The looting of Cyprus – The left wing goes silent
During the Eurogroup meeting on 15th March, Cyprus was presented a ”rescue package” for its economy. At the first level, Cyprus should deduct 6,75% from all bank accounts up to 100,000 EUR and 9,9% from accounts over 100,000 EUR. Parallel to this, the so called TROJKA (IMF, Central European Bank and EU Commission), have prepared the usual beam of German inspired measures as we have seen in other south European countries, including generous reductions in the public budgets, minimal salaries and pensions, privatisation of public property etc.
The deduction of bank accounts is being proven for first time and puts in question the guarantee provided by the EU Commission for balances up to 100,000 EUR. The Cypriot politicians analysed this as a measure that would cause massive money withdrawals and immediate collapse of their Banks which would bring their economy to a disastrous situation. Then the TROJKA measures would give the final shot to the country for the next decades.
On 19 March, the Cypriot Parliament rejected the German inspired ”rescue package” and now Cyprus is trying to find alternative solutions with financial sources outside the EU and IMF. It is notable that no member of the Cypriot Parliament voted for the package.
Germany and controlled media (also in Denmark) have used as explanation for the proposed ”rescue package”, the unreasonable size of the Bank sector in Cyprus and the relaxed tax and control system that allows large deposits of money to the Cypriot banks from questionable sources. Corruption was then used as the final argument that would sanctify the EU/IMF intervention. What they forgot to add is that such tax paradises can be found also elsewhere: Luxembourg, Malta, British islands, Switzerland where corrupted Europeans can deposit safely their earnings from bribes. But is seems that for the German controlled EU Commission, these are acceptable recipients of dodgy money, not to menhtion that irregularities in the banking system is one of the core elements in the so called “free-market economy”.
They also forgot to mention the geopolitical importance Cyprus has for the northern Europeans; Cyprus is in front of the next phase of the exploitation of the large deposits of natural gas that have been identified in its territory recently. Destabilising the Cypriot economy and imposing IMF and German inspired austerity, it would be easy to loot this wealth together with other public wealth and their bank liquidity. During the last 2 days, more and more evidence appear in the Cypriot press that Banks in Germany and Malta provide attractive terms to the clients of Cypriot Banks to transfer their money to their ”secure” banks.
By rejecting the ”rescue package”, the Cypriot Parliament created a historic event of denial for the first time in Eurozone against the German domination and austerity policies that has sent millions of Europeans to misery, unemployment, poverty, sickness and death. It is for the first time recorded that a Member of the Eurozone denies to become a rogue state. It is very interesting to see how the situation will develop the next days and how much Cypriots are able to find alternative solutions to their problems.
What is astonishing, is the silence of the left wing in Denmark and other European countries. Core European values that the left wing has been supporting, such as solidarity, protection of labour policies and secured social services, are once again being set on serious dispute, this time in Cyprus. However there is a difference. Considering the size of the country and the fact that half of its territory is under occupation by a foreign imperialistic force, we can say that Cyprus fights back under extremely harsh terms and our silence is a disgrace.
