IceSave

Cette semaine, on a vu deux réactions très différentes à la dette européenne. A un bout de l’Europe, les électeurs islandais ont une nouvelle fois décidé de ne pas accepter les conditions de paiement de leurs « créanciers », les gouvernements britannique et néerlandais, à la suite de l’effondrement des banques islandaises en 2008. A l’autre bout, le Portugal est poussé dans la voie de la thérapie de choc par l’Union Européenne, et son peuple est écarté d’un processus qui changera sa vie de façon dramatique.

In his April 8 article headlined, "The Economic Crisis in Iceland: 'IMF Medicine' is not the Solution," Michael Hudson asked:

"Will Iceland Vote 'No' on April 9, or commit financial suicide," their choice being:

Reject debt bondage or "subject their economy to decades of poverty, bankruptcy and emigration of their work force."

Attac á Íslandi óskar þjóðinni til hamingju með þjóðaratkvæðagreiðsluna um Icesave á morgun. Með því að krefjast þess að greidd verði atkvæði um Icesave hefur almenningur sent þau skilaboð bæði til stjórnvalda á Íslandi og til umheimsins að hann borgi ekki þegjandi og hljóðalaust skuldir einkabanka. Íslenska þjóðin hefur sýnt að hún samþykkir ekki umyrðalaust að stjórnvöld þjóðnýti tap fjárglæframanna og sendi almenningi rekninginn.

Saturday's referendum is a chance for Icelanders to strike at the conspiracy that leaves us all bailing out financiers

On Saturday the Icelandic people vote in a referendum on whether the Icelandic state and thus the citizens should guarantee the so-called Icesave claim. Icesave was a bank deposit account that promised market-leading interest rates. When the bank failed, the question arose if the Icelandic depositors' guarantee fund - a private institution financed by the banks - should have taxpayer backing. Instead of letting depositors lose their money or even wait for compensation from the bankruptcy estate, the governments of the UK and Netherlands (where the Icesave products where marketed) decided to reimburse depositors from their own countries. The reimbursement included the full principal, while the recklessly high-interest profits of the risk-seeking depositors were thrown in as a bonus.

A copy of the following letter has been sent by a small Icelandic group campaigning in advance of theforthcoming referendum on the terms of the Icesave deal with Britain and the Netherlands to several officials within the EU and EFTA as well as to the ministeries of Britain, Holland and Iceland to whom this case belongs. The letter has also been sent to several European newsmedia.

Reykjavik 18.03.2011

Mr Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Council
European Council
Rue de la Loi 175
B-1048 Brussels
Belgium

Dear Mr Van Rompuy