Irish media banned from Czech presidents briefing - by Irish officials !

[constitutionus]

according to six one news tonight.

in a piece by Sean Whelan which can be seen on the RTE.ie website he reports on the Czech presidents visit to ireland. a very uncomfortable looking Brian cowan wasnt very forthcoming on questions relating to it conscerning lisbon and indeed in the Czech republic his counterpart there wouldn't even remark on claims that the irish government have complained about the president meeting declan ganly of libertas, out right saying "i wont react to that question- i dont know what to say to this"

all in all predictable stuff given the stance the government has on lisbon - which is the polar opposite to the way the people voted on it. but in the last twenty seconds of the report its revealsed the Czech president gave a breifing to Czech jounalists in which irish journalist were excluded - by IRISH officials.

as seans ends the report "its unusual not to have media access to a visiting head of state. but then its unusual for a visiting head of state to be opposed to the lisbon treaty"

so what the hells going on here, are the government through its lackeys censoring people they dont like now?

unless im mistaken i thought we had a free press who are meant to report the news and the opinions of a visting head of state certainly fall into that catagory so who are these jumped up little hitlers stifling that?

this is very very worrying stuff.

[CookieMonster]

It seems quite odd. Is there any precedent for something like this?

[FutureTaoiseach]

Fair play to President Klaus who is more of a democrat than a lot of the crowd in FF who still won't come out with a promise to respect the Irish no vote and not to attempt ratification of parts of the Treaty without a referendum passing them. Klaus, like the Irish people, recognises that an attempt is being made through Lisbon to silence the voices of small nations and subjugate them to increasingly-dominant Big States. It is an attack on freedom of the press to deny the Irish media access to what the President has to say on a matter that is fundamental to Ireland's survival as an independent nation-state. The Irish elites need to be straight with the Irish people as to their intentions. As far as I am concerned Lisbon in its current form is dead in its entirety, and the only morally-acceptable positions concerning it are either the status-quo or a referendum on something different. So much for the new 'freedoms' we are told we are getting in the COFR. Nice to see what's in store for us in the new Europe envisaged by the authors of Lisbon.

[corelli]

according to six one news tonight.

in a piece by Sean Whelan which can be seen on the RTE.ie website he reports on the Czech presidents visit to ireland. a very uncomfortable looking Brian cowan wasnt very forthcoming on questions relating to it conscerning lisbon and indeed in the Czech republic his counterpart there wouldn't even remark on claims that the irish government have complained about the president meeting declan ganly of libertas, out right saying "i wont react to that question- i dont know what to say to this"

all in all predictable stuff given the stance the government has on lisbon - which is the polar opposite to the way the people voted on it. but in the last twenty seconds of the report its revealsed the Czech president gave a breifing to Czech jounalists in which irish journalist were excluded - by IRISH officials.

as seans ends the report "its unusual not to have media access to a visiting head of state. but then its unusual for a visiting head of state to be opposed to the lisbon treaty"

so what the hells going on here, are the government through its lackeys censoring people they dont like now?

unless im mistaken i thought we had a free press who are meant to report the news and the opinions of a visting head of state certainly fall into that catagory so who are these jumped up little hitlers stifling that?

this is very very worrying stuff.

I saw that and, as one not particularly opposed to the Treaty, I think it a very sad day when the Government don't trust the public to listen to the President of another State who is not so enamored with the Treaty, and make up their own mind.

Is that what the Government have been reduced to in its effort to promote the treaty?
Keep anybody not in favour away from the media. Very sad.

[ibis]

I saw that and, as one not particularly opposed to the Treaty, I think it a very sad day when the Government don't trust the public to listen to the President of another State who is not so enamored with the Treaty, and make up their own mind.

Is that what the Government have been reduced to in its effort to promote the treaty?
Keep anybody not in favour away from the media. Very sad.

Pretty par for the course for this lot so far.

[peadarmc]

RTÉ News: Lisbon dominates Czech State visit

Thats the link to the story - the video is at the bottom! Cant believe this! FF are a disgrace, the Irish government is a disgrace and how fecking dare they meet any head of state or go to any interantional conference and claim to represent the Irish people

Shame on them - they dont represent me (or the majority of the irish people!) - they are no longer our representive government! Is this the kind of State they dreamed of in 1916? i somehow doubt it! Shame on the so-called government!

[Question R24U]

...and how did our fearless fourth estate react to this suppression of the truth and free speech? Sit down protests, heckling during Biffo's contribution or cowardly complicity and covering the coverup only.

[ibis]

Is this the kind of State they dreamed of in 1916? i somehow doubt it!

Don't knock it - that this is not the kind of State they dreamed of in 1916 is one of the few remaining positives in the current gloom.

[peadarmc]

ok now theres a road neither of us want to go down im sure and while delightfully avoiding doing so, i think you'll agree in principle that be it FF or FG or Lab or CnaG - whatever period in past irish political history you wish to pick - this was not and is not the kind of state they wanted, or we deserve! we deserve better than this! I hope every voter in Ireland votes no the second time if they ever have the bare-faced cheek of putting it to us again. The behaviour today is nothing short of fascism! disgraceful!

[kerrynorth]

The optics of the government muzzleing a visiting Head of State because they would rather not have the populace hear his views on Lisbon of course probably speaks greater volumes than anything he would have actually said. As a visiting Head of State protocol demands he would have to restrain himself in his comments, in fact he probably could not even refer to Lisbon publicly on his visit. So the government have shot themsleves in the foot on this one!