Greece's socialist party leader says International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde has "insulted" his crisis-hit country by saying the Greeks avoid paying taxes. "Nobody can humiliate the Greek people during the crisis, and I say this today addressing specifically Ms. Lagarde... who with her stance insulted the Greek people," PASOK leader, Evangelos Venizelos said on Saturday. On Friday, Lagarde urged Greeks to "help themselves collectively" by paying their taxes, saying she was more concerned about the Africans in poverty than the Greeks hit by the economic crisis. "... As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time," the IMF chief said. On Saturday, Lagarde was forced to retract her remarks by saying her comments regarding tax evasion were in reference to the “most privileged." "I am very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing. That's why the IMF is supporting Greece in its endeavor to overcome the current crisis," Lagarde added. Greece has been the epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession. One fifth of Greek workers are unemployed, banks have become shaky, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent. In 2011, the country made a deal with the IMF and the European Union to receive hundreds of billions of euros in bailout funds to avoid a financial collapse, in return for tough austerity measures. The Greeks will head to the polls for a second time in six weeks on June 17 in a general election that could determine whether the country should continue to receive IMF funds and stay in the euro zone, Press TV reported.
