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Democracy Denied Protest – Belfast

30/09/09

Speaking at today’s [Wednesday] protest at the European Commission offices in Belfast, éirígí general secretary Breandán Mac Cionnaith said no decisions on European integration should be taken until after a British withdrawal from the Six Counties.

The protest, intended to coincide with the closing stages of the Lisbon referendum campaign in the Twenty-Six Counties, made the point that Irish citizens in the North are being denied a say on the issue.

During the protest, which employed agitprop to make the point that hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens are being disenfranchised, Mac Cionnaith and other éirígí activists were refused entry to the European Commission offices to put their views across.

Activists wore GAA tops from the six occupied counties, carried Irish passports and wore tape over their mouths to symbolise the fact that the Dublin government and the European Union is denying them a say on Lisbon.

Mac Cionnaith said: “It is totally unacceptable that the population in the Six Counties is being denied the chance to vote in what is supposedly a national referendum.

“This denial of democracy is symbolic of the anti-democratic nature of the Lisbon Treaty.

“The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty would be deeply damaging to the interests of working people across Ireland and éirígí is actively campaigning for a no vote in the Twenty-Six Counties. However, Ireland will not be in a position to properly decide its relationship with the rest of Europe until a British withdrawal from the occupied Six Counties has taken place and a national democracy has been established.

“Today’s protest was intended to make the point to both the European Union and the Twenty-Six County establishments that the denial of democracy in the Six Counties is not an issue that can be ignored.”

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