Revolution in Iceland gets no Coverage in Western Media

Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt.  The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.
As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here’s why:
Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatized, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many English and Dutch small investors.  But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt.  In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent.  The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalized, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro.  At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.
Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution.  But only after much pain.
Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures.  The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.
Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros.  This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.
What happened next was extraordinary. The belief that citizens had to pay for the mistakes of a financial monopoly, that an entire nation must be taxed to pay off private debts was shattered, transforming the relationship between citizens and their political institutions and eventually driving Iceland’s leaders to the side of their constituents. The Head of State, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, refused to ratify the law that would have made Iceland’s citizens responsible for its bankers’ debts, and accepted calls for a referendum.
Of course the international community only increased the pressure on Iceland. Great Britain and Holland threatened dire reprisals that would isolate the country.  As Icelanders went to vote, foreign bankers threatened to block any aid from the IMF.  The British government threatened to freeze Icelander savings and checking accounts. As Grimsson said: “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North.  But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.” (How many times have I written that when Cubans see the dire state of their neighbor, Haiti, they count themselves lucky.)
In the March 2010 referendum, 93% voted against repayment of the debt.  The IMF immediately froze its loan.  But the revolution (though not televised in the United States), would not be intimidated. With the support of a furious citizenry, the government launched civil and penal investigations into those responsible for the financial crisis.  Interpol put out an international arrest warrant for the ex-president of Kaupthing, Sigurdur Einarsson, as the other bankers implicated in the crash fled the country.
But Icelanders didn’t stop there: they decided to draft a new constitution that would free the country from the exaggerated power of international finance and virtual money.  (The one in use had been written when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark, in 1918, the only difference with the Danish constitution being that the word ‘president’ replaced the word ‘king’.)
To write the new constitution, the people of Iceland elected twenty-five citizens from among 522 adults not belonging to any political party but recommended by at least thirty citizens. This document was not the work of a handful of politicians, but was written on the internet. The constituent’s meetings are streamed on-line, and citizens can send their comments and suggestions, witnessing the document as it takes shape. The constitution that eventually emerges from this participatory democratic process will be submitted to parliament for approval after the next elections.
Some readers will remember that Iceland’s ninth century agrarian collapse was featured in Jared Diamond’s book by the same name. Today, that country is recovering from its financial collapse in ways just the opposite of those generally considered unavoidable. The people of Greece have been told that the privatization of their public sector is the only solution.  And those of Italy, Spain and Portugal are facing the same threat.
They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign.
That’s why it is not in the news anymore.

 http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/icelands-revolution-against-globalist-banksters/

