A near-riot and parliament besieged: Iceland boiling mad at credit crunch









Published Date: 24 November 2008
By Omar Valdimarsson
in REYKJAVIK
THOUSANDS of Icelanders have demonstrated in Reykjavik to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde and Central Bank governor David Oddsson, for failing to stop the country's financial meltdown.
It was the latest in a series of protests in the capital since October's banking collapse crippled the island's economy. At least five people were injured and Hordur Torfason, a ADVERTISEMENT

well-known singer in Iceland and the main organiser of the protests, saADVERTISEMENT
id the protests
would continue until the government stepped down.

As crowds gathered in the drizzle before the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, on Saturday, Mr Torfason said: "They don't have our trust and they are no longer legitimate."

The value of the Icelandic krona has been cut in half since January.

Four Nordic countries, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have pledged to lend the country a combined $4.6 billion to help revive its deflated economy. The loan would be the first by the IMF to a Western nation since 1976.

One young man climbed on to the balcony of the Althing building, where the president appears upon inauguration and on Iceland's national day, and hung a banner reading: "Iceland for Sale: $2,100,000,000" the amount of the loan the country is getting from the IMF.

A separate group of 200-300 people gathered in front of the city's main police station, throwing eggs and demanding the release of a young protester being held there.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray to drive back an attempt to free the protester during which several windows at the police station were shattered. The pro-tester was later released after his fine was paid.

As daylight began to wane, demonstrators drifted away into the nearby coffee shops. Here, as currency tumbles, the price of a cup of coffee has shot up by about one-third since before the crisis struck.

The demonstrators accuse the government elected last year of not doing enough to regulate the banking industry and have called for early elections.

Iceland's next election is not required until 2011.

Opposition parties tabled a no-confidence motion in the government on Friday over its handling of the crisis, but the motion carries little chance of toppling the ruling coalition which has a solid parliamentary majority.

Gudrun Jonsdottir, a 36-year-old office worker, said: "I've just had enough of this whole thing. I don't trust the government, I don't trust the banks, I don't trust the political parties, and I don't trust the IMF.

"We had a good country and they ruined it."


BACKGROUND

ICELAND'S three biggest banks Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars of debts accumulated in an aggressive overseas expansion, shattering the country's currency. Iceland's government seized control of all three institutions in early October.

This week, the North Atlantic island nation, which has a population of only 320,000, secured a package of more than US$10 billion (about £6.7 billion) in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several European countries to help it rebuild its shattered financial system.

Despite the intervention, however, Iceland still faces a sharp economic slowdown and surging job losses while at least one-third of Icelanders are also at risk of losing their homes and life savings.

Geir Haarde, the Icelandic prime minister, has promised that the government will use the IMF money to bring back a flexible interest rate scheme and rewrite financial laws, particularly legislation relating to insolvency.

Iceland was the first country to ask the IMF for help as the turmoil in the credit markets in October hit home.

The UK government used anti-terrorism legislation to freeze money deposited by UK savers in Icelandic banks in order to ensure that their money was protected.

http://news.scotsman.com/world/A-nearriot-and--parliament.4722970.jp



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"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for
people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

-Noam Chomsky

The pro-tester was later released after his fine was paid.

LOL at Pro Tester...

A separate group of 200-300 people gathered in front of the city's main police station, throwing eggs

Too poor to afford something that works, like glass bottles and some petrol perhaps? They might as well just throw snowballs or lumps of ice, will do more damage than an egg...


"He lives in a world where concept is reality..."

Icelanders seem like pleasant people. It is the rest of us savages that bring out the molotov cocktails and brass knuckles to get things done.

Iceland has some lovely Scandinavian chicks, we should buy the island

Yeah, but where would Turkey get the money? Selling off its entire population of ugly women? Who would buy them? Sell hazelnuts? Or hell, how about you go rob and beat more innocent people until you collect enough money to buy an acre of iceland.

Phuck Turks.

Says the Armenian, whose country's Nominal GDP was $7.9 billion in 2007, but is expected to reach a whopping $12 billion in 2008

Armenians don't want to buy Iceland. Visiting would be great though.

its more sign of useless of europs cvntry they cant remain independ tnet of amerikunts even in financial economics business they are tieds t o amerkunts policynaked persons

===========================================
I am old Christiankiller
Sorry for offensive to our good religion christian brothers
I am not hating christians

^^said the Arab who can't spell.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7688560.stm

""Thousands of Icelanders are sending a message to Gordon Brown that they are not terrorists after the UK used terror laws to freeze their assets.

