The Green Party today warned that resorting to a fortress or militarised Europe will not work in the fight against terrorism. Responding to the French Government's call for aid on the mutual defence provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, Green Party Leader, Eamon Ryan said:
“We should do everything we can to help but we should use our influence at this most testing time to ensure that our response is not to create a fortress Europe, nor to rely exclusively on military or security measures in this fight. We have learnt in this country that terrorism is best defeated by democratic and peaceful means. That is a lesson we now need to share with our French brothers and sisters, as we grieve with them for their terrible loss."
“The terrorist attacks in Paris were an act of war, waged by a small group of people with a truly evil intent: to impose their twisted view of the world on us all by fuelling fear, ignorance and hate. How can we fight back? We fight back by holding on to the very values which they tried to undermine. Paris was one of the first homes of the enlightenment virtues of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. We should now show real fraternity by keeping our borders open to those fleeing from the same violence in Syria. As ordinary Parisiens opened their doors to strangers fleeing the horror unfolding on the streets of Paris, so too must we open our doors and welcome those running from the same terror in the Middle East and Africa. We should fight back by ensuring our society is a welcoming and tolerant one to members of the Muslim religion. We fight back by making sure that the security and surveillance systems we rely on to protect us do not at the same time undermine our basic freedoms and liberty.”