Jon Lindal's New Year's Address to the President of Icleand, Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

To My President, Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

This is my answer to your New Year´s Address 2011.

You my president, Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, are not listening to the people of Iceland. You are not aware that the people of Iceland are united. We know what we want to see in our future, what kind of justice, democracy, financial and governmental system we want. We want criminals behind bars, we want our stolen money back and we want the politicians and the government to act in favor of the people of Iceland. We want to have good relationship with other countries, both in good times and bad times. That is what politicians are voted to do.

We are still angry and using strong words because you Mr. President and the politicians are fighting for a different future than we want. You are asking us to carry the burdens of the financial crimes that were committed by few businessmen and corrupt politicians in Iceland from the dawn of this century and until 2008. You are not changing the political system. That is still corrupted, the same people are still major players in politics and business in Iceland as before the financial crisis. And they are still playing the same game. The system is still corrupt. The people of Iceland are facing a slavery in their near future. People in other countries doing business here are still at risk of being the victims of criminals. Some of our businessmen are still the same criminals as they were some years ago.

It is easy to forgive the past and work on a better future together. But only when the president and the politicians have earned their forgiveness. They can do that by correcting the old mistakes. They can do it with justice for the criminals. They can do it by working with the people of Iceland instead of against us. They can do it by working openly in front of us instead of hiding their wrongdoings and corruption behind their back all the time.

Mr. President, we will not change our attitude only because you ask us to do so. You should not be so arrogant. You need to understand that you were also played by criminals like a puppet. You should admit your mistakes and work with us like one of us, not just order us around like a dictator. You did really listen to the people of Iceland last year when you decided to accept our call for referendum on Iceasave. But it is not enough for you to work with the people of Iceland only one day in a year. You need to do it all the time.

We will not see a different and better Iceland in the near future just by imagination and wishful thinking. We need action to make the change. We need different thinking and better politics. We need to stop political lies and manipulation. The people of Iceland are ready and willing to work with all their heart for a better Iceland, better future for us and our children.
You need to help us. There is no room for compromises between right and wrong in our future. You must not tell people to forgive all the wrongdoings when yet nothing has changed. Show us some true regret and the right action and we will forgive. The government and our politicians must do the same. Admit your mistakes, show some regret, change your attitude, start doing the right things and we will soon forgive you. But do not ask for our forgiveness only to calm us down so you can "be back in business like usual".

You are right about Iceland and the people of Iceland in so many ways. We are strong and we live in a country full of opportunities. Iceland is sometimes very harsh but also rewarding. We have a history that we can be proud of in many ways. And our sagas and more than 1000 years old Althing should be more than enough to teach us the difference between wrong and right. We should not have to be in any doubt about how to handle our financial crises and how to build a new future. We should not have to discuss when to correct things or when to forgive things. Mr. President. Open the old sagas and read them for your self. Then you will learn how to work in our interest. Do not use our culture and sagas only to tell us to shut up and be quiet, to pay and smile and forgive when there is still no reason to do so!

A good Icelandic president is not a dictator. A good president is listening to his people. A good president knows the difference between wrong and right. A good president is not only a good representative for Iceland abroad, but also a anchor that we can trust and rely on to help us get back on course when the politicians and free market have drifted away towards the edge of financial suicide with the whole nation aboard as happened here in Iceland in the last years.

Mr. President. You should address the government and the political class on our behalf. What have they done last year to improve them self? Nothing. You should address the Icelandic media, which is partly owned and run by the same people that we want to take to court for fraud. The other major part of the media is owned by the people but run under the control of the political system that failed us.
You should adress the bankers of Iceland who lost Iceland´s total worth 2 times. No other country in the western world has faced such financial loss in so few days as we did.

One more year is wasted for Iceland. There was no progress here in Iceland in 2010. Things got steadily worse all the time. Now we are facing higher taxes and less jobs in 2011 than in 2010. At the same time no money has been recovered from the people responsible for the fallen banks. No one has been put in jail. Nothing has been done to stop political corruption. Nothing has been done to protect us from the sharks in the banks. Officially no crime was committed when all the value of Icelandic work for 1000 years was stolen in one big robbery planned and worked out in few years from the dawn of this century until 2008. Prosecutors still have no case against the people responsible for the fallen banks.

There is nothing to forgive or forget yet. How can you ask us to forgive and forget all this? Why should we be interested in forgiving and forgetting that our country has actually been stolen from us by very few people? We do not want this kind of attitude from our president.

What we need most of all in Iceland in 2011 is new thinking. We need to turn away from the old system, the old corrupt thinking, the endless greed. We are not heading the right way if we are still being told by you and the politicians to guard and love our criminals and corruption.

You are the person to lead us to better future. I know that you know what we want and need. Be a man, be one of us. Face the truth. The truth will set you free. Then you can lead us to a better future and ask us to forgive the past.

Written on January 1st, 2011.
Jon Lindal.

„Tímabært að láta af illmælgi"

Athugasemdir

[Stop biting the hand that feeds you! (IP-tala skráð) 2.1.2011 kl. 20:12]

Shut up, you fool! Ólafur is not the enemy! If it wasn´t for him, you´d "owe" billions more because of the mistakes of 30 bankers. Ólafur is a freedom loving true supporter of democracy, not an idiot like you!

[Jón Pétur Líndal, 3.1.2011 kl. 13:25]

Thank you for the comment, Ólafur.