‘IMF chief tries to humiliate Greeks’

“Nobody can humiliate the Greek people during the crisis, and I say this today addressing specifically Ms. Lagarde… who with her stance insulted the Greek people,” PASOK leader, Evangelos Venizelos said on Saturday.

On Friday, Lagarde urged Greeks to “help themselves collectively” by paying their taxes, saying she was more concerned about the Africans in poverty than the Greeks hit by the economic crisis.

“… As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time,” the IMF chief said.

Lagarde’s remarks drew thousands of comments on her Face book page, mostly from angry Greeks.

On Saturday, Lagarde was forced to retract her remarks by saying her comments regarding tax evasion were in reference to the “most privileged.”

“I am very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing. That’s why the IMF is supporting Greece in its endeavour to overcome the current crisis,” Lagarde added.

Greece has been the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession. One fifth of Greek workers are unemployed, banks have become shaky, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

In 2011, the country made a deal with the IMF and the European Union to receive hundreds of billions of euros in bailout funds to avoid a financial collapse, in return for tough austerity measures.

The Greeks will head to the polls for a second time in six weeks on June 17 in a general election that could determine whether the country should continue to receive IMF funds and stay in the eurozone.

PG/PKH

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