InDefence

2. janúar 2010

Press release - Icelanders: vote ‘NO’ at the 6 March 2010 referendum on the Icesave legislation

Icelanders: vote ‘NO’ at the 6 March 2010 referendum on the Icesave legislation
The British and the Dutch are engaged in economic warfare against Iceland
We demand a reasonable Icesave agreement to avoid national bankruptcy

4. january 2010

Iceland intends to pay Icesave at reasonable terms

ICELANDERS RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO PAY DISPUTED ICESAVE OBLIGATIONS IN AUGUST 2009, BUT THE TERMS IN A NEW LEGISLATIVE BILL ARE UNREASONABLE. There has been considerable confusion in the international media about the implications of a refusal from the Icelandic President to sign a legislative bill that introduces new terms to the so-called Icesave agreement. Some journalists have reported that Iceland would thereby refuse to pay the British and Dutch governments the €3.91 billion needed to settle the dispute. This is factually incorrect.

2. january 2010

A petition signed by 23% of Icelandic voters delivered to the President of Iceland asking him to veto controversial Icesave legislation

Today, on Saturday January 2nd, at 11am the InDefence grass roots activist group will meet with the President of Iceland to deliver a petition signed by 56,089 Icelanders (23,3% of Icelandic voters). The petition asks the President to veto a highly controvertial legislative bill that poses a huge risk for the economic future of the Icelandic nation. All projections based on realistic assumptions about economic growth, income in foreign currency, population growth and debt levels showed without doubt that Iceland would be unable to meet the payments stipulated by the Icesave loan agreements as set out in the disputed legislation (please refer to the attached document for a detailed background of the Icesave dispute).

15 October 2009

The Icesave dispute - The view from Iceland

1. A complete collapse of the Icelandic banking system
The autumn of 2008 will long be remembered in Iceland. During the first days of October it became apparent that the three largest Icelandic banks were in grave danger of collapsing due to insufficient liquidity. Collectively, these three privately owned companies accounted for about 85% of the Icelandic banking system. Among them was the Landsbanki bank, responsible for the high interest Icesave accounts that had become very successful in Holland and the United Kingdom. On Monday October 6th the government reacted urgently by passing legislation, enabling the Icelandic financial service authority (FSA) to effectively nationalize the banks if they were deemed to be on the brink of collapse. This was conceived as an emergency measure to guarantee national security and permit the government to maintain the financial infrastructure necessary to keep Icelandic society functioning through the impending crash.