EUROPEAN UNION JUGGERNAUT HALTED BY THE IRISH REFERENDUM

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– Report and Comment by Nigel Jackson:Occasionally something appears in the major media which casts a brilliant light on the political realities of our times. Such surely was the news report 'E.U. nervous ahead of Irish vote on treaty', which appeared in The Australian on 11 June. So far as I know, this was the first mention by the paper of the vital opportunity given to the Irish to halt the E.U. juggernaut. In March the U.K. Government refused to allow the British people a vote on the Treaty of Lisbon, which appears to doom their national independence, even though 70% or more appeared opposed to it. Instead the Government endorsed the treaty in the House of Commons, breaking its pre-election promise to hold a referendum and using deceit to claim that the treaty is not a re-run of the proposed E.U. constitution which had already been defeated in referendums in France and Holland. In fact, it is 96% the same.

The Irish constitution required a referendum be held. If the Irish voted NO (as they later did), the Treaty of Lisbon would fail and the British would be free again.

Now, note these extraordinary features of the reporting on these matters by The Australian. The only reference to the U.K. events that I had noticed before 11 June was in an article by Professor James Allan. On Target, but not The Australian, published my letter amplifying and supporting Allan's comments. The Australian was now telling its readers about the Irish vote only a day or two before it would happen. No chance for Australians to help the NO campaign at such short notice! The paper described the protection given to the Irish by their constitution as 'a quirk of Irish law'. The YES vote was being supported, we were told, 'by all the main political parties and trade unions'. That means the Establishment, of course.

We were told that 'the treaty's backers' were resorting to threats if the Irish voted NO. The Australian described the NO camp as 'a motley alliance of die-hard Catholics, radical socialists and Sinn Fein politicians' – not a favourable portrait! There was finally a bland report, without comment, that a NO vote would not be accepted and the Irish in that case would be asked to think again.

Quite plainly, there seems to be a secret power working to herd Europeans into a super-state in which their cultures will be eroded, languages lost and freedoms diminished; and The Australian appears to have co-operated most generously with that power. It is worth adding that no Australian politician of significance seems to have warned us what was going on.

Further bias shown: The Irish did vote NO by 53.4% to 46.6% in a reasonably high voter turnout of 53%. The bias and lack of magnanimity of the press in reporting the NO victory has shown even more strongly their secret alliance with the powers behind the scenes. In its report ('Europe mystified as Irish kill treaty', 14-15 June) The Australian began by referring to 'the cantankerous voters of Ireland' – as rude and unchivalrous an attribution as I have ever seen in a major newspaper. It added that the Irish Prime Minister would 'be under pressure from other leaders to hold a second vote to overturn the rejection.' What could be clearer than the fundamentally tyrannous attitude there revealed?

The Age, as it were, wept tears as it told readers ('Ireland rejects key E.U. treaty', 14 June) that the Irish vote could 'wreck a treaty painstakingly negotiated over years by leaders of all 27 member states.' How sad! There was not a word, however, about the promise-breaking and deceit practised by some of these 'leaders' (they were hardly 'representatives') in ensuring that referendums were not allowed in their nations.

The Sunday Age ('Irish NO vote stymies key reforms of E.U.', 15 June) used exaggeration in claiming that the Irish vote had 'thrown Europe into political turmoil' rather than caused anguish to certain power elites. The result was blamed on fear, ignoring the fact that fear of tyranny is sensible and ethically acceptable. However, all was not lost for the tyrants (the paper did not put it like that, of course): 'Other European countries said they would try to press ahead for a way to make the Lisbon Treaty work after all' (moving the goalposts during the game!).

On 16 June The Australian published a news report ('Europe powers vow to push on without Irish') which advised that France, Germany and E.U. officials in Brussels were planning 'to press ahead' with the treaty 'despite Ireland's shock rejection of the blueprint.' It added that Britain and Czechoslovakia felt the treaty was dead. Only near the end of the report came an admission that 'there are signs that across Europe political leaders will face growing public opposition if they disregard the Irish vote.' Below its report The Australian published an opinion article ('Dublin should do right thing and leave the E.U.') by a former Danish foreign minister and E.U. supporter, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, who referred to 'the unfortunate Irish tradition for referendums'!

On 17 June The Australian news report ('E.U. crisis talks on treaty's defeat') advised that 'most E.U. leaders have insisted ratification should continue in the eight nations that have not yet endorsed the treaty' and claimed that 'doing so would put huge pressure on Ireland to hold a fresh referendum'. Only in the last of the fourteen paragraphs was there a tiny note that E.U. leaders risk 'being accused of ignoring their citizens.'

Thinking it Over: None of these reports for a moment considered the thought that, if the Irish folk said NO, then maybe many of the other peoples of Europe might also say NO in referendums, in which case it would only be just to hold those referendums. The Age on 16 June ('Irish "ayes" outnumbered as voters turn their no's up at Europe's advances') noted that there is now 'enormous pressure on British PM Gordon Brown, who will be badgered into revisiting an early promise to have a referendum in Britain too.' It also stated that the treaty would be considered in both houses of Parliament on 18 June.

In my view all people who cherish continued British independence should write to Her Majesty the Queen appealing to her to refuse to allow Britain to be further integrated into the E.U. unless the British people have endorsed such a move in a referendum.

It was good that on 16 June an editorial in The Australian ('Celtic snub to the E.U.') was more reasonable than the paper's other coverage, admitting that the Irish NO vote was 'a clear expression of where its public wants to draw the line' and had 'highlighted how out of touch the Continent's political elite are'. The editorial added that Irish voters were 'calling a halt to 50 years of creeping federalism in Europe'. Clearly they were disinclined to yield 'any aspect of national sovereignty' to a 'supranational bureaucracy'. Also, on 17 June The Australian published an excellent letter by a British citizen, Dr. D.R. Cooper of Maidenhead. Dr. Cooper remarked that 'we shall shortly discover the true extent to which the E.U. respects the rule of law, as claimed on its website.' He pointed out that 'any attempt by the E.U. to circumvent that 'NO' in order to implement (the treaty) would clearly be illegal under its own law', as would be 'any kind of victimisation of the Irish people for exercising their legal right of veto.'

Here in Australia those of us who cherish our British blood and our ties with our motherland must surely exert ourselves energetically to prevent any further loss of British sovereignty to the E.U. The Irish NO is a godsend; but there is still much to do