European
HistoryThe Lord giveth… and the EU Charter of Rights taketh away
Wise Up Journal
By Greg O'Brien
April 25, 2008"The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights sets out in a single text, for the first time in the European Union's history, the whole range of civil, political, economic and social rights of European citizens and all persons resident in the EU.
They are based, in particular, on the fundamental rights and freedoms recognised by the European Convention on Human Rights ECHR)."
- The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
It all sounds wonderful doesn't it, that is until you actually look at the details and see that just like the Patriot Act in America it does the exact opposite of what it's supposed to do. To find out its true intent you have to essentially read it back-to-front. Just like the Lisbon Treaty all the wonderful stuff is put in at the beginning and all the real intent is saved for the end or masked in protocols, legal explanations etc. Most people won't read it all (or even just read a summary text), and people who have only read the good parts trust the rest will be similar, they then go ahead voting without understanding the full implications. If you set a utopian tone at the beginning psychologically we assume that is how the entire text will read and we tend to block out conflicting messages later on, otherwise know as cognitive dissonance.
When you read it "back to front" you get some disturbing results. Here are a few examples from the ECHR to give you the real intent from the official EU Charter of Fundamental Rights website:
[bolded text is added by the author.]
http://www.eucharter.org/home.php?page_id=9
"Article 2. Right to Life
a) Article 2(2) of the ECHR:
'Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:* in defence of any person from lawful violence;
* in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
* in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.' "The EU says that if the state's law enforcement officers can deprive you of your right of life, in other words murder you, while attempting to arrest you or during a riot, and legally your execution "shall not be regarded' as breaking the law/article of the right to life. How many times do we have to be reminded that not reading slick lawyer "small print" can be perilous?
"b) Article 2 of the Protocol No 6 to the ECHR:
'A State may make provision in its law for the death penalty in respect of acts committed in time of war or of imminent threat of war; such a penalty shall be applied only in the instances laid down in the law and in accordance with its provisions…"That's right the EU endorses the Death Penalty!!! You may have never heard that before when listening to the politicians or media glorifying the EU but there it is in black and white on their official website. Individuals can be given the death penalty for "acts committed" (who decides what these acts) in a time of war or of even the threat of war (war on terrorism).
Now here is the nice introduction that politicians can promote:
"1. Everyone has the right to life.
2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed."
Article 52 of the EU Charter of Fundamental rights also states the level/scope of them and that a "limitation on the exercise of the rights and freedoms" can be made "provided for by law" (those "small prints"). It also goes a step further by saying "limitations may be made" if it is in the EU's 'interest' (define interest?).
www.eucharter.org/home.php?page_id=62
"Article 52
1. Any limitation on the exercise of the rights and freedoms recognised by this Charter must be provided for by law and respect the essence of those rights and freedoms. Subject to the principle of proportionality, limitations may be made only if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others."
Next we look at liberty, you would think the EU would be all for personal freedom, after all it promotes itself as caring for the citizens and being an example for the rest of the world, but again we find more lies. Here is the "small print" for restrictions to be placed upon you:
www.eucharter.org/home.php?page_id=13
"Art 6. Right to liberty and security
(d) the detention of a minor by lawful order for the purpose of educational supervision or his lawful detention for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority;
(e) the lawful detention of persons for the prevention of the spreading of infectious diseases, of persons of unsound mind, alcoholics or drug addicts or vagrants;"
And here is the easy to read selling point for public consumption:
"1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:"
Next comes free speech, of course the EU must be a guardian of free speech, after all we're told that we, in the west, have levels of free speech unheard of in the rest of the world. That free speech is the cornerstone of a free and democratic society, but, again, if we look at the text we get a completely different picture:
www.eucharter.org/home.php?page_id=18
"Art 11. Freedom of expression and information
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary."
Again the nice show piece intro:
"1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises."
The EU has documented in its protocols, legal explanations etc. that it endorses the death penalty, not punishing law enforcers that kill a person during arrest, killing people for rioting, detaining alcoholics, detaining minors for educational supervision, and restricting speech for protection of disclosure of information, morals, maintaining the authority, reputation…
They say that in the former USSR people had a highly developed mistrust of the government and knew that most of the news they read in the papers or seen on the TV was a complete distortion of the truth. The public learned how to interpret the truth by reading between the lines and reversing what was being said. We in the EU have been 'asleep' and naively trusting of politicians and the media for so long that we haven't developed these skills of discernment. We have taken too much for granted but we cannot afford to do this any longer. We are sleepwalking into a nightmare and unless we start waking up very quickly it will be too late. A NO vote in Ireland to the Lisbon Treaty can actually stop the charter from becoming legally binding and save half a billion people from living under it.
http://www.wiseupjournal.com/?p=285
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The Journal of History - Summer 2008 Copyright © 2008 by News Source, Inc.