Madam, — As the referendum debate heats up, one of the poster campaigns begun in earnest last weekend caught my eye. Below an image of the 1916 Proclamation of Independence it declares: "People died for your freedom. Don't throw it away. Vote No." Whoever has conceived and erected this poster should be truly ashamed of themselves; This poster implies that Ireland is throwing away its hard won independence by voting for Lisbon. This can only be described as a barefaced lie as nothing in the Treaty comes within shouting distance of this ridiculous claim.
This poster is morally bankrupt as it is perverting our history for the sake of questionable political expediency. It is politically disgraceful: it does not even attempt to put forward a single reasoned argument against the Treaty.
It claims to defend the great courage and sacrifice of those who died in the name of an independent Ireland, while simultaneously lying to the Irish people and not even having the strength of character or conviction to even say legibly who is promulgating these offensive placards. - Yours, etc,
ROSS McGUIRE,
Crosthwaite Park,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
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Madam, - Recent sessions of the National Forum on Europe have heard sweeping condemnation of the European Union's security and defence policy. The European Union, we are asked to believe, is in transition to a military power with global ambitions.
The proponents of this viewpoint have been asked a simple question: which of the 21 security and defence missions carried out by the European Union since 2003 would they have cancelled or condemned? With the exception of Sinn Féin's quite inexplicable opposition to Irish troops protecting the desperate refugees from Darfur and displaced persons in Chad, the question has gone unanswered.
Perhaps this is because 15 of the missions have been of a civilian and humanitarian nature with objectives clearly in line with Irish values and principles, for example helping the massive international aid exercise in Aceh following the tsunami and training the civilian police force in Bosnia. The military missions have brought stability to Bosnia, facilitated UN operations in Congo and averted civil war in Macedonia.
Ten years ago I had the chilling experience of driving from Sarajevo to Banja Luka in Bosnia along roads which - in the form of literally hundreds of burned out houses - demonstrated the reality of the ethnic cleansing of Mladic and Karadzic. There is some comfort, after the failures of the early 1990s, that Irish troops and gardaí in EU missions are today providing security and the hope of a better future.
If there is a whiff of global ambition in these initiatives, it is the ambition for peace and reconciliation which has been the basic driving force of the European project since Robert Schuman penned his historic declaration nearly 60 years ago. - Yours, etc,
TONY BROWN,
Bettyglen,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
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A chara - In all honesty, does Eoin Ryan MEP (May 13th) expect us all to bow at his altar of well known names and groupings ("with the very notable exception of Gerry Adam's Sinn Féin") and as a result vote Yes to the Lisbon Treaty?
A melting pot of names with a dash of Sinn Féin demonisation is hardly sufficient reason to join the nodding infantry of the soldiers of destiny. I trust readers will ignore such simplistic nonsense. - Is mise,
E.F. FANNING,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
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Madam, - Jamie Smyth's article of May 12th, "Does the treaty express new values?", is the most helpful coverage I have come across so far of issues that concerns many people. - Yours, etc,
ANTHONY O'CONNOR,
Barton Road East,
Dundrum,
Dublin 14.
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Madam, - In your front-page report last Monday, Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa was quoted as saying: that "The key thing about the treaty is that it is a compromise." This surely prompts the question: why is the leadership of the Labour Party so keen to support the treaty if elements of it are "not perfect", in Mr De Rossa's words.
Surely Labour should be campaigning for a No vote if its only MEP feels the treaty is not the best deal that Ireland can secure, considering we are the only country that will actually hold a referendum on the issue.
The Lisbon Treaty does not secure Ireland's place at the Heart of Europe. We will regularly lose our seat on the commission and the treaty will streamline the privatisation of essential public services. We have already seen examples of this in the recent opening up of the postal market and no doubt, should the treaty pass, we will see the privatisation of other services, such as healthcare.
Surely the Labour Party leadership should join with many of its members in opposing a treaty that enshrines right-wing policies at the heart of the EU. - Yours, etc,
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SEAMAS DE FAOITE,
Dublin Mid-West
Youth Officer,
The Labour Party,
Hazelwood Crescent,
Dublin 22.
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Madam, - Whatever about Angela Macnamara's opinion of "big boys" politics (May 9th), to me the EU Treaties are built on the Treaty of Rome, which in Article 2 promises (and delivered) equal treatment for women.
I presume that Ms Macnamara gave up on the technical sections of the amending treaty before reaching the most readable addendum to Nice - the Charter of Fundamental Rights. - Yours, etc,
Cllr NIAMH BHREATHNACH,
Anglesea Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
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Madam, - John Ferry (May 14th) blatantly misrepresents the Taoiseach's comments in relation to support for the Lisbon Treaty from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.
Mr Ferry accuses the Taoiseach of an "outrageous threat to the freedom of conscience and democracy". Mr Cowen was simply outlining the valid position that his party has prioritised passage of the Treaty and that he expected his parliamentary party to lead from the front. I fail to see how this represents a threat to democracy. - Yours, etc,
EOIN Ó NIALLAIN,
Kilrush Road,
Ennis,
Co Clare.