[IMC-Editorial] (no subject)

Sat Oct 19 23:29:16 PDT 2002

Hi,

this is a feature for the centre column of Indymedia.org on the Nice treaty.
Any comments should go back to the Irish editorial list. The image petey.jpg
is on the indymedia.ie homepage (/img/front/ I think?). I don't have email
of the person who requested this?? Anybody on the IMC list should have got a
copy of the original request and can forward.

<article>
Irish groups call for help to Throw a Spanner in the works of the GATS
Machine.

Irish citizens were the only citizens of the European Union who had the
opportunity to vote on whether or not to ratify the Treaty of Nice . The
Irish people voted No to the Nice Treaty just over a year ago. This, in the
eyes of the increasingly anti-democratic European Union and in the eyes of
the neo-liberal Irish Government, was the wrong answer. So the exact same
referendum is being rerun on Saturday 19th October. Those calling for a Yes
vote include the majority of our political parties, the entire National and
Multinational Business community in Ireland and pro-liberalization forces
from all over Europe. They are outspending the Irish opposition by a factor
of 9/1  in their desperation to change the minds of Irish Voters. Why? They
say it is because they want to facilitate enlargement of the EU and that the
treaty is necessary to do this. This has been challenged.

A charge on Indymedia Ireland is that the treaty it will grant
anti-democratic fast-track powers  to the unelected European Commission to
sign the EU as a whole up to International trade negotiations with the WTO
on the GATS and TRIPS agreements. No wonder Peter Sutherland – ex head of
the WTO – has been campaigning extensively here. The Irish have a vote on
GATS and Corporate Globalization. Groups and individuals who are against the
forced implementation of GATS on a worldwide level can help us by sending
statements of support for a no vote on Nice to the Indymedia Ireland
Newswire. We will forward these to the Irish Media , Politicians, Civil
Society and those campaigning against this insult to democracy.

<html>
Irish groups call for help to Throw a Spanner in the
works of the <A
href="http://www.gatswatch.org/index.html">GATS</A>&nbsp; Machine.
<A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=11903"><IMG
align=right alt="Petey Boy" border=1
src="petey.jpg"
style="HEIGHT: 180px; WIDTH: 148px"></A>
Irish citizens were the only citizens of the European Union who had the
opportunity to vote on whether or not to ratify the <A
href="http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/about/nice.html">Treaty of Nice </A>.
The
Irish people voted No to the Nice Treaty just over a year ago. This, in the
eyes
of the increasingly anti-democratic European Union and in the eyes of the
neo-liberal Irish Government, was the wrong answer. So the exact same
referendum
is being rerun on Saturday 19th October. Those calling for a Yes vote
include
the majority of our political parties, the entire National and Multinational
Business community in Ireland and pro-liberalization forces from all over
Europe. They are outspending the Irish opposition by a <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=13949">factor of
9/1&nbsp;</A> in their desperation to change the minds of Irish Voters. Why?
They say it is because they want to facilitate <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=14160&amp;start=80">en
largement
</A>of the EU and that the treaty is necessary to do this. This has been <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=14375&amp;start=40">ch
allenged</A>.

A <A href="http://www.indymedia.ie/article133">charge</A> on <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie">Indymedia Ireland </A>is that the treaty it
will
grant anti-democratic <A
href="http://attac.org/ireland/page24.htm">fast-track
powers&nbsp;</A> to the unelected European Commission to sign the EU as a
whole
up to International trade negotiations with the WTO on the GATS and TRIPS
agreements. No wonder <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=12493">Peter
Sutherland
</A>– ex head of the WTO – has been campaigning extensively here. The Irish
have
a vote on GATS and Corporate Globalization. Groups and individuals who are
against the forced implementation of GATS on a worldwide level can help us
by
sending statements of support for a no vote on Nice to the Indymedia Ireland
<A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/publish.cgi">Newswire</A>. We will
forward
these to the <A
href="http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=14657">Irish Media
</A>,
Politicians, Civil Society and those campaigning against this insult to
democracy.