A chara, - I believe that the actions of the Taoiseach and Fianna Fail in promising that we would not join Partnership for Peace without a referendum, then calling for a debate, and then rendering that debate meaningless by announcing the intention to join, are among the most cynical of recent times.
There may well not be a constitutional requirement for a referendum on joining PfP. However, I consider that it would be antidemocratic to join without the issue being referred to the people. A blatant and unexplained refusal to honour an election commitment can only bring democratic politics into further disrepute and make people even more cynical than they already are.
I recall that Fianna Fail fought the last general election on a catchy but meaningless phrase, "people before politics". It is time it recognised that politics is all about people and that the people are entitled to have their say on a major issue such as this.
The Taoiseach's argument that the result of the European Parliament election will determine our collective attitude towards PfP is extraordinary. Indeed his insistence that our membership of PfP should be the basis on which people judge the merits of candidates and parties in the elections to the European Parliament shows a very limited grasp of the issues. PfP is not an EU issue. The future development of European defence policy was part of the referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty. PfP was not part of that debate, is not part of the European election issues and should be subject to a separate debate. I am calling for a referendum on this subject on June 11th, the same day as the local government referendum. - Yours, etc., Bernie Malone, MEP,
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.