beir bua mo chairde.
To mark Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams first visit to Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia where he joined with the President of ERC Josep Carod Rovira (the Catalan republican left independence party) our own occasional contributor, Mr Eoin O Broin published at his welcomed suggestion a piece in the local english language (girona based) pan catalonia weekly paper today.
Mr Adams expressed his belief that there is enough wisdom in the current Spanish gov. to help the basques sort things out, and that Mr Blair for another term is still preferable to the tories.
He didn't say he had seen the BVM and I'm sure he got chocolate biscuits.
And stirring words they were too.
But it would breach copyright to publish them here at the moment, and so I won't.
However enough to say that mr Rovira and mr Adams reiterated their common position on the EU constitution which mr Rovira is leading his party in a No vote "for many reasons".
Last week Pressie Chirac and Pressie ZP declared Barcelona as capital of Europe as it looks forward to the first referendum on the EU constitution, coz I live there.
They want a YES vote.
You know all about that.
I don't have a vote on this issue, but mindful that many young and old people have been asking me how to "vote" or "not-vote" on this, and pleasantly surprised to see mr Adams turn up to flog his book, chat to Josep and visit Montserrat, I thought i'd tell you about ERC's reasons to say NO!
because the EU constitution doesn't recognise nations without a state. because the EU foreign policy doesn't guarantee peace.
because the EU doesn't guarantee the right to health.
because THE CATALAN LANGAUGE IS NOT OFFICIAL YOU EFFING LANGERS
because the right to work is not guaranteed
because the right to a home is not guaranteed
because the constitution obliges an increase in defence spending
because there is no provison for auto-determination
because the EU parliament doesn't have enough power.
For their part the allies in the tripartite council of BCN and government of Catalonia the greens ICV, are calling for a NO! vote coz Europe is bad for the environment as well as the above reasons.
There are many good reasons to vote YES!
there are some very good reasons listed above to vote NO!
when your turn comes Vote or "don't vote" with your conscience not your genitals. (that was a bit un-neccesary, but instead of meeting Gerry and Josep I went to the opening of a new exhibtion on the Parisien surrealist circle of communists and anarchists at the local art gallery and complained bitterly at the french diplomatic legation and some cultural basques for not providing enough champagne and not a single chocolate biscuit or even a cracker jayzhus not even a ferrero rocher. same it is usually is, bunch of bourgois art lovers racing through the art stuff to drink down all the dhrink before anyone who couldn't afford to go tomorrow could get some)
some links-
Gerry -
http://www.informativos.telecinco.es/dn_25651.htm
http://www.europapress.es/europa2003/noticia.aspx?cod=20050217184820&tabID=1&ch=66
http://www.europapress.es/europa2003/noticia.aspx?cod=20050217155323&tabID=1&ch=69
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/feb05/050217/032n1mun.php
http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/inte/europ/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1980179.html
http://www.diariodeleon.com/se_nacional/noticia.jsp?CAT=102&TEXTO=3470383
surrealists (no bikkies)
http://www.cccb.org/cat/premsa/arx01.htm