EU referendum will bind us all

According to Mr Desmond Zammit Marmara` (Talking Point, April 30) the EU referendum is `meaningless`. Very recently the secretary general of the Malta Labour Party said the referendum would only bind the government of the day. Both these positions are anti-democratic and arrogant in the extreme.

The holding of a referendum is the ultimate tool of democracy. In the last general election, the public was promised that Malta`s entry to the European Union would take place only following a `yes` vote from the people. How can this possibly be portrayed as meaningless?

The people were not promised a referendum on partnerships or on `Switzerland in the Mediterranean` or on a free trade area. No, the electorate rejected all these fantasies in the 1998 elections.

The citizens voted for the conclusion of a package with the EU aiming at membership and then a referendum so that they could approve the entry conditions.

The people want to advise their political leaders about the future of the country. Is this so meaningless?

Mr Zammit Marmara` said that only a general election could be binding. If this were the case, he should accept the mandate given in the 1998 general election for a referendum to be held unless he wants to go against the people`s wishes.

The same can be said to the Labour Party leaders. We have to respect the verdict of the electorate whether we like it or not. This is a democratic country and political leaders need to listen to public opinion and not dictate to it.

In a speech to the Convention on the Future of Europe, Alfred Sant said his party would use all democratic means to convince people that the best route was the one chosen by the MLP.

How democratic is it to ignore the result of a referendum? How democratic is it to ignore the mandate given in the last general election?

How democratic is it to abstain from the political debates in the media on the EU?

Where is the Labour Party today?

Is it part of their strategy not to attend PBS programmes, even those organised by the Broadcasting Authority?

The people have asked for a referendum on EU membership. The government has bound itself to provide one. Yet Labour insist that such a referendum would be `meaningless`.

Unfortunately, it is Labour`s `policy` in this area that is `meaningless`.