RSYM Statement on Lisbon 2

22 09 09

The Republican Socialist Youth Movement calls on the people of Ireland to once more Vote No in the upcoming referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Lisbon 2 represents a blatant attack by the establishment on democracy. The Irish people have already made their feelings quite clear on this issue and their decision should be respected. In re-running and supporting the ratification of this treaty, the establishment parties have made a mockery of the democratic will of those they claim to represent. It is therefore essential that an emphatic No is returned to show that the dictatorial tactics of the Yes side will not be rewarded.

It is obvious which class in society this treaty is intended to benefit. This time round, those champions of working class interest, Intel and Ryanair, have thrown their weight behind the Yes side of the debate. Both have actively spent hundreds of thousands of euro to aid the Yes campaign so it’s not difficult to deduce which side of the fence normal working people should be on. The agenda of these people must be carefully assessed and questioned. Intel, as a manufacturer of components for military hardware stands to gain substantially from the increased militarisation of Europe. While when Michael O’Leary and his cohorts support something, we know as workers its usually a good rule of thumb to vote the other way. This is a man who has made millions through the brutal exploitation of workers.

In a recent debate on RTE Radio1 former supreme court judge Donal Barrington admitted that Ireland’s veto to prevent privatisation and the opening up of things like healthcare and education to foreign corporations is removed in the Lisbon Treaty. This is a very worrying development, as progression towards a healthcare system reminiscent of that in the USA would be disastrous for Ireland.

This treaty is designed to assure the ascendancy of one particular class in society, the ruling class. It further reduces Ireland’s say in the EU and vests more power in unelected bureaucrats rather than the normal citizens of the EU. It also requires Ireland to allocate more resources towards militarisation at a time when we are facing savage cuts implemented by the same people calling for a Yes vote. But seeing as our government has no problem with US warplanes landing at Shannon it is doubtful issues surrounding militarisation and neutrality is of much concern to them.

The Republican Socialist Youth Movement urges the Irish people not to bow to the bullying tactics of the government and the EU and to return a No vote once again.

National PRO
Republican Socialist Youth Movement

Anti-Lisbon Graffiti

NO TO LISBON, THE WRITING'S ON THE WALL!

Sligo Says No!

Last night (20th September) Sligo RSYM went out and put up posters against the upcoming Lisbon 2 treaty. The feedback from the public was positive as the posters were being put up and with the majority of the posters being put up in the city centre the impact is bound to be increasingly more affective.

GOVERNMENT SCARE MONGERING

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. VOTE NO TO LISBON AGAIN

HUMAN RIGHTS

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

NEUTRALITY

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

PUBLIC SERVICES

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 the economy in general.

VAGUE PROMISES AND DECLARATIONS

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 Irelands 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.

ILLEGIBILITY

ILLEGIBILITY

Before the last referendum the former French President, Valery Giscard d 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.

No to Lisbon - Again

It has now being decided that October 2^nd 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 Dail 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?