Greek referendum will decide destiny in eurozone says Alexis Tsipras - The Australian
1. Greek referendum will decide destiny in eurozone says
Alexis Tsipras - The Australian
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his supporters during a 'No' campaign rally.
Source: Getty Images
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says his debt-laden country is determined to decide its own
"destiny" in the eurozone as citizens voted in the snap referendum he called.
"No one can ignore the message of determination of a people taking its destiny in its own hands," he
said yesterday after casting his ballot in Athens.
The tight referendum will decide whether Greece accepts worsening austerity in exchange for more
bailout funds, or rejects it in a gamble that could see it crash out of the euro. Polling stations were
open across the nation of 11 million people -- on far-flung Aegean islands, in the shadow of the 2400-
year-old Parthenon in Athens, to the northern border shared with Bulgaria.
The EU and international investors were intently watching the poll, which was the biggest challenge
to the European single currency since it came into being in 1999 and was adopted by Greece two
years later.
Polls suggested the "yes" and "no" camps were neck-and-neck.
Mr Tsipras insisted a "no" victory would strengthen his hand in negotiations with the country's
international creditors. But EU leaders say it would effectively be a vote to leave the 19-nation
eurozone, a so-called "Grexit".
Flamboyant Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis accused Athens's creditors of "terrorism" for trying to
sow fear around the vote. He has pointed out that no legal mechanism exists to force Greece out of
what is meant to be an "irreversible" monetary union.
As the sun rose in a clear summer sky yesterday, young and old were already queuing to have their
say in schools and university buildings transformed into polling stations.
Teacher Dimitris Halatsis said it was "a crucial day" and he was voting "no" because "it's the only
2. chance the government and Greece have to apply pressure" on the creditors.
Michelis, an 80-year-old who was first through the doors of an elementary school being used for the
vote on Skoufa Street in central Athens, said he was voting with the "no" camp, "because they'll take
us more seriously".
In a room hung with children's drawings and maps, he said that he was "not voting for myself, but
for my grandchildren" and their future.
Theodora, 61, a retired journalist, said she was voting "yes" because "it's a 'yes' to the European
Union".
Mr Tsipras, 40, a radical leftist who came to power in January, has staked his political career on the
plebiscite.
His bombshell decision last week to put the issue to a referendum stunned international creditors,
who accused him of ruining five months of intense bailout negotiations.
In the largely middle-class Pangrati neighbourhood, voter turnout was high, with even the very
elderly making their way determinedly up a flight of 40 steps to reach polling booths set up inside a
school.
Summing up the uncertainty felt by many Greeks, 56-year-old Katerina had still not made up her
mind which way to vote, even as she collected her ballot. "It is very confusing, it's very hard, not at
all easy to decide," she said, admitting she had voted for Mr Tsipras but was disappointed with his
failure to strike a deal with the country's creditors.
Greece was officially declared in default on Friday by the European Financial Stability Facility,
which holds EUR144.6 billion ($213bn) of Greek loans, days after becoming the first developed
country to miss a EUR1.5bn debt payment to the IMF.
AFP
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=au&usg=AFQjCNHQvrPoPMqKzaL9SxUXVUAQV
_V9bg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778894022955&ei=lEqZVcD_FMnm1gb
ryLvIAQ&url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/greek-referendum-will-decide-desti-
y-in-eurozone-says-alexis-tsipras/story-e6frg6so-1227429559787