An online petition was launched this week following the UK government's attempt to protect British savings in Iceland's failed Landsbanki.

The petition has been signed by about 40,000 people and shows Icelanders with signs saying they are not terrorists.

The Treasury said Iceland was in no way considered to be a terrorist regime.

Implied slur

Signatories to the petition have uploaded wry photographs of themselves in an attempt to show the absurdity of categorising an Icelandic bank as a terrorist organisation.

The photographs show ordinary Icelanders - including a fisherman, a baby and a man in a Father Christmas costume - holding up hand-written signs stating: "Mr, Brown, we are not terrorists."

But despite the light-hearted tone of their protest, Icelanders are furious by what they see as the high-handed actions of the UK government, its implied slur on their national character and the dire consequences for the Icelandic economy.

Did they realise the economic impact on ordinary people of using this legislation?

Magnus Arni Skulason

One of the founders of the site is Magnus Arni Skulason, an economist from Reykjavik.

He told BBC news: "Our message to the British government is that we think they unjustifiably used the anti-terrorist legislation against Iceland.

"I was quite shocked when I saw it in the Financial Times that anti-terror laws were being used against Iceland, because we are the only EU nation in that group. We are in good company - with Al Qaeda.

"You are labelling a whole nation and actually what has happened is that other companies, such as in the US, are reluctant to do business with Iceland.

"[They say] 'Even though we know you are not terrorists, you are on this list so we can't take the risk.'"

Public support

Mr Skulason added: "Did they realise the economic impact on ordinary people of using this legislation?"

Mr Skulason, 39, said he was heartened when he saw the online petition take off from six founder members to more than 40,000 signatories.

"The main aim of the website is to bridge understanding between the British and Icelandic public," he said.

A Treasury spokesman said the government did not consider Iceland or its banks as terror regimes.

He told BBC News: "The government froze the assets of Landsbanki in the UK as a precautionary measure to ensure UK creditors are treated fairly.


Public enemy number one is the UK prime minister

"The order was made under a power contained in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, however it was not taken on the basis of the anti-terrorism provisions in the Act.

"The Act includes a broad range of provisions and is not only about countering terrorism."

He rejected the assertion that Iceland's economic problems had been worsened by the UK government's actions.

He added: "We have to be clear that the difficulties began in Iceland and were the result of failures of Icelandic banks and our actions followed that."

Landsbanki was listed on the Treasury website as a proscribed regime alongside al Qaeda, the Sudan and Lebanon.

Shortly after the petition was launched, the bank was removed from the list and categorised under "asset freezing measures not related to terrorist or country-based financial sanctions". ""

And thats it.

Armenian shouldn't talk. Poor as we are (now), we still could buy your nation few times over. Anyway Iceland is not so much "poor" as overborrowed.

Anyway this is big fvck up but Iceland will survive. We always have, Iceland is not the easiest of place to make a living but our ancestors did ok so we are survivors.

But what I don't understand is this?

Newspapers are blaming this crisis on risky policies of Davíð Oddsson, who is Icelands longest serving PM and later chairman of svedlabanki Islands, Iceland central bank. Ok, ppl can understand this. But oddson step down in 2004 and was replaced with 2 PM who suppose to be economic expert, or at least smart enough to see some problems? 1st PM after him was halldor asgrimmson, who is trained accountant and after that geir haarde, who is an economist with masters degree from US. So how can these guys, who is PM even, not know anything about this issue?

This is one big joke. People who lost all life savings and jobs want some answers. Some ppl should be going to jail even. System of checks and balances has failed.

Btw, I don't blame UK and English for using whatever laws to protect their citizens money.

Every man for himself in crisis time. I would do exactly same thing if I was English.

Is not UK who deserves the blame is our own careless politician who should be target of the peoples anger.

"Btw, I don't blame UK and English for using whatever laws to protect their citizens money.

Every man for himself in crisis time. I would do exactly same thing if I was English.

Is not UK who deserves the blame is our own careless politician who should be target of the peoples anger."

We know Turks would even sell their own mother's in a crisis, but Humans should come together in this crisis, put asides their differences and help fix this situation.

"Is not UK who deserves the blame is our own careless politician who should be target of the peoples anger."

yep, part of the problem is too little concern for local level economy and too much link with global economy. At least in many european countries.



http://www.republicbroadcasting.org/

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for
people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

-Noam Chomsky