APPEAL TO VOTERS Republican SF calls for No vote

REPUBLICAN SINN Féin has called for a No vote in the Lisbon referendum "to defend sovereignty, neutrality and democracy".

REPUBLICAN SINN Féin has called for a No vote in the Lisbon referendum "to defend sovereignty, neutrality and democracy".

President of the organisation Ruairí Ó Brádaigh said the issue at stake was not EU membership, as claimed by the Yes campaign. It was about the movement of power towards the centre in Brussels and the tightening of the EU grip.

"If Lisbon is defeated, life will go on as before, as happened when France and Holland rejected the proposed constitution, and the whole matter will have to be reconsidered. In fact this State could give a lead to the other peoples of Europe to demand their own referenda in turn, thus increasing democratic accountability."

He said voting No was "opposing the creation of an undemocratic superstate".

Alison Healy

Alison Healy

Alison Healy is a contributor to The Irish Times