Libertas.org

Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley has this afternoon said he has accepted an invitation to meet French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy will be hosting a meeting of members of the Yes and No sides from the Lisbon Treaty campaign on Monday.

"Along with many of my fellow Irish & European citizens, I was offended to hear Sarkozy say that Ireland would have to vote again. Sarkozy himself has denied the people of France a vote on the Lisbon Treaty saying 'if there was a referendum in France, there would be no treaty'. For Sarkozy to tell Ireland to vote again is a shocking indictment of the anti-democratic attitude of some European leaders.

As a European, and in particular as current President of the European Council, Sarkozy has a democratic responsibility to respect the will of the Irish people.

The Lisbon Treaty is dead, the same formula has now been rejected by the Dutch and by Sarkozy's own people and now by the people of Ireland.

Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum, and the people said no. If our fellow Europeans in the other 26 countries were given a referendum, I am sure that most of them would give the same answer that Ireland did.

I want Europe to be strong, prosperous and democratically legitimate. Comments by Sarkozy in response to the only democratic say on the Lisbon Treaty make Europe weaker.

On Monday when we meet, I will be asking that he accept that the Irish people have rejected the Lisbon Treaty.

Libertas will not participate in any debate on the Lisbon treaty on Monday - that debate ended when the people of Ireland voted no".

Thank you so much for your support and your votes. The battle over Lisbon has been won,  the battle for a new Europe continues.
 
We put a lot of time and effort into this campaign, and we'd like to thank all of our supporters, donors, and volunteers for the amazing work that made last Thursday's incredible win possible.

In politics, it is easy to simply oppose.

We in Libertas will now reflect on the message from the Irish people, and begin the process of looking to build a positive alternative to the direction Europe is taking.

The price of democracy is constant vigilance, and Libertas will remain on a campaign footing for some time to come, as we await developments in Brussels.
 
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Thank you again
The Libertas Team

Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley has appealed to Irish people to turn out to vote and reject the Lisbon Treaty tomorrow, saying that a "No" vote would "send our leaders back to the drawing board".

Speaking from the Libertas Campaign Bus, en route to Galway where he will cast his ballot tomorrow morning, Mr. Ganley said:

"This has been a long and a hard campaign, and tomorrow Irish people have to make a choice. Do they really believe that this is the best deal that this country can achieve? Or do they believe the reports coming from Brussels that say we can get something better?

We need to keep our Commissioner. That was Government policy for 20 years, and it's just as sensible now as it was before they abandoned it so casually.

The Government and their yes-men would have us believe that there is a boundary to what we can achieve. We on the other hand are optimistic that all of Europe can do better. No good reasons for a "Yes" vote have been given in this campaign. I hope, and I firmly believe, that the Irish people will vote "No" tomorrow, and that the work can immediately begin on constructing a better vision of Europe for all its 490 million citizens".