Greece Debt Crisis Trigger Bond Swap

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The agency that oversees financial derivatives says a massive debt relief deal for Greece constitutes a so-called credit event, meaning it will trigger payouts on bond insurance.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association said Friday that its determinations committee "resolved unanimously that a Restructuring Credit Event has occurred with respect to The Hellenic Republic."
That means holders of credit default swaps on Greek bonds will be able to claim insurance payments as a result of Greece's decision to force its debt holders into a bond swap.
There had been fears that the payout of such insurance could spark a cascade of losses for banks and other important investment funds.
But ISDA has said that overall payouts on CDS linked to Greek bonds will be less than $3.2 billion, relieving fears that they could fell a big financial firm.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's private creditors agreed Friday to take cents on the euro in the biggest debt writedown in history, paving the way for an enormous second bailout to keep the Europe's economy from being dragged further into chaos.
Greece would have risked defaulting on its debts in two weeks without the agreement, sparking turmoil in the financial markets and sending shock waves through the other 16 countries that use the euro.
Prime Minister Lucas Papdemos called the deal an important "historic success" in a televised address to the nation Friday night. "For the first time, Greece is not adding but taking debt off the backs of its citizens."
The country said 83.5 percent of private investors holding its government debt had agreed to a bond swap, taking a cut in more than half the face value of their investments with softer repayment terms for Greece. The radical swap aimed to put the country's debt-ridden economy on the road to recovery, and was a key condition to secure a
euro130 billion ($172 billion) rescue package from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Charles Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance, which negotiated the deal with the Greek government on large investors' behalf, described the bond swap as "the largest ever" restructuring.
"This has been painful and the pain is not over yet. But I now cam see light at the end of the tunnel for the Greek economy," Dallara told Greece's Mega television. He estimated Greece could return to the markets "within a few years" and said that if recovery continues, "I think the risk for Greece and the risk on the eurozone will be very manageable."
The Fitch ratings agency downgraded Greece to "restricted default" over the bond swap — a move that had been expected. Fitch was the third agency to downgrade Greece into default, after Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The agencies are expected to raise the country's credit rating after the completion of the swap.
Of the investors holding the euro177 billion ($234 billion) in bonds governed by Greek law, 85.8 percent joined. The deadline for those holding foreign-law bonds was extended to March 23.
Creditors holding Greek-law bonds who refused to sign up will be forced into the deal; the Cabinet approved the activation of legislation known as "collective action clauses" on Friday.
Finance ministers from the 17-nation eurozone said Greece had fulfilled the conditions to get approval for the bailout next week. The IMF has set a tentative date of March 15 to discuss the size of its participation.
The ministers, who discussed the issue in a conference call Friday, also released up to euro35.5 billion ($47 billion) in bailout money to fund the debt swap. Investors exchanging bonds will receive up to euro30 billion — or 15 percent of the remaining money they are owed — as a sweetener for the deal and euro5.5 billion for outstanding interest payments.
European leaders hailed the deal as a seminal moment in their effort to stem the crisis and get Greece on its feet.
"The page of the financial crisis is being turned," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
And Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament Friday: "I believe everyone will soon realize that this is the only way to keep the country on its feet and give it a second historic chance that it needs."
"A window of opportunity is opening" to reduce the country's euro368 billion debt by euro105 billion, or about 50 percentage points of gross domestic product, he said.
However, some economists are concerned that Greece is merely buying time. The breather allows European governments and banks to strengthen their financial defenses, leaving them less vulnerable if Greece eventually cracks.
The deal and expected bailout do "more to protect Europe from Greece than for Greece itself," said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Europe also has to contend with spiraling debt problems of Spain, Portugal and Ireland and Italy.
Markets, which had rallied on Thursday on expectations of a successful deal, were muted on Friday. The Stoxx 50 of leading European shares was up 0.6 percent, but the main stock index in Athens closed down 2.15 percent. The euro retreated 1.19 percent from recent highs to $1.3110.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association was meeting to determine whether the bond swap would be deemed a so-called "credit event" — a technical default — which would trigger the payment of credit default swaps, which is essentially insurance against a default.
When the debt relief plan was first announced last year, eurozone leaders and the European Central Bank worked hard to avoid a credit event because they feared the a payout of credit default swaps could destabilize big financial institutions that sold them.
However, since then a credit default swap payout has started to look less threatening. The ISDA, a private organization that rules on credit events, said that if triggered, overall payouts on CDS linked to Greece will be below $3.2 billion.
On the streets of Athens, however, many were skeptical about the deal and pessimistic about the future. Panayiotis Theodoropoulos said the writedown was good "for them."
"For us? Nothing. Everyone looks out for themselves. In a while the people will be living on the streets," he said.
The debt crisis, sparked by years of overspending and waste, has left Greece relying on funds from international rescue loans since May 2010. Austerity measures including repeated salary and pension cuts and tax hikes have led to record unemployment with more than 1 million people out of work, a fifth of the labor force.
The country released statistics Friday showing the recession in the last quarter of 2011 was deeper than initially forecast, reaching 7.5 percent instead of 7 percent. The economy is expected to shrink for a fifth straight year in 2012, stagnate in 2013 and modestly expand in 2014.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/greek-debt-relief-trigger-bond-195614560.html