"Neutral Ireland is dead and gone, it's with your morals in the grave." That was the message from a protester outside the Dail yesterday afternoon before the vote for the State's entry into the Partnership for Peace (PfP). About 40 protesters had gathered to make a last stand against the decision they say will strip the State of its neutrality. Mr Joe Murray of AfrI was carrying a mock blank cheque made out to NATO, signalling his view that the Government was selling out. "Today marks the end of Irish neutrality, or what's left of it," he said. "If we are seen to be in alliance with NATO how can we pretend to be neutral?".
He said the protest highlighted Fianna Fail's about-face on its pre-election promise not to join the PfP. The party had also promised a referendum if the situation changed. "We wanted to be here when they performed their act of betrayal," he said.
Mr Ciaron O'Reilly from Brisbane, Australia, said he was part of the Irish Diaspora and described the prospect of joining PfP as tragic, a "subtle seduction into the Western war machine", which "shouldn't be the price to pay in order to join the First World".
Members of the Trinity College group, One World Society, helped to organise the protest. Mr Brendan Money was concerned about the lack of public debate. "Some people didn't even know what PfP stands for," he said.
The group chanted slogans and waved banners as they walked around outside the Leinster House. "Fianna Fail-ed Us", one read. Another showed the Taoiseach staring down the barrel of a gun. Mr Tom Hyland, founder of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, was there with members of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance.
"It's not a democracy any more," said Ms Sandra Fitzgerald of the Cork group, Vote First, set up to campaign for a referendum on the issue. She was holding a large map of Ireland with the words "Not For Sale" on it. Irish people had struggled for so long for their independence and now we were giving it away, she said.
The vice-president of SIPTU, Mr Des Geraghty, called on the Government "to keep faith with the electorate" on PfP. He said Fianna Fail had promised a plebiscite in its election manifesto and it should not force the issue through the Dail.
As "a small country without a major army, or an armaments industry, or a political axe to grind, I believe we are well placed to make a unique contribution in the cause of peace and in support of human rights," he said. Ireland's vital role had been "best reflected by the thoughtful comments of former president Mrs Mary Robinson during the past months".
Ireland had "a proud record as unaligned peacekeepers in many foreign fields" and was "in a unique position to assist in peace making as opposed to waging war".