Christians voting for the International Criminal Court would be tantamount to Jews voting for the Third Reich, a press conference in Dublin was told yesterday.
Representing the National Mothers Council of Ireland, Ms Olivia Connelly spoke at a press conference organised by the Christian Solidarity Party. The CSP, which obtained 0.47 per cent in the last election, is campaigning for a No vote on the Nice Treaty and the International Criminal Court referendums.
Although the party is opposed to the death penalty, it has misgivings about the wording of the amendment to remove it from the Constitution. Mrs Connolly said that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court would have global powers of arrest, on crimes that were not clearly defined.
Mrs Elizabeth Mahon, representing Women for the Third Millennium, said that national laws would be subordinated to the court. "Asking Christians to vote for the International Criminal Court is tantamount to asking Jews to vote for the Third Reich," she said. Mr Manus Meanmain, of the CSP, said that the death penalty referendum removes the right to habeas corpus, allowing someone to be executed while appealing against conviction or sentence. By barring the Oireachtas from introducing the death penalty meant future EU governments could introduce summary executions, he said.
The Irish Cattle Traders and Stock-owners Association, said yesterday the Treaty was not in their interest. They will not attend this evening's press conference in Dublin where farm organisations outline their reasons for supporting the Nice Treaty.
Mr Martin Coughlan, the Munster vice-president of the organisation, said the treaty would lead to an inability to influence decisions and a difficulty to compete. He said that Ireland would lose its influence on the Council of Ministers because of Qualified Majority Voting, especially on the Council of Farm Ministers which affected the lives of Irish farmers. The ICSA said that EU farm prices are double what East European prices are. Access to EU markets would attract interest from food multinationals seeking cheap food supplies.