Επιστολή της Εστίας Πατερικών Μελετών σε ευρωβουλευτές. (5/3/2012 στά Αγγλικά)

Association of Patristic Studies

Non-governmental organization

V. Ipirou 47, Maroussi

GREECE

Tel. 00302108025211

Maroussi, 05-03-2012

        Dear members of the European Parliament,

        Accept my greetings!

     As Orthodox priests of the Greek church as Greek citizens, as members of the Association of Patristic Studies and as equal members of the European Union, we are making an appeal to your honesty in these difficult times for our country Greece, for our children, our grandchildren and the future of this country.

     You certainly know the unaffordable pressure that the citizens of our country are undergoing by creditors, International Monetary Fund and the other bodies of the European Union. 

Cuts have been done to salaries and pensions along with layoffs and reserves in the public sector with the same tendency in the private one. One million and a half are the fired in the private sector. We are confronting the break down and the shrinking of the public administration, of Social Security, which was paid with great effort by each one of us for years, the shrinking of health care and the break down of the health security system, the detachment of educational programs of all levels from our long Greek-orthodox tradition, the withdrawal of school books allegedly because of the crisis. Hunger, misery, inability to pay off the installments and ejection of citizens from their houses after auctions.

     Wealthy citizens have turned into homeless, which are constantly multiplying, since the admirable collusion of the IMF, the EU and the governors is preparing for us new cuts and taxes beyond the unsupportable ones that preceded.

     The behavior of some partners against our people is unprecedented for the European measures. The intrusive German government has taken charge of all the anti-popular and inhuman measures against our already poor citizens. Unfortunately, the Greek government is absolutely consistent with the economic oppression of our people and its extermination, with measures that neither lead to regulation of the Greek economy, nor bring new sources of funds to payoff the installments to our creditors.

     You certainly know that our debt was by far smaller than the new one. It grew by two thirds, so that the interference of the IMF could be justified.

     The worst of all the anti-popular measures are the two loan agreements that perhaps you know better than us. On Friday, February 10^th 2012, 500 000 citizens reacted vigorously with peaceful though dynamic behavior and lively slogans against the two loathsome loan agreements. Unfortunately, despite the reaction of the people, the government voted for the second loan agreement which is automatically validating the first one. The dictatorship of the authorities was manifested with insolence and in all its glory in this country, where, as you all know, the democracy was born, flourished, strengthened and spread over the whole Europe. The Greek civilization, which you all know very well, was flourished and spread along with it.

     With your personal and national experience, You, each one of the nations of Europe, have appreciated, assimilated and developed the rich Greek civilization and the luminous democracy that have been both consolidated in whole the European community until today.

     What did interfere and the behavior of some of you changed against the cradle of civilization and democracy, practically against Greece? Why is there so much oppression and hostility against Greece?

     All you, who have a position in the higher democratic body of the EU, you do know which is the root cause of the manufactured crisis, the strength of the economic war launched by economic killers against Greece and the oppression of its citizens. Why should whole generations of our children and grandchildren be condemned to general squalor?

     How could the European Parliament not react to the illegal and inhuman war that is going on against one of its members?

     Certainly, it is known that the economic crisis is inflicting other European countries too, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and perhaps others. However, they are not experiencing the same rough polemic as Greece is. Is it possible that the highest European authority of the European Parliament to sanction and validate, without being asked, a loan Agreement that was signed on May 2010 only by G. Papandreou and the Finance minister Mr. Papaconstantinou with irreversible terms for Greece? Such an Agreement could only be signed by mistake in a country of the Third World.

     I would like you to know, that many organizations in Greece react vigorously, so that the two signatures mentioned above, which validate the conviction of Greece, would not be in force. We are also wondering, how our 192 “members of Parliament” could sign the subjugation of generations of Greeks for such a long time. Will the European Parliament stay mute and silent while the new Greek state-member of the European Union is being slaughtered?

     If you don’t react now, in time, you should know, and probably you have already realised that the contagious disease, which is called dictatorship, economic crisis and sordidness will become general, and us, the European citizens, will not even notice how all the European community will fall into sordidness.

