"Fully aware that the Croatian People do not want to give up their hard earned independence, the ruling elites changed the Croatian Constitution prior to the EU referendum to eliminate the rule which invalidated any referendum unless 50 percent participation was achieved.That the same situation would occur here is virtually a 'given' - even to the extent that the % required for the result the EU and their sycophants in the UK would want, would be 'arranged'.
Prior to the EU referendum, the Croatian people were subjected to a massive North Korea-style pro–EU propaganda campaign, which relentlessly extolled the benefits and virtues of membership, and denigrated any attempts to say otherwise.
The Government spent huge amounts of public funds to pay for a massive YES campaign, whilst denying any funding to the NO case. In addition, the European Commision ran its own very expensive YES campaign. State enterprises and corporations were also enlisted. State Television aired pro-EU adverts for free or at discounted rates, Croatia Post home delivered more than 2 million government leaflets for free, and the City of Zagreb provided free EU advertising on its trams.
The official referendum campaign was restricted to a four week period at the height of winter and favoured the official YES case which had almost exclusive access to the electronic media. It also exploited seasonal distractions provided by Christmas and New Year celebrations as well as winter school holidays.
The real referendum campaign had actually started much much earlier and involved, not thousands, but tens of thousands, pro-EU advertisements on radio and Television.
The 'Vecernji List' daily reported on 10.8.2011 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EU Integrations had in the two preceeding months (June and July 2011) paid the broadcasting of more than 13 thousand radio adverts and more than 2300 TV adverts on 80 radio stations, 6 national and 15 local TV stations. This massive propaganda campaign continued and even increased in scope and intensity over the next six months leading up to the referendum.
The Austrian, German and Government-owned electronic and print media ( ie all the media in Croatia) blatantly supported the YES case and made sure that the YES campaign was the only campaign. Hundreds of sponsored 'information programs' were aired over many months and even more 'informative' newspaper articles were printed.
The Catholic Church hierarchy, lavishly funded by the State, also openly supported the YES case and seemed unconcerned that there was no democratic public debate and no visible NO case.
In the last few weeks, the population was carpet-bombed by advertisements and appeals on TV, radio and the print media from the President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Ministers, Actors, Singers and Sportsmen to choose EU prosperity and happiness over isolation and poverty.
Just days before the referendum, Foreign minister Vesna Pusić shamelessly threatened Croatia's 1.2 million pensioners that they would lose their pensions if they voted against EU membership. The Zvijezda voting station in Zagreb, which covers several retirement homes with about 1100 pensioners, reported an 80 percent vote in favour of EU membership."
To Ukip, Hannan, Carswell and the other campaigns calling for a referendum - be careful that for what you wish without first having secured that most important of all things, a level playing field!
Just saying............
7 comments:
I note your reference to the Croatian pensioners being threatened WfW.
I remember a small group of us attending a European Movement meeting to - ahem - contribute our views, during which a gentleman I vaguely recognised rose to his feet and told one of our group, a woman in her 60s, that her pension depended on our relationship with the EU.
The 'gentleman' turned out to be Lord Tyler, a LibDem/once Liberal.
How easily the people take our government representatives to be nice individuals - they are absolute scum.
I take your point Witterer, but but...
It is all very well talking about levelling the playing field, but without an ice sheet to privide a pene-plain, how are we to do that.
Equally in the UK the other side would not have all the chips.
How long do we wait?
Just posted on John Redwood's Blog. I wonder if points like those I'm making will get through his moderation?
"3. Renegotiate our relationship with the EU, and put the result to a vote of the UK people to answer the question if they wish to stay in the EU on the revised terms."
I'd suggest "The Colleagues" have no intention of offering "revised terms". That there's some other way of being "in Europe" is a mirage. We don't have a "relationship" WITH the EU. The UK is part of the EU. My left leg does not have "a relationship" with the rest of me, it's a part of me. Same thing applies.
The last time we, the public, had any say was in 1975, when the rigged vote was about the "Common Market". Since then, our parliamentarians seem to have been asleep whilst governments of whatever stripe have ceded our authority to the unelected, unaccountable apparatus of what's become the EU. Most of our statutes now have their origins in Brussels, with our parliamentary representatives nodding through new regulation after new regulation, with neither will or power to object.
The recent Croatian referendum is thought by many to have been rigged to ensure a "Yes" to entry. But the truth is that Croatia now intends to apply for membership based on the "Yes" of a not-very-big minority of the population. I fear any referendum held here would be likewise rigged - the "stay-in" camp would get massive funding from the vested interests of the crony corporates, the BBC State Broadcaster, with it's antipathy to anything that looks too "British" would display all its expected bias, and the public, largely unaware of the true supranational destination of the "EU train" will be hoodwinked, because any scant attention received by the "out" campaign will be dismissive, hostile or both.
There is no cure to the shackles of the EU other than a complete withdrawal and re-establishment of our historic Constitutional rights, Laws and responsibilities . Declarations of intent to "renegotiate", Conservative "EU sceptics" and the whole of UKIP are merely lightening conductors to draw attention away from this truth, whilst the secretive, shadowy organisations such as Bilderberg intent on promoting global co-ordination of governance continue their anti-democratic work.
I don't think we are going to leave the EU, as the monopoly LibLabCon will never do so. We will leave when the EU collapses of its own accord.
Therefore, in the interest of all Europe, we must get in there and make a dogs breakfast out of it, ie support the EU in all its insanity. The more insane its policies, the more we should support them. Long Live The EURO.
From the BBC report of Croatia's referendum on European Union membership (which I initially saw on the digital text service) comes this astonishing bit of blatant lying:
"Croatia will not lose its sovereignty or natural resources, nor will it be ruled by the EU," President Ivo Josipovic said in a written statement.
"Europe will not solve all our problems, but it's a great opportunity."
The first paragraph, in particular, would be worthy of a court case...
BJ: Interesting comment - filed for future use.
GT: How to ensure the field is level I have no real idea as I also think it can't be done. But levelled it must be somehow otherwise the whole exercise would be a waste of time and money. To start with a cap should be set for both sides on promotional material, public media must ensure that equal air time, newspaper space, is provided, that chairs of any public meeting act in strict neutrality. The problem then comes tht the internet cannot be regulated, nor its content equalized and that is where I fear the Yes side will capitalize.
I don't have the knowledge nor capability to give you an answer, suffice it to say that I feel next time will be no different to 1975, where rumours exist that say that result was rigged.
BP: And any such renegotiation would be presented to the public with a heavy nuance for acceptance - there would be no real debate and what debate there was would be controlled by the political elite and their media sycophants.
Anyway that point is academic as the EU will not relinquish any power it already has and will continue to acquire more powers.
DP111: You may be right in that we will only leave when the euro collapses - however I disagree with you that we should participate even more to make a dogs breakfast of it, that will not work.
md: Isn't that what Heath promised - no loss of sovereignty. Doubt whether the Croats were told about that though......
Post a Comment