SF urge No to Amsterdam Treaty

By Michael Pierse

``The vast majority of people do not know what they are being asked to endorse. It is unreasonable to expect that they can be enlightened in the space of a week'' - these were the words of Dublin SF South West representative Seán Crowe who advised those unsure of the implications of the Amsterdam Treaty to vote No at a press conference in Dublin this week.

The conference was convened to initiate the Sinn Féin campaign in advance of the forthcoming Amsterdam Treaty referendum. Speaking on the issue also were SF TD for Cavan/Monaghan Caoimhghín O Caoláin and Ard Comhairle member Micheál Mac Donncha.

``One word sums up all the reasons why Sinn Féin is calling for a No vote in the referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty,'' O Caoláin said, ``That word is democracy.'' In what he termed an ``inexcusable decision'' by the Government, he slammed the holding of the referendum on the Good Friday document on the same day. ``The Good Friday Document has almost totally eclipsed the Amsterdam Treaty issue'', he said, and he castigated the joint press conference held by the PDs, Labour, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Democratic Left, which called for three Yes votes, further confusing the issues.

Speaking in relation to claims by the Yes camp that the Treaty would do much to help fight the drugs epidemic, Crowe, who hails from Tallaght, said, ``this Treaty is not necessary in order to allow for co-operation between European police forces on the drugs problem as co-operation already exists in this area.''

One of the main thrusts of O Caoláin's argument was the need to re-negotiate various aspects of the Treaty. He said the Government has the ``wit but not the willingness'' to achieve a protocol, similar to that achieved by Denmark, which ensures the neutrality of the 26 counties. Although various politicians have said there would be no such change to foreign policy without another referendum, O Caoláin conveyed that no such provision exists within the Treaty itself and that such a decision would be left to the discression of Government politicians, on whom he said we should not rely. Dick Spring, he said, had promised in the 1992 election campaign to enshrine neutrality in the Irish constitution. However, he failed to deliver on this promise while participating in two successive Governments.

Seán Crowe voiced concerns at the provisions within the Treaty's Article J 7.1 which states ``the progressive framing of a common defence policy will be supported, as member states consider appropriate, by co-operation between them in the field of armaments.'' This he said poses a serious threat to our neutrality. He also stated that clearly there is a difference between the current ``peacekeeping'' policy and the proposed ``peace enforcing'' in the Treaty. While ``there is a lot of goodwill out there as regards the positive role of Irish troops,'' he said, ``we must not endanger their positve contribution with any threats to our neutrality.''

Micheál Mac Donncha said this Treaty ``would leave Ireland as a peripheral region within the greater European Bloc.''