Greenham 1984, just before the eviction at Main Gate Women have had to brave - maggots and blood thrown into the 'benders' (tents), — as well as the problems of living under polythene snow, TOT weeks, It is this courage and self-sacrifice of the women at the camp that has in- policy, movemell around bringing kinds of Women at the camp have left their friends and families, lived for two years in the mud, broken the ice on water to was wash, lived on what can be cooked on a campfire. At the same time as enduring this incredible hardship they have kept town, military authorities at the camp: dancing on the cutting the fence, invading the observation post, organising blockades cessful, ment.
1983.
Greenham 1983 demonstrations, generally making fools of the powers that be.
Up and down the country women, and men, have seen that courage and self-sacrifice and been inspired to take at least one or two steps to express their own opposition to cruise, by wearing a badge, going on a march, voting on a thousands of becoming a CND activist. Ul s Tarzan The whole movement against cruise La powerful new impetus. Support Groups flourished 'Affinity groups' were set up in virtually every and the rank and file of the -labour movement and CND gave enthusiastic support. For them a women-only action was no problem because they could see the truth that Greeham broadened the Peace Movement not narrowed it.
The Tories had been pushed onto the defensive on the missiles and they on drastic "Tarzan' Heseltine was appointed Secretary of State for Defence, to vamp up the image of the missiles. . Lady Olga Maitland tried to do her bit by launching her 'Women and families for peace' and the bomb!
Lady Olga was singularly unsucbut the press had obviously been quietly told to give her a boost and to avoid giving Greenham favourable publicity.
Since then Greenham has been a massive thorn in the Tories side, keeping up the pressure on the missiles, and preventing them from being sneaked into the country. No doubty the example of the Greenham women helped Sarah Tisdall to decide that she would leak the document giving the date of cruise's arrival.
Sharp Despite this massive impact a lobby began to emerge within CND that opposed women-only groups and actions, claiming that they divided the move.
The only sense in which Greenham divided the movement that sharpened the debate on how the movement against cruise should be built in The objection of some CND leaders was, in reality, to a movement outside their control.
Following the 1982 CND conference the CND leaders had planned no mass actions against cruise for the coming year. Even the traditional October demonstration was in doubt, on the grounds that CND had no money - despite its rising membership and
pirit The court case against Reagan, the •sound around Greenham' demonstra tion of 50,000 women, the fence cutting exercise, and the mounting arrests once more forced the issue, and rallied even the new 'respectable' leadership of the Labour Party behind the women. one in the labour movement could afford to be seen as less than enthusiastic for the Greenham movement.
put cruise in the public eve.
with cheers.
*They know how what they've been up against.
Glenvs Kinnock's ticket's' seal of Greenham camp. never.
allowed to forget cruise. Wordiness calls that have fight against Greenham women.
much aided by . No becoming time honoured The successful harassment of the cruise convoy two weeks ago once more On the miners' picket lines in Lancashire last week mentions of Greenham were mel A couple of Yorkshire pickels took ume to explain now much they admired the Greenham women.
deal with the police', they said, 'And now we know the picket line last week put the 'dream approval on the Better late than long as the Greenham peace camp is there no one is going to be That's why Heseltine hates Greenham, and why the Tories are prepared to put so much effort and money into evicting the camp It also keeps the labour movement on its toes. The camp has to be defended. So perhaps this time round the labour movement will respond to the come Greenham movement to call strike action against the missiles. The crime of the labour movement leaders in relation to Greenham is not any lack of wor diness in support. It lies in the fact that for the last 18 months thev have lett the the missiles to the In this abstention they have been the miserable sec- ingly. tarianism of much of the British 'far left'. Militant and the Next Step have told us these 'middle-class' women are anti-socialist. Socialist Worker in what long fashion, had 50 per cent quotas on their coaches Obstructing the cruise convoy, March 1984 to the Greenham actions. Socialist Organiser only gave its support grudgAdvising the working class to ignore the biggest mass movement of women since the suffragettes is in a tradition Seclara Marxism, which has done much to give the left a bad name among women.
brought out the best in large sections of the labour rallied its Greenham women demonstrate the truth of the understanBritish ding that women, in rising up from the bottom of the heap to throw off centuries of oppression and degradation, Fortunately Greenham has actually the way. movement as they have support. have begun to will help free a lot of other people on