Yiannis Lagos: The government is responsible for the referendum at the point of a gun

Below is a translation of Golden Dawn MP, Yiannis Lagos, addressing the Greek parliament regarding Syriza's handling (or lack there of) of the bailout 'talks'.

0.19 If you’ll excuse me from commenting on the Bill: our representative has already referred to it. I believe that we have an extra reason to speak, since in this Democracy that we live in, no Member of Parliament of Golden Dawn has been invited - nor will be invited - to participate in any television or radio discussion or be interviewed by any newspaper; to explain what we are voting for and why, what we agree with and what we disagree with.


0.46 Well, the view of Golden Dawn has been set in stone many years ago, specifically that there must be referendums for the pressing and significant issues of our Fatherland. These referendums should not be voted for and considered when the sitting government is in a difficult position, and wants to shift the blame and avoid responsibility. They should be undertaken when the sitting government has decided to proceed with a course of action but the majority of the people-or a large percentage of it- disagrees. In this light, we can’t have a referendum on the memorandum without having one on the law regarding the “indigenisation” of non-Greek people. Who here can judge which is a more worthy topic for a referendum? One is a legal issue that affects our country and puts us in a difficult positon, which we all agree with but the other is also a very serious and significant issue that will determine the events in Greece for the years to come. We as Golden Dawn believe that there should be referendums for all the important issues: not only once in forty years when the situation has become very difficult.


2.00 We say “NO” in Golden Dawn, of course we say “NO” to the process and continuation of the memorandum, of course we say “NO” to the bravado of the EU at our expense, we don’t accept it at all. We are proud Greeks and want to respond to it. Yet the government is obliged to explain to the citizens of Greece, what will happen afterwards. What will happen on the Monday, if the result is either in favour of or against the proposal? If the Greek citizen votes “NO”, does he know what will happen on Monday? If he doesn’t know, I’m afraid that the consequences will be dire and unfortunately tragic for Greece. However if someone is aware that they will have to pass some difficulties, certain specific conditions then he’ll vote with all his heart. He’ll be making an informed decision and he’ll contend with the consequences of the decision for a certain amount of time. You as a government should examine it- and say “that for the following months, the next year, I don’t know how long, we’ll have to contend with this or that.” So that the Greek citizen knows what’s going on. If this doesn’t occur, if he votes “no” the consequences will hit like a tsunami and you should remember this.


3.19 For all this time that Greece has been in the memorandum, since that cursed day that they put us “into” the memorandum, all this time including your time as a government, these five or six months that you’ve been governing, we should have been buying time. Buying time and playing the game of the Europeans, in order to prepare for a possible scenario like the present one where we face exiting the European Union so that we would be self sufficient. This would mean that as a nation, as a race we would not starve to death, that we would have some means of supporting our survival for a certain amount of time. I’m very worried that this has not happened. I’m not worried, I’m absolutely certain. These are the disadvantages of the situation.


4.09 Another mistake of the government, is that it is holding the referendum at the last minute: why should it be held now? Why should it be held on the 5th of July when even though we don’t want to continue with the memorandum program, we ask our creditors for one more week’s extension? Why? We should have done this a little earlier, progressed calmly and smoothly to a referendum, so that the Greek citizens would not be terrorized, so that their decision would not be taken with a gun pointed to their heads. Unfortunately, the decision that they’ll make now is with a gun pointed to their heads.


4.43 We are hearing, during the course of this debate over the past five or six days within the Parliament and outside it, questions like “How did Greece get to this point”, “the situation is not good”, “why did these things happen?” and other questions of this nature. What they didn’t ask or discuss however is “Who brought Greece to this point?"

“How did we get here?” The question of “how did we get here” is very well understood by all in this parliament I think. The people who led Greece, who took the wealth of the Greek citizens, those who dismantled everything are the people who were sitting in here, inside Parliament, in these seats. Here, the Hellenic Parliament is where they sat. “Honourable” Parliamentarians, “Honourable” Ministers, supposedly “honourable” members of Greek society: who looted everything. Who with the understanding of their European leader friends, stole the grants, stole the money, distributed it to their friends and disgraced Greece. They reduced the average Greek citizen to the point that they have to take a loan from a bank to go on holidays.

5.51 All these things didn’t happen by magic. Of course the Greek people had a part in it, of course the Greek people should have reacted differently. However when their own government encouraged them to bet on the Stock Exchange; when the Greek government encouraged them to apply for a bank loan for simple things like going on holidays or buying a car, then we know who has the largest share of the responsibility. I haven’t heard anyone say this however. Why not, you’re the government now, find the guilty parties, it’s very easy for you.

Bring back at least SOME of the stolen money. Bring back some of the money that even some of the senior members of Syriza, have deposited into foreign bank accounts. Tens of millions of euros. The Parliamentarians of Syriza should bring these monies back to Greece, deposit them into Greek banks and make a new beginning. Then the Greek citizens could say “Yes, here we have a new beginning, and we will try to continue on” In this way, everyone would have accepted a new beginning. Not the way it is happening now however, where those with money take it overseas, so they’re safe and don’t have to worry about what might happen in Greece while the Greek pensioner who runs to the bank to get their monthly pension of 500 euros will be made to suffer. This is something that no-one wants to see. Yet that is why I repeat, those responsible who sit within the Parliament today and those who used to sit here, must be held to account for their actions.

7.08 It’s a truly shocking shamelessness, really, I’d say it’s actually quite disgusting, that New Democracy and PASOK should come here and criticise, those vultures, those vampires, that for forty years drank the blood of the Greek people. We hear now the leaders of New Democracy and PASOK on all the TV channels, asking “what is going on?” and giving lectures on top of it all: Who? Those people? Shame on them, really, shame on them because of their actions they have demolished Greece. Shame on them, truly, because of their actions people are leaping from their balconies and dying. Shame on them, because of their actions elderly people are searching through rubbish bins to find food. But they don’t care, where they live they see other things. But now it’s unbelievable, for Samaras and Venizelos to come here and ask “who is to blame that Greece has reached this point?” We put this question to them “Who is to blame that Greece has reached this point?” However, you as Syriza are indeed weak because all this time you have not brought them to face their actions, you haven’t called them to explain themselves and from what we gather up until this point in time, you don’t have any inclination to do so. Simply, you are starting a discussion about “how will Greece be saved”. Well Greece has passed through other tremendously difficult situations, the greek citizen doesn’t easily surrender. We will encounter some difficult situations but Greece will survive once again. Thank you.