Independent Greeks Take Troika to the International Criminal Court

On Jan. 16, an MP from the opposition Independent Greeks party filed an indictment at the International Criminal Court against Paul Thomsen of the International Monetary Fund, Mathias Morse of the European Union and Klaus Mazouch, of the European Central Bank The indictment charges that the measures imposed on Greece by the accused have led to 3.500 suicides, a massive increase in unemployment with over 1.5 million jobs lost, the closing of thousands of businesses, destruction of the well-being of families and a deep recession.

These measures, they charge, violate the Charter of  fundamental Rights of the EU, on the “protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”, and its proclamation that “Everyone has the right to life”. They also violate both the Greek Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. In a similar move, Yiannis Panagopoulos President of the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE), announced his organisation will file an appeal against the Troika’s brutal austerity measures with the European Court of Human Rights.

During the same week, the Medical Associations of Portugal, Greece, Spain and Ireland issued an “Open Letter to Political Leaders and Health Authorities of Europe,” decrying the disastrous effects of the austerity policies imposed by the Troika on the health and lives of the people of their nations. The statement charges the EC, the ECB, the IMF and national governments with failure to take into due account the effects of their social measures on national health systems, and calls for a rapid reversion of those decisions.

The unprecedented appeal begs the urgency of a Glass-Steagall reform to reverse such financial policies which are killing people, and for the immediate implementation of the LaRouche program for an “Economic Miracle in Southern Europe, The Mediterranean Region and Africa.”