JOHN GORMLEY, TD,
Sir, - Your Editorial of July 13th, unsurprisingly, lends support to the growing list of establishment figures supporting the Yes case in the Nice Treaty debate. I also note that Drapier and some your letter writers have taken grave exception to my comments regarding our President's views.
For their benefit I should explain that the phrase "butting out" simply means the opposite of "butting in" . It has no vulgar connotations whatsoever. I wonder, if Mrs McAleese and Mr Dorgan of the IDA had made statements in support of the No side, would you have been as tolerant of their opinions? Not a chance, I suspect. One can hardly imagine the furore that would have ensued, and no doubt your Editorial writer would have led the charge, claiming, as we do now, how inappropriate it was for these people to enter a sensitive political debate.
On her return from Greece, the President described some of those who had expressed concern as "mischievously" misinterpreting her words. To be fair to the President we should look closely at what she actually said in Greece. In the Hellenic Centre for European Studies she reportedly told her audience that Ireland would have "another story to tell" after the Nice Treaty referendum. In other words, she expects Ireland will vote Yes in October. (If there is another interpretation, I'd like to hear it.) Renagh Holohan reported that Mrs McAleese had said that the Seville declaration addressed concerns about the issue of neutrality. It does no such thing, and not one NGO dealing with the issue has welcomed the Seville declaration or the Government's referendum wording.
Finally, in an interview on RTÉ our President implied that the acceptance of the Nice treaty was "pivotal" for enlargement. This is one of the most contentious points in a complex debate. The Green Party has claimed consistently that enlargement can and will go ahead regardless of the Irish vote. This view has been confirmed by the European Commissioner, Mr Prodi, and most recently by the President of the Convention on the future of Europe, Mr Giscard d'Estaing. The Government, on the other hand, constantly claims that enlargement is totally dependent on our Nice Treaty vote. Mrs McAleese clearly sang from the Government hymn sheet and is being applauded for doing so.
The Taoiseach and others have defended the President and Mr Dorgan on the basis that they were merely stating the facts. Again, this is not the case. Mr Dorgan dealt merely in assertion and when challenged to point to a single investment decision affected by our No vote, was unable to do so. It is worth noting that the same scare tactics were used in Denmark prior to its most recent referendum on the euro. The dire predictions have proved to be unfounded.
Let's hope that, after these initial skirmishes, we can move quickly on to the real issues at the heart of this Treaty. Of major concern to the Green Party are the enhanced co-operation provisions and the loss of our automatic right to a commissioner. In regard to the latter, the press officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs has failed to allay genuine concerns (July 13th). A simple calculation shows that in an enlarged Union of 28 members and with 21 commissioners, Ireland would be without a commissioner for 25 per cent of the time - a very serious blow to our interests and indeed to those of other smaller states.
If Nice is ratified it will be seen, historically, as the treaty that fundamentally changed the nature of the European Union. This is why it should be debated openly and fairly. However, given what has happened to date, that may be wishful thinking. - Yours, etc.,
John Gormley, TD,
Green Party Chairman,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.
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Sir, - I voted No in the last Nice referendum for two reasons. Firstly, to object to bureaucracy and corruption, coupled with the democratic deficit that is fundamental to government from the unelected Commission in Brussels. Secondly, to give the democratic two fingers to Fianna Fáil because I am sick of its lazy and cynical style of government.
This time, however, I will vote Yes. This is not because the Government has addressed either my reasonable or unreasonable motives. Rather, my dislike of Brussels and Fianna Fáil has now been superseded by my loathing for the US Government and the astonishingly arrogant and murderous manner in which it is abusing its position as the leading world power. Its undermining of the International Criminal Court and their continued bombing of a poverty stricken people in Afghanistan is sickening - and in pursuit of what? Creating a martyr for its enemies around the world or creating a safe passage for its oil pipeline out of Central Asia?
The US demands the end of human rights abuses but reserves the right to commit these crimes itself unpunished. You don't have to be a counter-revolutionary to call these actions despicable.
If Europe is expanded to include the Eastern bloc countries it will serve to strengthen our power on the world stage and undermine Tony Blair's sycophantic foreign policy - and maybe G.T. Dempsey (July 16th) will return to the US in disgust and spare us his right-wing outrage on your pages. - Yours, etc.,
Sarah Carey,
Smithfield Village,
Dublin 7.