The International Monetary Fund and European Union have unwittingly made an enemy of the largest police union in Greece. The Federation of Greek Police has stated that it intends to arrest those officials in its jurisdiction for the austerity demands they have placed on the country.
This demonstration is mostly a means of explaining to the officials that they are deeply angered by the number of cuts they have been forced to make as Greece attempts to negotiate the new bailout packages. According to a letter that the Federation of Greek Police sent to Reuters on Friday, they have accused the IMF and the EU of a number of heinous crimes including:
- Extortion
- Abolishing democracy
- Threatening national sovereignty
These charges demonstrate that the Greek police are among those that are highly dissatisfied with the new terms of the bailout. However, the police may just be blowing smoke and venting their frustrations. They clearly realize that the charges will need to be signed by a judge before they can lead to any arrests.
Nevertheless, the sentiments of the Greek people are clearly being voiced by some of the most influential groups in the country. The prime minister has been doing everything in his power to ask for more favorable terms as he tries to get new bailout packages for his country. He clearly understands the need to austerity measures, but doesn’t want to take them to the extremes that would lead Greece even deeper into a depression. However, the demands being instituted by the IMF and EU currently suggest that the country will be in even worse financial shape.
However, the IMF, EU and private banks are unlikely to give Greece much more rope. They have already been spending considerable amounts of money to try to save Greece from the possibility of a financial collapse. However, their efforts thus far have not yielded the results they’ve been hoping for and are forced to look even harder at Greece as the country’s crisis continues to spiral out of control.
While the position of the IMF and EU is understood by most people, so is the position of the police. As the riots over the austerity packages have been implemented in previous months, the police were the ones who had to face the brunt of the protesters anger. They would like to return Greece to a more stable and peaceful society. However, the proposal they sent to the European Central Bank may not be a realistic solution and may discourage future aid.
