Dominique Strauss-Kahn, President of the IMF, said this evening that: “If many countries in the international community feel that we should wait with our review of our recovery package for Iceland, then we must do that”.
Strauss-Kahn said this at a Washington press conference today. He said he understands the anger of the people in Iceland because of the huge debts they are left with following the banking collapse. He reiterated that an Icesave deal is not essential for continued IMF assistance; but that Icelanders have to understand the IMF is controlled by the international community and must listen to its will. He added though, that the IMF is no country’s personal debt collection agency.
The IMF itself relies on international co-operation just the same as Iceland now does, Strauss-Kahn told the press conference.
At the beginning of the meeting, Strauss-Kahn took the opportunity to send his condolences to the victims of the Haiti earthquake and said the Fund will shortly be sending USD 100 million to the crisis-struck country with further assistance to follow.
” He reiterated that an Icesave deal is not essential for continued IMF assistance; but that Icelanders have to understand the IMF is controlled by the international community and must listen to its will. He added though, that the IMF is no country’s personal debt collection agency. ”
I have little to add to what I said in Nov 2009 that I think is as valid today :
>This disaster control attempt by director of IMF to try and protect it reputation is too little and too late.
They have showed that the bias in IMF is for those that does bank roll them and that those board member ( those large countrys ) simply do control the IMF. And of course it is same in EU.
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/11/28/icelandic-president-urged-to-say-no-to-icesave/#comment-103682
Useless piece of crap, I would like to see strong prove that the international community is asking them to do that.
“He added though, that the IMF is no country’s personal debt collection agency.”
Did you see his mouth bleeding affter saying that?
like fisy said(By the way, first time he says something sane)”This disaster control attempt by director of IMF to try and protect it reputation is too little and too late.”
Everybody knows now that they(IMF) are nothing but a debt collecting agency.
Hope Iceland stands strong against this situation, what if we eat potatoes, fish and lamb meet? millions in UK would give n arm to have that diet.
ICELAND HAS TO HONOR ITS OBLIGATION TO PAY UP ITS DEBT OTHER THE COUNTRY IS IN A POOR STANDING LIKE A PROVERB WHEN IN ROME DO AS THE ROMANS DO NOT TO BLAME OTHER NATIONS FOR ITS MISTAKE THE BANKERS THAT CREATE THIS MESS IS STILL ROAMING FREE IN REYKJAVIK PAY UP ICELAND DON’T BE CHILDISH YOU ARE CONSIDER A FIRST WORLD NATION.
“ICELAND HAS TO HONOR ITS OBLIGATION TO PAY UP ITS DEBT”
ROLF !!
To the individual writing in all caps: you are neither persuasive nor tactful in your argument. As the Icelanders say, “burt með þig!”
Dominique Strauss-Kahn,boss of all the loan sharks, called the demo-plutocratic forces of evil for an intimidating action finalized to strangle Iceland.
You should never surrender to these people, even if that means eating fish and potatoes and driving a Trabant for the next 30 years.Be a freedom lighthouse for the generations to come and resist to the powers that are trying to make you slaves and steal your natural resources.You can’t afford to loose this battle.
Many first world nations made mistake too, in Iceland, it was private companies made mistake, why the nation has to take so obligation?
Has British paid off their mistakes they made in history when they went to rob other nations??
It is ok the IMF pulls out, it is so obvious they are controlled and influenced by the BIG two countries.
Iceland then does not have to pay the debt any more, no fund, no debt.
Why waiting for this fund desperately in order to pay off the debt?
It is possible that Iceland will become unpopular in the first world, but who cares? In a few decades, people may well forget everything, like people forgot first world war, second world war…
It is just unfair to see big nations try every methods to squeeze out from such a small nation.
“They have showed that the bias in IMF is for those that does bank roll them and that those board member ( those large countrys ) simply do control the IMF.
Bias? well not Sh**, as he says its CONTROLLED by the donating members. Do you expect that Iceland can blow off its debtors and then go to to the IMF (largely funded by the EU and US) and expect to be given another loan, with funds from the very same counties you have just ripped off?
“And of course it is same in EU.”
Whatever that means, but yes the EU defends it members against external threats, such as Iceland. You may understand the concept, its like NATO (Iceland is a member, as often mention)- an attack against one member nation is an attack on all. Nato is a defence pact and the EU is an economic and political pact.
@ Amy
Why the nation has to take the obligation? That one is simple to answer. Because the nation promised to do so when it agreed to the EEA regulation to establish a deposit guarantee scheme. And that promise enabled the private banks in Iceland to expand overseas, which in turn led them to be able to collect so much money from UK and Dutch citizens in savings accounts. Now I understand that Iceland deeply regrets all this, but you should remember that it was Iceland who started the whole sequence of events that led to this. So Iceland has noone to blame but itself really.
Go iceland. They debt of fradulent banker activity is not the debt of the people. You have lived under bank secrecy laws, and now the crap hit the fan.
Get the referendum passed, and give the IMF some sign language.
Many americans love your efforts so far! Good luck, and take care – we are with you.
To Leo:
>>>>Because the nation promised to do so when it agreed to the EEA regulation to establish a deposit guarantee scheme.
Actually this is factually wrong. The EEA regulation does require establishing a deposit guarantee scheme, which Iceland did in 1999, but it definitely does NOT require the nation to back it up financially. The Icelandic laws 98/1999 specifically stated that TIF is a private foundation, with their funding solely from the banks themselves.
This is why the Icesave agreement now has to be passed as new laws in Iceland. Without it the Icelandic government guarantee cannot come into effect.
