7 June 2001 Edition
No to Nice
For the past couple of months, this paper has carried a series of articles pointing up the flaws of the Treaty of Nice and the dishonest tactics being used by the establishment to try to force this referendum through without any real time for informed debate.
As the weeks have gone by, the No to Nice campaign has been strengthened by the growing realisation among voters that the wool is being pulled over their eyes. Like John Redmond exhorting Irishmen to sign up to fight for plucky little Belgium in 1914, Irish voters were urged by Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern to go to the polls so that poor states in Eastern Europe could also enjoy the benefits of EU membership.
Of course, in 1914 the plucky Belgians were a red herring, and tens of thousands of Irishmen died fighting a pointless imperialist war directed by distant politicians and faceless generals.
Today too, the reality is very different from the hype. The Treaty of Nice drags us closer to a position where political leaders in Brussels and foreign generals can draft Irish troops to ``peace make''. This will all take place in a post-Nice two-tier EU, where the larger states have an unfair voting advantage over the smaller states.
Today, the Irish people have a chance to halt this Treaty in its tracks and send our politicians back to Brussels to negotiate a fairer deal.
Vote No to the Treaty of Nice.
As the weeks have gone by, the No to Nice campaign has been strengthened by the growing realisation among voters that the wool is being pulled over their eyes. Like John Redmond exhorting Irishmen to sign up to fight for plucky little Belgium in 1914, Irish voters were urged by Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern to go to the polls so that poor states in Eastern Europe could also enjoy the benefits of EU membership.
Of course, in 1914 the plucky Belgians were a red herring, and tens of thousands of Irishmen died fighting a pointless imperialist war directed by distant politicians and faceless generals.
Today too, the reality is very different from the hype. The Treaty of Nice drags us closer to a position where political leaders in Brussels and foreign generals can draft Irish troops to ``peace make''. This will all take place in a post-Nice two-tier EU, where the larger states have an unfair voting advantage over the smaller states.
Today, the Irish people have a chance to halt this Treaty in its tracks and send our politicians back to Brussels to negotiate a fairer deal.
Vote No to the Treaty of Nice.