Sir, - I agree with almost all of Dick Walsh's column of October 17th ("All this banana republic is missing is bananas"), but I must object to his characterisation of the State as a democracy ("It's about how our democracy works").
As you are no doubt aware, the 22 per cent of people born in the State who now live elsewhere are denied the right to vote in Dail elections. In Senate elections, 96 per cent of people born in the State are denied the right to vote. There is no standard definition of democracy which suggests that representation of 78 per cent of those born in the state (Lower House) and 4 per cent (Upper House) is sufficient to qualify as a democracy.
The following views on the relationship between citizenship and democracy are well-known:
"The right of every citizen to vote and take part in the political process of a state is the foundation of its democracy" (Blackburn, Rights of Citizenship).
"Above all, the citizen of a democracy must be free to vote" (Cohen, Democracy).
"In the modern democratic state the basis of citizenship is the capacity to participate in the exercise of political power through the electoral process" (Barbalet, Citizenship Rights, Struggle and Class Inequality).
On none of the above criteria does Ireland come close to qualifying as a democracy.
This denial of a basic human right breaches the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Irish Government has signed and ratified the ICCPR which contains the following article:
"Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity: (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage." The UDHR has a similar article.
The Irish Government breaches these obligations every day. It feigns an interest in human rights issues while systematically denying a basic human right to many Irish-born citizens. I expect this hypocrisy to be further highlighted during the impending 50th anniversary of the UDHR.
As Mr Walsh said: "What a bloody awful State." But no democracy. - Yours, etc., Daithi O Colchuin,
Campsie,
New South Wales,
Australia.