Brussels: Left Wing Protesters Urge Greeks To Vote 'No'

Hundreds of left-wing protesters have come out on the streets of Brussels to show their support for Greeks who are going through one of the biggest financial crises in their recent history.



According to some estimates, the protesters numbered nearly a thousand, most of whom belong to left-wing groups such as the Belgian Workers Party and the Greens Party.



"We are here to support the Greek people in their battle against the troika," Sanna Shakhar, a 21-year-old protester, said.



The "troika" refers to the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund.



"This is the most important moment for the future of Europe, if Greece falls we will see the rest of Europe get into turbulent times," Shakhar said.



The protesters held banners that read "No" in Greek. They urged the Greek people to vote "No" during Sunday's referendum, which could lead the country to leave the eurozone.



The protest comes the same day as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg said that a "No" vote in the referendum would dramatically weaken Greece's position in the negotiations.



"If the Greeks vote 'No', the Greek position is dramatically weakened," Juncker said. "The program has come to an end, there are no negotiations underway. If the Greeks vote 'No' they have done everything but strengthening the Greek negotiation position."



Greece's banks have 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to last the weekend, the head of the Greek banking association said Friday.



Greek banks, which were shut Monday after negotiations between Greece and its creditors collapsed, are dependent on the emergency loans from the ECB for funds.



The ECB has not yet decided to provide further liquidity to Greek banks.



The EU, the ECB and the Eurogroup are all waiting for the results of a referendum Sunday in which Greeks must vote for or against bailout proposals before making a decision. - Brüksel