32 CSM launch Countdown to Lisbon 2 campaign

national | eu | press release

Sunday January 11, 2009 13:36

by Kevin Murphy - 32 County Sovereignty Movement

How best to defend Irish democracy from undemocratic capitalist elites ?

The National Chairperson of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement Francie Mackey has again highlighted and praised the efforts of all republican , socialist and progressive groups for their contribution to the temporary defeat of the EU Treaty in last Years referendum . However the apparent refusal of the national and intrnational capitalist elites to accept that popular decision and the increasing likelihood of their pushing ahead with a second referendum on the same Treaty in the upcoming year leaves all of us who opposed the Treaty on the grounds of national sovereignty , neutrality and principled socialist concerns with a common purpose . How best to defend Irish democracy and sovereignty from the undemocratic and arrogant mindsets of the powerful who regard such notions as an obstacle to their preferred political , economic and military order ?

Democracy under attack

""A chairde,

Against immense odds a No Vote was comprehensively delivered against the Lisbon Treaty. Hearty congratulations to all those involved. As the result evolved early on in the count it was accompanied by the evolution of the governments reaction. It was becoming clear that the No Vote was beginning to expose the legal mess which the government had negotiated itself into. It presumed the support of the people and signed up to Lisbon which in itself may have legal/constitutional implications. And whilst that particular aspect can be dealt with by more astute legal minds our efforts must return to the political field. To our mind the government has no option but to re run the referendum because it failed to adopt a position within the negotiations which could have catered for a No Vote and in turn would have allowed the Treaty to be revisited as opposed to it being a fait acompli. Regardless, it is clear that both the Dublin Government and the political elite in Europe are detached from the people they are claiming to represent. We believe the referendum result should stand and should form the fundamental basis of the Dublin Governments return to engage with the other EU administrations. We fear however that this will not be the case. ""

Thus was the scenario analysed in Francie Mackeys address as 32 CSM put forward their analysis in their Countdown to Lisbon 2 campaign of opposition to Irelands planned absorbtion into a federal political , economic and military state structure regardless of the wishes of the Irish people . Its clear a supine and incompetent but no less arrogant Irish governemnt with the vocal encouragement of the capitalist media are intent upon dismissing the popular decision in the referendum . Republicans , socialists , progressives and plain and basic democrats are faced with a unified and concerted capitalist Yes campaign that began in aggressive earnest from almost the very minute the NO vote was announced . A yes campaign that has not only ignored and dismissed the referendum result from the outset but has largely successfully sought to portray that result in the public arena as something it was not . The NO vote was not a diffrence of opinion between the capitalist right and the capitalist right as sold by the media in their routine personification of the NO vote in the form of Declan Ganley . Nor was the NO vote an exercise in the stupidity of the nervous , hysterical and ignorant masses which Declan Ganley is accused of bedazzling with an expensive campaign .

The NO vote was an exercise in simple democracy , ordinary Irish people rejecting their assimilation into a federal capitalist superstate with military ambitions . Therefore the cheerleaders and servants for that project have sought from the outset to obscure and confuse those issues in their attempts to defeat democracy and all those who took a principled and progressive stand against the treaty. In fact to pretend no such principled and progressive stand even exists .

The task therefore of all who oppose Lisbon 2 on a principled and progressive basis is to put a principled and progressive analysis to the forefront of the impending future referendum and to do it as quickly and effectively as possible . The question facing us is what is the most effective means of doing so . The most effective means of success .

" "We cannot say for certain that the vote will be ignored but we do make the observation that those who campaigned for a No Vote should adopt prudent political positions which should presume that this is indeed the case. We further argue that if Lisbon 2 is foistered upon us a second time that in itself should be the focus of our opposition in tandem with our original arguments against the Treaty terms themselves. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement brought our analysis to bear in the original campaign. But we also called for a unified republican/socialist analysis so that the issue of Partition could be brought into the heart of the campaign. With the possibility of a second referendum this approach becomes even more necessary. Countdown To Lisbon II is the 32CSM's campaign against a second referendum and also its campaign for a renewed No Vote should that referendum come to pass. We urge all other interested parties to refocus their efforts and begin now their campaigns for what we believe is a second referendum in the offing. ""

Therefore the choice is clear . Republicans and leftist progressives must put themselves at the forefront of the campaign to defend Irish democracy , Irish sovereignty , neutrality and Irish workers from the undemocratic capitalist elites who seek to destroy all such concepts . Declan Ganley by no means personifies the NO position and by no means is it the right versus the right as the capitalist media has sought to confine the political debate to . Plain commonsense would point to a unified and principled NO platform directed towards the Irish people being the most effective means to counter attempts to ignore their will and misrepresent their opposition to the Lisbon Treaty . The issues at stake are what unite us all as is the necessity to adopt the best means of defending those issues . The merits of a unified and principled platform will in the opinion of 32 csm present a major headache to the vested interests which seek to set democracy aside in persuit of their project and goals . Goals which we on the progressive left are united in our opposition to along with a great many of ordinary Irish people who made their opposition clear in last years referendum .

A second defeat of the Lisbon project will present those undemocratic elites who rule over us with a major headache . It will be a major blow against them , a blow we are all united in our wish to inflict upon them as we strive to defend Irish democracy , Irish sovereignty , Irish neutrality and Irish workers . Commonsense would dictate the more political weight is put behind that blow the harder it will hit those elites at whom it is directed against .