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NO MEANS NO TO LISBON!

It has now being decided that October 2nd will be the date of the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. You, the Irish electorate, will be asked to vote for a second time on this Treaty. This treaty has already been rejected by the electorate once in June 2008 but because the vote did not go the way of the Irish government and their puppet masters in Brussels you must vote again. Do NOT be intimidated by lies and deceit from both the Dáil and Brussels into voting their way. Vote NO again as this treaty offers the working class nothing, in fact it is fundamentally no different from the first one, short of a couple of very minor changes and promises. In contrast it offers the business classes a considerable amount, not least higher profits at your expense. It has not gone unnoticed that you, the Irish people, have never being consulted on whether you want a re-run of Lisbon, after all you have already rejected the thing once. What do the government not understand about the word NO?, surely they have received a basic education, or have they?

ILLEGIBILITY

Before the last referendum the former French President, Valery Giscard Estaing stated the Lisbon Treaty should be designed to “head off any threat of referenda by avoiding any form of constitutional vocabulary”, and the Belgian Foreign Minister, Karel de Gucht, said, referring to the Constitutional Treaty rejected by the French and Dutch electorate, “the aim of "Constitutional Treaty" was to be more readable, the aim of this treaty is to be unreadable”. Little wonder between 80% and 90% of voters claimed they “could not understand it” In other words the Irish people were asked to vote on an illegible document, and will be again. VOTE NO TO LISBON AGAIN!

VAGUE PROMISES AND DECLARATIONS

Some people may be aware of some vague promises, which are mere smoke screens on issues which people were not overly concerned with anyway, with a couple of meaningless promises, on such issues as maintaining Ireland's Commissioner. It must be pointed out that these promises do not equal legally binding guarantees. It should also be stated that declarations do not mean a thing. Declarations carry no legal weight. As far as being legally binding declarations are not worth the paper they are written on and frankly neither do promises. All this aside the issue of a commissioner was well down the list of priorities as to why people voted *NO *in June 2008.

PUBLIC SERVICES

Previously issues such as public services, like health care and education possibly being put out to private tender and the mercy of the market was on many working class people’s minds and influenced the way they voted last
time. This could well happen if Lisbon is passed, big business controlling your health. We have recently seen how these people have made a mess of the economy imagine you or your family’s health placed in the same greedy profit seeking hands! The health service is already in a state with the government planning massive cuts it will get worse. However privatisation will mean the end. Could the government be cutting back on public service expenditure in anticipation of a yes vote on Lisbon? Make sure it doesn’t happen, VOTE NO! Remember if health is something money can buy the rich will live and the poor will die! Also look at the mess these business people have made of theeconomy in general.

NEUTRALITY

If Lisbon is accepted and ratified it will mean closer links with NATO and a further dent in Irelands already tenuous military neutrality. Ireland is already part of the NATO led Partnership For Peace which, in real terms is a recipe for war, and this relationship with the war mongering alliance will increase with the passing of Lisbon. Only you the electorate can stop this. VOTE NO TO LISBON AGAIN!

HUMAN RIGHTS

We hear much of the charter on human rights if Lisbon is passed. Don’t be fooled by this one. These rights are very much subject to the interests of business being serviced first and many are already in place under national law. Article 28 does, it must be said, support the collective bargaining in the workplace and the right to strike. However this must be taken against the background of legislation giving the employers the right to conduct their own business without interference, including bringing in strike breakers, and also the individuals right to go to work unhindered even if there is a strike on. In other words the right of the individual to break a strike AND CROSS PICKET LINES takes precedence over the democratic will of the majority who would be on strike. Once again this puts the interests of the employer over and above those of the worker. Within the European Union there is great emphasis on competition, which would apply to public services if Lisbon is ratified, and “the market”, it is these negative aspects which the European courts generally find in favour of, as opposed to the progressive sounding support for collective bargaining and the right to strike for improved pay and conditions, which we all want and need. Workers rights to defend themselves, their families and colleagues, living standards and wages are very much diluted once a closer examination is applied. The Lisbon Treaty, if passed and ratified, will take precedence over the Irish Constitution, already arguably being mocked by virtue of the fact that we are having a second referendum on the same treaty already rejected, rendering the constitution virtually invalid and redundant. The "charter on fundamental rights" will remain an aspiration as opposed to a fait accompli. Don’t be fooled by this double talk!

VOTE NO TO LISBON *AGAIN

The government may try to frighten people into voting in favour of the Lisbon Treaty by scare mongering about the economy. They may claim that a no vote will be bad for the economy. Don’t be fooled by this. The economy is bad enough without Lisbon but it is also bad in those countries which have ratified the treaty. The recession has nothing to do with Lisbon, take the USA not anywhere near Europe.