     You know well from the history, that we, as the Greek nation, have succeeded sooner or later to beat off many occupiers. Even the dictatorship of Metaxas in 1940 did not leave the Greece unprotected. They did not agree to surrender to the enemies. The legendary “NO”, pronounced back then, remains always in our DNA and along with the almighty Orthodox Christian faith, constitutes the characteristic of the Greek character. Neither the Junta, nor the Turkish yoke discouraged us.

     The Greek nation is not willing to yield to the loan agreement, which is illegal, according to the international law, and opponent to the Greek Constitution, this creation of the Greek soul, civilization and the orthodox faith.

     Dear members of the European Parliament,

     Most of you represent Christian states and parties. As a result, you have sensitive human and democratic conscience. Will you leave a part of the Christian world that you represent, in the brutal benefit and the claws of our creditors?

     As Orthodox Greek citizens and as members of the Association of Patristic Studies, we are not monophysites. We do not disregard the human nature and everything that has to do with it.

     Since Christ received the entire created human nature and everything that had to do with it, and is keeping in the Heavens eternally this human nature, as citizens of this nation, we are concerned about this small, though great in history and civilization country. Since we show interest for our homeland, it is obvious that we show the correct interest too for our greater country - Europe.

     If we don’t fight vigorously and according to the will of God for our country and our Greek brothers, how are we going to be really interested in the existing European problems, which are very serious in Europe today?

     Please don’t forget that the Greek land is covered by sweat and blood of thousands of heroes and martyrs, who did not simply got lost, but live in glory in the eternal life with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. They will not abandon us. They will help us with superior God-man powers.

     But we, as well, will activate all our powers – spiritual, psychic and physical ones - so that blessed by Lord we could contribute to cancel the horrible loan agreements.

     We should be set free, as a creative and dynamic nation, to continue our glorious history, for our own good and for the good of our big country, Europe. The Greek people should express its will by electing its governors with legal and normal procedures.

     As Christians, we believe that we will answer for all our life, our actions and our failures in front of God. We will also have to give an answer if we leave our country unprotected and pass on to our descendants ashes and ruins, as it is set by the loan agreements.

     If some of you, for any reason, do not take into account God, we make an appeal to your common sense and humanism and ask for your practical help, for the sake of Europe that you serve and for one of its state members that is suffering now.

     Serious economic and legal studies, published not only by Greek, but also by European scientists, show that the Greek debt is invalid, disgraceful and illegal. According to the Greek Constitution and the Treaty of Lisbon, the Greek community can not be charged with such a fake odious debt.

     Besides, all these 10 years that Euro was being used, the big European countries got an inconceivable economic profit from the installation of multinational companies, while the smaller ones were sapped and shrinked.

     Why all these laws and Conventions, established by the official administrative bodies of the European Union, aren't put into practice only for Greece?

     We humbly believe that through legal procedures, you should ask from the President of the European Parliament to bring up for discussion the topic of the suffering Greek nation.

     In some way, all members should get to know and realize that citizens of the European Union are getting punished strictly and illegally, against the European Conventions on human rights, the Greek and the European Constitutions.

     The European Parliament has the obligation to restore the injustice against the European citizens who are obviously not protected by their governors.

     The goods like employment, education, defense, religion, human rights, health, health care and the basic needs of shelter, clothes and food should not miss from Greek citizens, as they don't miss from any other citizen of the European Union.

     The European Parliament should put pressure on the Greek governors to obtain a better debt regulation from the banks, so that no Greek citizen would loose their house.

     Since there are more and more humanitarian voices in favor of the Greek people, the European Parliament should be encouraged to ask for rescission of the loan agreements, as opposing to the European law and the Conventions that have been conceived at times by it.

     The great injustice against the Greek citizens will give the chance for bad and unfair treatment of citizens from other state- members using similar pretexts and debilitating practices.

     The European Union will prove to be untrustworthy and unreliable, if it will not be able to defend its most ancient state- member, but mostly the lives and the destinies of its citizens.

                                                                    Οn behalf of the

Association of Patristic Studies

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                   Father Sarantis Sarantos