Greek parliament approves referendum on bailout terms

(ATHENS) - The Greek parliament approved a referendum on the latest offer of a debt deal by its EU-IMF creditors by a majority vote late Saturday night, according to the assembly's count.

The referendum planned for Sunday July 5 was approved by at least 179 deputies out of a total of 300 lawmakers. Verification of the vote count was underway.

In a speech prior to the vote, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was confident that "the Greek people will say an emphatic no to the ultimatum" by the country's EU-IMF creditors, but "a big yes to European solidarity".

He also expressed confidence that "in the aftermath of this proud no, the negotiating power of the country (with the country's creditors) will be strengthened".

"The creditors have not sought our approval but have asked for us to abandon our dignity. We must refuse," the prime minister said in a speech that was extremely hostile towards Greece's negotiating partners.

The expression "emphatic no" is a reference to when Greek authorities declared "no" to an ultimatum by the Italian army demanding to occupy Greek territory in 1940. One of the two Greek national holidays, October 28, is named "the day of no".

"In the country where democracy was born, we do not ask for permission from Mr Dijsselbloem (the president of the Eurogroup) and to Mr Schaüble (the German finance minister) to hold a referendum", the prime minister declared, confirming that "the referendum will be held whether they like it or not."

He also sharply criticised eurozone finance ministers for "excluding one of their members," Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, from part of a debate on Saturday.

Tsipras said that during recent months of discussions with Greece's creditors, Athens had made "a sincere attempt at negotiating... a mutually beneficial agreement" and had gone after "possible concessions".

According to Tsipras, the refusal of Greek negotiators to consider Athens' proposals indicates a desire to "punish a different voice in Europe" and said he feared that the announcement of the referendum would trigger "a propaganda of fear that will culminate next Sunday," the day of the proposed referendum.

Tsipras said that the referendum "was not an attempt at a split with Europe but a split with the practices that are an insult to Europe".