Greek no to austerity a 'sublime act of resistance': PM

Debt-laden Greece's rejection exactly a year ago of austerity measures proposed by international lenders was a "sublime act of resistance," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has tweeted.
Last year's referendum on the measures mooted by the lenders, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, were rejected by 62 percent of Greeks.
"The 'No' of our people was a sublime act against the euro bigwigs promoting austerity but also against the establishment which wanted to stifle the country," Tsipras said yesterday.
"One year on, we still have our heads high and we are fighting to put the country back on track," he said.

One week after the referendum, Tsipras was however forced to sign a new bailout with creditors to avoid bankruptcy and had accept to continue further austerity measures.
In May, Greek lawmakers voted in favour of more spending cuts and tax hikes. Greece urgently needs the next tranche of bailout money to repay big loans to the European Central Bank (ECB) and IMF in July.
Last month thousands of Greeks angry over new cuts imposed by Tsipras gathered in central Athens to call on his leftist government to quit.