Tsipras calls for referendum on creditors’ bailout demands
People in Greece will vote in a referendum on whether their government should agree to international creditors’ demands in return for a bailout to the debt-ridden country, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says.
The plebiscite will be held on July 5, Tsipras said in a televised speech early on Saturday, adding that he had already informed Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and the largest opposition party, the conservative New Democracy party, about the plan.
“The Greek people are sovereign to decide,” Tsipras said, emphasizing, “With national unity and composure we will take the decisions that we deserve.”
Greece's troika of international lenders - the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - offered a €12-billion ($13.4-billion) extension of the current bailout deal to Athens on Friday on the condition that the cash-strapped country accepts the list of austerity reforms under a new agreement between the two sides.
The five-month extension to the bailout would be the third since last December. The creditors want Tsipras’ government to accept key reforms on pensions and value-added tax (VAT).
"These proposals, which clearly violate the European rules and the basic rights to work, equality and dignity show that the purpose of some of the partners and institutions was not a viable agreement for all parties, but possibly the humiliation of an entire people," Tsipras said in his speech.
The creditors will also disburse the first €1.8 billion ($2 billion) in aid to help Greece avoid defaulting on its debt to the IMF if the country’s lawmakers approve the reforms required by the lenders.
Greece received two bailout packages in 2010 and 2012 worth a total of €240 billion ($272 billion) from its creditors following its 2009 economic crisis, in return for implementing harsh austerity measures.
According to the terms of the bailout deal, Greece should make a €1.6-billion ($1.79 billion) payment to the IMF at the end of this month.
There are concerns that Greece may go bankrupt and have to leave the eurozone if a deal is not clinched by the end of June.
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