01:03:21,190 --> 01:03:26,080
not only Greece, but all
peripheral European countries.
529
01:03:33,070 --> 01:03:38,970
Costas Lapavitsas: Professor of Economics
-
Have all the rules which govern
the issuing of bonds been followed?
530
01:03:38,970 --> 01:03:42,970
Also, are there any questions
of legitimacy
531
01:03:42,970 --> 01:03:47,030
about the banks who played
the main role for issuing bonds
532
01:03:47,030 --> 01:03:51,010
either in the primary
or the secondary market?
533
01:03:51,010 --> 01:03:56,140
Which banks took part?
How were they reimbursed?
534
01:03:56,140 --> 01:03:59,950
Under what terms and conditions
did they participate?
535
01:04:23,070 --> 01:04:29,110
Sahra Wagenknecht: Deputy Chairperson, Die Linke
-
Part of the national debts incurred
in Eurozone countries is illegitimate
536
01:04:29,110 --> 01:04:33,130
because they resulted from policies
against the people�s interests .
537
01:04:33,130 --> 01:04:37,110
So these debts must not
be paid by the people.
538
01:04:44,130 --> 01:04:48,000
Ecuador demonstrated how all those
illegitimate or odious contracts
539
01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:52,040
can come to light through
540
01:04:52,040 --> 01:04:53,990
an Audit Committee.
541
01:04:54,190 --> 01:04:57,100
Why don't they tell us
what kind of debt this is?
542
01:04:57,100 --> 01:04:59,110
How much is it?
How was it incurred?
543
01:04:59,110 --> 01:05:05,080
To whom do we owe money?
544
01:05:05,080 --> 01:05:11,970
This is why an audit is necessary.
An audit will define
545
01:05:11,970 --> 01:05:18,160
exactly what this debt is about.
We have to know and denounce
546
01:05:18,160 --> 01:05:23,130
all the lies told by
the government and the corporations
547
01:05:23,130 --> 01:05:29,060
who seize the Greek people's money,
and all those who get amply paid
548
01:05:29,060 --> 01:05:32,170
to parrot and praise the government.
549
01:05:39,010 --> 01:05:41,180
But who's going to set up
the Audit Committee?
550
01:05:41,180 --> 01:05:45,050
And most of all, how can we
make sure that it won't be
551
01:05:45,050 --> 01:05:49,000
yet another parliament committee,
consisting of the same people
552
01:05:49,000 --> 01:05:51,160
that got us into this situation?
553
01:05:52,100 --> 01:05:56,950
The Audit Committee's members should
not be specialists. It's not necessary.
554
01:05:56,950 --> 01:06:00,050
Because if the government forms
a committee of specialists
555
01:06:00,050 --> 01:06:08,950
even if they are called from abroad,
even if ordinary citizens are included
556
01:06:08,950 --> 01:06:15,050
the committee may prove
to be the government's mouthpiece.
557
01:06:16,060 --> 01:06:24,100
Only the people have the authority
and the right to request an audit
558
01:06:24,100 --> 01:06:31,950
because they suffer the consequences.
All Greeks must become involved.
559
01:06:31,950 --> 01:06:39,000
All social organisations must
protest and demand an audit.
560
01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:54,110
The Greek political parties ND and PASOK,
who benefited from the creation of debt
561
01:06:54,110 --> 01:07:05,180
are very negative towards an audit, as
their responsibility will be revealed.
562
01:07:05,180 --> 01:07:17,110
People, organisations, unions, judges,
intellectuals, artists - everybody must act.
563
01:07:17,110 --> 01:07:26,980
They must express their views and exert
pressure on political authority.
564
01:07:36,060 --> 01:07:39,160
In March 2011, a group of people
from different backgrounds
565
01:07:39,160 --> 01:07:42,120
took the initiative to demand
the formation
566
01:07:42,120 --> 01:07:45,130
of an Audit Committee in Greece.
567
01:07:48,950 --> 01:07:52,980
Academics, writers, artists, union
representatives from all over the world
568
01:07:52,980 --> 01:07:55,060
supported this initiative willingly.
569
01:08:01,040 --> 01:08:03,980
The Audit Committee will find
which parts of the debt
570
01:08:03,980 --> 01:08:06,040
are odious or illegitimate
571
01:08:06,040 --> 01:08:10,190
and will prove that, as provided by
Greek and International Law
572
01:08:10,190 --> 01:08:13,060
the Greek people are not
obliged to pay such debt.
573
01:08:14,190 --> 01:08:17,980
However, the decision is basically
political, not financial.
574
01:08:17,980 --> 01:08:21,990
Even if the debt was legitimate,
no government has the right
575
01:08:21,990 --> 01:08:25,950
to kill its people
in order to satisfy its lenders.
576
01:08:26,120 --> 01:08:31,110
Even if the entire Greek national debt
of 350 billion proves legitimate
577
01:08:31,110 --> 01:08:34,000
which is clearly not going to be the case,
Greece can never pay back.
578
01:08:34,050 --> 01:08:37,000
It will have to be cancelled.
579
01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:42,190
If honouring the debt and
making it sustainable involves
580
01:08:42,190 --> 01:08:47,130
dismantling health care,
dismantling education
581
01:08:47,130 --> 01:08:51,130
dismantling the transport system,
then the debt is socially unsustainable.
582
01:09:29,130 --> 01:09:31,980
Nobody is obliged to pay this debt
583
01:09:31,980 --> 01:09:38,960
since it was accrued because of
corruption in the financial markets.
584
01:09:39,080 --> 01:09:43,070
It's immoral to pay an immoral debt.
585
01:09:51,040 --> 01:09:54,060
The formation of an Audit Committee,
is ultimately
586
01:09:54,060 --> 01:09:57,150
just a valuable weapon
in a broader battle.
587
01:09:57,150 --> 01:10:00,980
This battle will follow
the traditional rules by which
588
01:10:00,980 --> 01:10:04,150
battles have been fought
for centuries.
589
01:10:04,150 --> 01:10:08,020
Without this battle, even if we
repudiate the debt repeatedly
590
01:10:08,020 --> 01:10:11,050
it will always rise
from its ashes.
591
01:10:13,080 --> 01:10:15,990
This means that a field
for ideological, political
592
01:10:15,990 --> 01:10:18,060
and class struggle will form.
The debt is a result of class struggle.
593
01:10:23,110 --> 01:10:30,970
Don't hesitate to stand up for your rights
against the EU and the Greek government.
594
01:10:30,970 --> 01:10:38,970
Respect is gained through struggle,
not by obeying one's creditors.
595
01:10:40,970 --> 01:10:44,970
Look at Tunisia and Egypt.
596
01:10:44,970 --> 01:10:49,010
Only when the people take action
can the situation really change.
597
01:10:55,010 --> 01:11:03,070
We have to shake off submissiveness,
liberate ourselves from the IMF
598
01:11:03,070 --> 01:11:12,110
liberate ourselves from the ECB,
and liberate ourselves from the EU
599
01:11:12,110 --> 01:11:17,980
because all three mean
the economic slavery of Greece.
600
01:11:20,960 --> 01:11:24,150
Giorgos Papandreou
-
Now is the crucial moment.
601
01:11:26,960 --> 01:11:29,150
Let's go!
58436
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