BINTEO ΝΤΟΚΟΥΜΕΝΤΟ – «Σαμαρά Παραιτήσου, Τρόικα Ξεκουμπήσου»: Άγριο κράξιμο στις Βρυξέλλες! Protest at Greek presidency’s inauguration – Brussels 2014 .

Περίπου 100 άτομα συμμετείχαν σε συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας έξω από την πρώτη δημόσια εκδήλωση της ελληνικής προεδρίας στις Βρυξέλλες. Οι Έλληνες και Βέλγοι συγκεντρωμένοι κατήγγειλαν τις βάρβαρες πολιτικές λιτότητας της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης και της ΕΕ.

Με ανακοινωμένη τη συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας εδώ κι ένα μήνα, κανείς υπουργός της κυβέρνησης δε τόλμησε να εμφανιστεί μπροστά σε ένα κοινό 2,000 διπλωματών, αξιωματούχων της ΕΕ και άλλων επισήμων. Το χαιρετισμό πριν από το προγραμματισμένο κονσέρτο απεύθυνε ο πρέσβης Κωνσταντίνος Χαλαστάνης. Ακτιβιστές τον διέκοψαν και σήκωσαν πανό που έγραφε στα γαλλικά: «Σαμαράς Εγκληματίας- ΕΕ συνένοχη-Τρόικα ξεκουμπίσου! Αλληλεγγύη με την Ελλάδα». Φώναξαν συνθήματα που ζητούσαν την άμεση παραίτηση της κυβέρνησης. 

Hard at Work at the European Parliament in Brussels

 HARD AT WORK AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS

Parliament, MPs, the President of Greece: The Trinity of Shame Foreign Headlines Exalt

(William Hogarth’s The Orgy)

Members of Parliament in Greece are continuing the farce they call austerity measures, aka cutbacks. At a time when Greeks are called upon to pay property tax for the third time (they already pay two on a bi-monthly basis) with a further three announced this year, when civil servant income has been lowered (often rightly so in some cases) and pensioners who receive €550 a month are subjected to a further decrease in a pension that will not enable them to pay rent, medication or fuel for central heating this winter, MPs seem to live in a world of their own.

Backed by fervent support from the media nationally and internationally which has given rise to the image of the Greek who refuses to fess up to tax evasion all these years and pay the price, Parliament has passed the new budget for 2012 which hardly touches MPs’ salaries. Although slight pay cuts – which were proportionately insignificant in relation to the cuts average citizens suffered – were effected in 2011, that is where things stayed for 2012. In fact, the precise state of affairs is shocking. While the world lauds the government for its efforts to restitute Greece’s image by cutting salaries, wages, pensions, subsidies and perks in a country that never had a welfare system that worked, Greeks are protesting because they know better.

Last year’s MP expense budget covered:

a) compensation: Yes, compensation as they call it, because what they are doing is a favor to all  Greeks, that is why they need to be compensated rather than receive a salary like those lucky enough to hold