Tens of thousands of Greeks gather for bailout vote rival rallies

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tens of thousands of Greeks have attended rival rallies in Athens ahead of a crucial referendum on Sunday, July 5, BBC News reports.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was greeted with huge cheers when he told supporters to vote "No" to the terms of an international bailout.

But those attending another huge rally nearby warned a "No" vote would see Greece ejected from the eurozone.

A Greek court earlier rejected a challenge to the legality of the referendum and it will go ahead.

Greece's current bailout programme ran out on Tuesday. All week banks have been shut, with limits imposed on cash withdrawals.

According to BBC, this has become a choice about whether to stay in the eurozone. With so much at stake, the rhetoric is getting nasty - no-one can even be sure whether Greek banks will be able to reopen next week as the government has promised.

Another war of words flared late on Friday when Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis dismissed a Financial Times report that Greece was preparing contingency plans for a possible "bail-in" of bank deposits as a "malicious rumour". The report quoted sources as saying banks were considering a "haircut" of 30% on deposits over €8,000.

Opinion polls on Friday suggested the country was evenly split over the vote - an Ipsos survey putting "Yes" supporters at 44% and "No" at 43%.

Opinion polls within 24 hours of the voting are banned, as are more campaign rallies.