A chara, - Tony Brown's analysis (March 13th) of a rejection of the Treaty of Nice is totally incorrect. If the Irish people decide to vote No, they will be sending a clear signal that they do not wish to be railroaded into a centralised, undemocratic, unaccountable European super-state, complete with its own currency and its own army in the form of the new Rapid Reaction Force in effect the European wing of NATO. The people who intend to vote No are in fact being good Europeans and democrats who do not wish to see the militarisation of Europe and the abandonment of Irish neutrality.
If the treaty is rejected, the other countries cannot move ahead without Ireland, so the treaty will have to be re-negotiated. Ireland can then proceed to have a protocol added, as Denmark have done in the past - excluding us from joining and paying for the new Euro army. We can also push to have the treaty changed to protect the interests of smaller nations like Ireland, to prevent the creation of a two-tier Europe and to ensure that the notion of a Europe of equal nations is not abandoned completely. For anyone who believes in democracy and accountability, a No vote is the only course to take. - Is mise,
Gerry Casey, Rosewood Court, Maugheraboy, Sligo.