Greece screams no as Europe says yes

Athens 

Greece hurtled yesterday towards a crunch bailout referendum which could determine its financial future and even its place in the eurozone, as polls showed the 'Yes' and 'No' camps neck and neck.

On the eve of the vote that could also make or break the radical-left government, Greeks were increasing spooked by rumours that capital controls were leading to food and medicine shortages, as was growing uncertainty over when the country's banks would re-open.

"I've heard shops are running out of flour, sugar and salt. I'm really worried, how will we manage if we can't get to our money and there's no food to buy?" Lena Antoniou, a 35-year old mother of two, told AFP.

Nikos Archondis from the Panhellenic Exporters Association (PEA) told AFP "certain supermarkets are very concerned because they cannot forecast how the situation will evolve," adding that stocks of meat, cheeses, fruits and vegetables "risk running low in the following weeks".

Many businesses said they had been forced to ask workers to take unpaid leave, some shops were refusing card payments in an effort to hoard cash and there were reports of companies paying workers in IOUs valid in local supermarkets.

"No-one accepts your credit cards. Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst," said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year old who works in finance.

- 'Malicious rumour' -

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras got a rock-star welcome at an Athens rally late Friday as he sought to revive support for the 'No' vote in a referendum called to strengthen his hand in talks with international creditors.

EU leaders have warned that a 'No' victory could cause Greece to crash out of the eurozone. But Tsipras and his closest ally Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis have accused them of fear-mongering.

In an interview published Saturday the outspoken Varoufakis accused Athens's creditors of "terrorism".

"What they're doing with Greece has a name -- terrorism," he told the Spanish El Mundo daily. "What Brussels and the troika want today is for the 'Yes' (vote) to win so they could humiliate the Greeks."

A defiant Tsipras told 25,000 cheering supporters at Friday's rally to "say 'No' to ultimatums and to turn your back on those who would terrorise you," adding: "No one can ignore this passion and optimism."

A rival rally of 22,000 "Yes" supporters shouted pro-European slogans and voiced fears of a so-called "Grexit" from the eurozone and a return to Greece's former currency, the drachma, if Tsipras got his way.

"They cannot pretend any longer that it's not about leaving the euro," said a 43-year-old doctor who gave his first name as Nikos. "Outside the euro lies only misery."

Many Greeks have crossed over to the "Yes" camp since capital controls were imposed this week limiting daily ATM withdrawals to just 60 euros ($67) in order to stem a cash haemorrhage after Greece's international aid package ran out on Tuesday.

Adding to the sense of crisis, a eurozone emergency fund officially declared Greece to be in default on Friday for not making a 1.5-billion-euro payment to the International Monetary Fund this week.

The latest voter intention polls, published late Friday, showed the nation of 11 million people was evenly divided.

A GPO poll put the 'Yes' voters at 44.1 percent and the 'Nos' at 43.7 percent, while an Alco survey found 44.5 percent would vote 'Yes' while 43.9 percent would vote 'No'.