Greeks reel in shock as banks shut down
TROIKA PUTS BLAME FOR THE CRISIS SQUARELY ON TSIPRAS
Greeks woke up to shuttered banks, closed cash machines and a climate of rumours and conspiracy theories yesterday as a breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors pushed the austeritybattered country to the brink.
After receiving no extra emergency funding for Greek lenders from the European Central Bank, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reluctantly imposed capital controls on Sunday night to prevent banks from collapsing under the weight of mass withdrawals.
Greece has less than 48 hours to pay back €1.6 billion (Dh6.5 billion) of International Monetary Fund loans, and a default would set in train events that could lead to the country’s eventual exit from the euro.
But after Tsipras angered Greece’s international lenders by announcing a snap referendum on the terms of a cash-for-reforms deal, hopes of a last-minute breakthrough are fading fast.
“I can’t believe it,” said Athens resident Evgenia Gekou, 50, on her way to work. “I keep thinking we will wake up tomorrow and everything will be OK. I’m trying hard not to worry.” The government will keep banks shut at least until after July 5, the date of the referendum, and withdrawals from automated teller machines — which were shut yesterday — will be limited to €60 a day
Tsipras has called on Greeks to reject Troika ultimatum with “NO”.
Says leaving eurozone would be better than continuing with austerity programme indefinitely when they reopen today.
After months of wrangling, Greece’s exasperated European partners have put the blame for the crisis squarely on Tsipras’s shoulders. The creditors wanted Greece to cut pensions and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst economic crises of modern times.
As Tsipras
announced
the
Banks closed for next six days.
ATM withdrawals limited to €60 per day per account
JUNE Greek bailout programme expires at midnight.
€1.6b repayment to IMF falls due – Greece becomes first developed country in history to default on IMF debt
“YES”
Syriza-led government likely to be replaced with national
unity coalition.
Greece will then have to negotiate new bailout deal in order to pay €240b still owed to Troika emergency measures late on Sunday, there were long queues outside ATMs and petrol stations as people raced to take out cash before it was too late.
“I’ve got €5 in my pocket, I thought I would try my luck here for some money,” said plumber Yannis Kalaizakis, 58, outside an empty cash machine in central Athens yesterday.