“If many countries in the international community feel that we should wait with our review of our recovery package for Iceland, then we must do that”
On Jan 15, 2010, Peter – London said:
>Some things half baked but almost sensible to start with about the CONTROL of the IMF.
Well IMF pretends it is not biased and to provide it loan assistance and economic technocrats to any state that is part.
It would be nice for him actually to state who the country are. We assume it is UK and Holland he is acting as debt collector for. I expect it is.
But I would not be surprise to see our Nordic neighbours there on the lsit as well.
That would be very disapointing but looks like it.
( Enjoyers of Peter London posts should read here :
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/01/09/eva-joly-to-dutch-media-netherlands-being-arrogant/comment-page-2/#comment-110564 )
he-he…real face of IMF (aka International Mo..er F…ers).
I hope this will help many Icelanders to get over their illusions about “european brotherhood” and “international financial institutions” values.
ERIK YOU MUST BE ICELANDIC NO OFFENCE PAY YOUR DEBT I WAS IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR TEN YEARS AND TREAT LIKE 2 CLASS CITIZEN SO YOU BORROW MONEY FROM PEOPLE HONOR YOUR OBLIGATION WHERE ARE YOUR VIKING SPIRIT WHAT A JOKE
Perhaps now Icelanders will start to realise that there will be a cost to pay for voting “no” in a referendum. Time to consider whether the current Icesave deal is the cheapest option. If a “no” vote proves more costly then Icelanders will only have themselves to blame.
If the devil were to become flesh today, he’d surely position himself as the head of the IMF.
Very spiteful of you Fisy. If you want to make a case against Peter, make it on the facts and I’ll thank you to leave me out of it.
The Icelandic government wishes to work with the IMF because it has a relationship established with it. It wishes to continue in the relationship because it will be easiest, since structures and relationships are already built and in place, and recognised by all, which will make implementation quick and easy.
There are, however, others who are interested to take the position IMF holds, to establish themselves the IMF relationship to Iceland and the Iceland government. Iceland is a sure return investment opportunity for any coalition of investors who provide aid to her. Today such secure investments are less than they were, or seemed to be, before “complex financial instruments” were invented and used to bilk lender nations for trillions. If IMF steps out of the way there are, today, others ready to step in to replace it. Some readers of this forum may recall reading a “feeler” from a group expressing interest to step in where the collapse of the end of the year deal appeared to provide opportunity.
In the present world financial climate it is not exactly wise of M. Strauss-Kahn to make a political play through threatening to have the IMF become hard to work with. It is also somewhat unwise after the same kind of political threatening was used, effectively, by others only a bit over a year ago, to push Iceland to where it is now, when it is showing that a lot of the threat and warning of then was misrepresentation. For this M. Strauss-Kahn’s dire warnings will sound contrived to many, and oddly familiar, in an unpleasant way. For this they may provoke reaction opposite what he, or those his attempt to apply pressure is for, intend them to.
To all IceNews regulars:
It is getting rather boring, all these pointless shooting at each other persons, and it gets us nowhere.
I have had no problems, pointing out missing/made up/misinterpreted facts, when I see them. But I have always tried to keep it on the issues, without getting too personal. I have lot of fun debating important things with people that have different opinions than I do, so long as it is based on actual verifiable facts. Lets continue to have real debates on real issues.
I will admit though, it is particularly difficult task with Peter – London. He is just so brazen with all his personal “binding” opinions, which he repeatedly states as facts, that it has become exercise in futility to try to correct him. There you go! :-)
I do not understand why Icelanders are so upset against the IMF, an organization controlled and financed by the International community (Iceland included). If Iceland owes money to the UK and the Netherlands, the Icelandic government has to pay its dues.
I know that the problem comes from the private sector and that the average Icelandic tax payer is not responsible for the huge debt left after the 2008 financial crisis that hit every nation…but it is not the UK or the Netherlands problem (they have their own problems too). You will have to give their money back one way or another.
Iceland is one of the richest country of the world and I am sure that it is capable of reimbursing its debt.
@ Leo,
Again, you made a mistake here, sorry to point it out if you could not see it. It was not Iceland who started the sequence, it was some business entity of Iceland who opened office offshore, which should have been well governed by local government as well…
There are a lot of EEA laws, it is very complicated, so study it hard if someone wants to become a real expert, please just don´t say things that came out from media and propaganda only.
@ Amy
You are incorrect. It was Iceland who started the sequence. It was not just some ‘business entity of iceland’. It was an Icelandic bank. A bank which has to be checked on and regulated by Icelandic authorities. That they failed in their duties to regulate those banks properly is a problem for the Icelandic people because that is how it works. The people of a country are in the end liable for the obligations that its institutions, be it government or central bank, take on themselves.
The Icelandic government/central bank took the obligation to regulate it banks, and effectively guaranteed the deposit scheme.
Whether you believe that guarantee to be true or not is not really relevant. The rest of the EEA believes that governments in the end are liable for their deposit schemes, and they make the rules as well as interpret them.
Of course you can choose to ignore the international community. It is your right if you want to put it like that. However, that same right exists the other way around. If you ignore the international community, they have the right to ignore you. And lets be very clear. IMF loans are not a right you can claim in couty. They are a priviledge. And it is up to the IMF, and up to the international community that pays the IMF to decide whether or not you are extended the priviledge of IMF loans. And all your complaining doesn’t change that fact.
Let’s admit it, and accept that the “business/politician Vikings” are stiring the country straight into 3rd world country status. Fisrt they robbed people from other countries, second they want to borrow money from the IMF and not pay the people they robbed but they keep insisting on the loans so they can rebuild the country because they don’t want to sell the assets they bought with the stolen money….BS!!!