‘SOVEREIGNTY AND LIFE IN DIGNITY, NOT AUSTERITY FOR GREECE’

5 JULY 2015

We from the Asia-Europe People’s Forum – a strategic civil society network of Asian and European social movements working for social, economic and ecological justice, and fighting to end poverty and inequality – stand with the Greek people as they assert their sovereignty, reject austerity and vote for a life in dignity this Sunday, July 5.

The impos​ition of neo-liberal austerity measures by the Troika – the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission – is destroying Greece. It is responsible for severe financial and economic crisis and for the social catastrophe – e.g. massive unemployment, intensifying poverty and social inequality, ​rising suicide rates, and ​the dismantling of social services and security – being experienced by the Greek people.

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Moreover, the huge debt repayments for which the Troika is demanding have not been for the benefit of the citizens of Greece. They have been utilised to repay private sector creditors such as French and German banks, it is thus highly immoral for the people and government to be forced to pay these debts while depriving the people their basic socio-economic rights to a life in dignity (jobs, food, healthcare, housing, electricity, and other basic needs.)

The​ impositions of the Troika are not only causing misery to the Greek people and government. Outside Greece, similar neo-liberal austerity ​measures are destroying societies and people in Europe and other parts of the world. We therefore stand in solidarity with the Greek people and the Syriza-led government as they struggle to be free from neo-liberal austerity and odious debts.

Over the past decades peoples from developing and developed countries have been resisting against the whole range of neo-liberal policies​ – liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation – imposed by capitalist governments through the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other financial institutions.

Peoples have struggled against repayment of odious debts and for the cancellation of illegitimate debts. They have experienced how debt bondage has resulted in poverty and elite privileges. In addition, ​neo-liberal austerity impositions by the international financial institutions have devastated their economies and environment, crushed human rights and exacerbated inequalities while billions of dollars flowed to transnational corporations and banks and imperialist governments.

The debt payment terms cannot over-rule international law. Article 103 of the UN Charter provisions prevail over all other treaties. Therefore no treaty or loan agreement can force a country to violate the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of its population, nor can a loan agreement negate the sovereignty of a State. Any agreement that would require such a violation of human rights and customary international law is contra bonos mores and hence null and void pursuant to Article 53 of the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties.

Now is the time to raise our voices against this threat and stranglehold on the people of Greece by the European elite. This critical moment also ​requires everyone to speak up against world’s economic elites ​who have held us hostage and made our lives miserable for decades and who have prioritised the interest of banks and ​corporations over ​the people and planet.

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​​With the citizens of Greece, we say NO to austerity and YES to dignity, sovereignty, human rights, and democracy!