|
|
 |
EU Constitution - brainwashing behind the referendum
This Sunday the people of France will vote on whether or not to accept a Constitution for the European Union. The EU Constitution overrides national laws and institutions, formally creating a new single nation, a United States of Europe.
The entire French Establishment, all major politicians, and the entire mass media, including all major TV news programmes and newspapers, are openly trying to brainwash the population in favour of a "yes" vote. The French President, Jaques Chirac, has promised to ignore the result if the "no" campaign wins. Yet commentators admit that the French people will vote "no".
The mass media in the UK seems surprisingly honest about what is happening in France, but in fact it is the norm in Western countries for the media to ensure that debate never departs from assumptions that suit the Establishment agenda. Such assumptions are so internalised in the minds of the masses that it never occurs to most people to question them.
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, revealed the fact that that "yes" is the only option available when he admitted that he will hold as many referenda as it takes until the "yes" campaign wins in Britain. In the Netherlands, the so-called Christian Democrats have announced that the government will not accept a "no" vote from the majority of Dutch people unless they win by at least 60%.
In a Western democracy, the ruling elite control the people by manipulating their belief system, and if all else fails the people are simply ignored. This is how "democracy" works in the West, but like all good cons, people do buy it.
FURTHER READING
The Times, "Turmoil as Chirac plots to disregard 'non' vote", 27 May 2005.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1629946,00.html
PRESIDENT CHIRAC of France is preparing to throw Europe into confusion and put Britain on the spot by backing moves to keep the European constitution alive if it is rejected in Sunday’s referendum.
...
The Times, "Resistance look to sabotage referendum", 12 May 2005.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1608304,00.html
Opposition to the EU constitution grows in France as the media is accused of brainwashing
GÉRARD DEPARDIEU and Françoise Hardy say “yes”; gay and feminist groups say “yes”; President Chirac and almost all the Establishment want nothing else. So how can half the French electorate still be planning to say “no” to the European constitution? The answer has become clear as leaders of the motley resistance to the treaty have united this week to condemn what they see as brainwashing by state-backed media before the referendum on May 29.
“Rarely have we seen such a movement of powerful intellectual intimidation as we are witnessing now,” Laurent Fabius, the former Socialist Prime Minister who has broken with his party’s “yes” line, said.
The media are firmly in the “yes” camp. Opponents are given space to air views, but the editorial slant is nearly always in line with M Chirac’s assertion that “you cannot be a European and vote ‘no’ ”.
The television networks and Radio France were reprimanded last week by the broadcasting authority for failing to give equal time to the “no” camp. Jean-Paul Cluzel, the chief of the state broadcaster, replied that “explaining the constitution is not propaganda”.
Last week Bernard Guetta, the network’s main morning commentator, told listeners that “France is on the verge of committing a terrible mistake” if it were to vote “non”.
The “no” campaigners are furious about the Government’s tax-funded advertising and the gushing brochure that accompanies the copies of the turgidly worded constitution that are being sent to all households. Equally irksome is the sudden willingness by Brussels to yield to long-held French demands, such as a move last week to cut VAT on restaurant bills.
The Government, aware of the danger of preaching from on high, has begun to haul in interest groups and celebrities such as Johnny Hallyday, the rock idol, and Depardieu, who recited pro-European lines from Victor Hugo before the public at the Foreign Ministry on Monday. Business leaders, as unpopular as they are pro-European, have stayed out for fear of fuelling the mutiny.
According to pollsters, the “no” camp would be much bigger were it not for the survival of France’s traditional belief that “Europe” is a good thing.
BBC News, "French media in referendum 'bias' row", 21 May 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4568819.stm
In the fraught, passionate and sometimes frenzied debate in France over the referendum on the European Constitution, the spotlight has now been turned full beam onto the role and conduct of the media.
...
A group of journalists from French state TV and radio are so angered by what they see as one-sided propaganda campaign being broadcast on the airwaves on behalf of the government and the "Yes" campaign that they have set up an online petition, signed by more than 15,000 people since 1 May.
...
"Publicly-owned media in France are broadcasting sheer propaganda to the public, and this absence of any pluralism or any attempt to represent and discuss the point of view of those who want to vote 'No' to the Treaty is profoundly undemocratic"
He and his colleague Jean-Marc Surcin, a documentary-maker for France 2, agree that French newspapers have been no different, with most overtly supporting the "Yes" campaign.
...
"The Insider" mailing list article, 27 May 2005.
|
