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Democracy Denied: Public Meeting In Belfast

05/06/08

The people of Belfast will be given an opportunity this coming Monday (June 9) to discuss the impact the Lisbon Treaty could have on their lives.

Although a referendum on the Treaty is imminent in the Twenty-Six Counties, Irish citizens in the Six Counties are being denied a say on the matter due to the ongoing British occupation.

The main speakers at Monday’s “Democracy Denied!” public meeting will be éirígí’s Daithí Mac an Mháistír, Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún and SDLP member Alban Maginness.

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Mac an Mháistír noted its importance.

“The lack of democracy that currently exists in the Six Counties is actually indicative of what will happen across the whole country if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by the electorate in the Twenty-Six Counties. Small freedoms won in the aftermath of the tan war will be reversed in favour of a new brand of EU imperialism for Ireland.

“The plans of the bureaucrats of the European Union with regard to issues like national sovereignty, democracy and accountability mirror those of Britain in Ireland throughout the centuries – the monopolisation of power in an undemocratic entity and the disempowerment of millions of citizens.

“It is highly appropriate therefore that Belfast will host Monday’s chance to discuss, not only the denial of democracy in the Six Counties, but the threat to democracy that confronts us all.”

Daithí continued: “It is unfortunate that more meetings of this nature could not have been held throughout the Six Counties in the run-up to the Treaty referendum. However, the Campaign Against the European Union Constitution must be commended for organising this one.

“People in the Six Counties could be forgiven for being sceptical on this matter given that the majority of sovereign powers which the EU wishes to take already lie in the foreign parliament of Westminster. However, the attacks on workers’ rights and public services, which are contained within in the Treaty, most definitely will affect us all negatively.

“The first step in confronting these right-wing proposals is to get as many people as possible informed about them. This is the point of Monday’s meeting, and I encourage everybody who can make it to come along.”

Monday’s (June 9) “Democracy Denied!” public meeting will take place in the Conway Mill Education Centre, Conway Mill, west Belfast at 7pm.

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