Focus on core Nice issues, urges Ahern

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is confident the people will approve the Nice Treaty to support democracy, peace and stability in Europe.

He urged voters to look beyond "the gross distortion" being promoted during the campaign and concentrate on the fundamental issues.

Calling yesterday for a strong Yes vote, Mr Ahern said the public believed the treaty provided the only agreed mechanism to allow enlargement of the Community to proceed as planned. Uncertainty and delay would result if the people rejected the treaty, he said.

Mr Ahern said one of the greatest distortions was the accusation that the EU was militaristic and represented a danger to Irish neutrality. "In fact, the complete opposite is true," he said.

Sharing the platform with Mr Ahern, former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and former SDLP leader John Hume MEP urged the people to show their solidarity with the nations of the former communist countries.

Mr Ahern hoped people would focus on the core issues. None was more important than whether we would play our role in promoting lasting peace and stability in Europe.

Dr FitzGerald said he felt obliged to re-enter national politics to canvass for a Yes vote. The EU had established a zone of peace and we in Ireland had the unique chance to consolidate this by voting to enlarge the Community.

"The extreme of left and right in our land have joined together to allege falsely that this treaty represents a move towards the militarisation of Europe, an allegation apparently made on the old totalitarian principle that the bigger the lie, the more people will be fooled. Our people will not be fooled," he added.

The former Fine Gael leader said if the people voted Yes, no future government or Dáil would be able to involve Ireland in common defence unless the electorate voted in a further referendum to authorise such an action.

Mr Hume said a strong Yes vote would strengthen Ireland's role within the EU. Ireland would no longer be the small country; it would be there with the full support of the eastern European countries. He had met the leaders of such countries as Poland, the Czech Republic and Latvia, who regarded Ireland as "their best friend" in Europe. If there was a No vote they would be shocked, but the people would vote Yes as they understood how Eastern Europe had suffered.

"European union, as I've always said, is the best example in the history of the world of conflict resolution," he said.