After five months of intense talks and tough negotiations between Greece and its creditor partners (EC, ECB, IMF) to break the deadlock over an agreement for the release of bailout funds, on Thursday, June 25, Greek democracy and the Greek people were presented with a proposal-ultimatum. The Greek Government, in accordance with its recent electoral mandate and Greece’s long standing democratic traditions, decided to call for a referendum on Sunday, July 5, 2015 so that the Greek people can decide on whether the creditors’ proposals should be accepted or not.
Addressing the Greek people in a televised statement, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that proposal-ultimatum “contravened the founding principles and values of Europe”. If accepted, these proposals would “add to the already unbearable burden shouldered by the Greek people, further undermining economic and social recovery as well as exacerbating social inequalities” and are “far-removed from any prospect of a beneficial agreement for all parties”.
