Friday, 6pm:
arriving at revolic Sheffield City Hall for CND's annual conference. Amongst all the bumph is a list of Friday meetings. Where is the workshop organised for tonight?
Cancelled! But we have things organise: resolution supporting acGreenham on December, and getting our demand for peace conference onto this weekend's agenda.
A Greenham Women Against stall is set up in the hall. Women refuse to be moved on by C.ND stewards. A hastilysubbled notice calls caucus In the bar. A handful of women assemble.
There confusion. London Region CND has withdrawn its emergency resolution Greenham we're told. We draw one First thing on SaturYOND Will take the con- Sue from Hackney ference floor and demand women are put back on the agenda.
Saturday morning, 9.45 am:
Joan Ruddock is in the chair and announces the report on the conference agenda, in two parts. First is an announcement about fringe meetings. Then report from the committee. Any questions?
Sue is on her feet, only to be ruled out of order. She should have raised it in the other bit But this wasn't clear. Sorry, LOU bad, can't do anything about that.
We try again when the annual report is discussed. Ilona from Newham CND reference back.
Lost. The women's conference is referred to the national council.
Women are very angry.
Saturday lunch time, women's workshop:
Conference is not supporting women As usual we're pushed off the agenda. they realise we're at the centre of the leading the campaign against Perhaps we ought to get on with organising our own Cone cute ourselves? No, CND must offer its resources. we musi demand CND supports us But how? What's the way through all these for malities, these tricks ofa.
We'll raise it again right after lunch. If conference doesn't agree, we'll storm the platform. Satures We don't.
Women mill around in the corridors. council of war held isn't with us. We have to organise better tomorrow. Someone gets to the mike to announce a caucus at 8am (!) on Sunday, before starts.
Sunday, 8.30am:
We've been waiting on the steps of a locked city hall for half an hour. The women's caucus occupies the coffee men are shooed away. has grown since yesterday, in sober, fighting mood.
We don't know the result of the priority ballot on emergency resolutions. If we win Rebecca Johnson from the camp will move the resolution. We will meet again at lunch time to talk it out.
Meanwhile we can't trust national council with our women's conterence.
If conference won't let us talk about it, we'll demand a women's delegation to national council. We plan how to organise it, addresses.
Sunday, 12.30pm:
We've won the emergency ballot. Greenham is on the agenda.
The caucus has grown. Seventy or eighty women take over the coffee bar again.
Rebecca will move the We discuss resoluton what she'll say, and who else will speak.
Someone suggests the camp should given priority. NO.
Every woman here is say.
Greenham wolich. whether they live at the camp or not.
Does everyone have a delegate's card to get into the debate?
We discuss whether they will try to close the quickly, grounds that it's not contentious. And how to stop We want to raise all the aspects of the camp, and we want to raise the women's delegation to national council.
The group breaks into two. Women who are going speak discuss who's saying what. Women who aren't organise to provide moral support Those not speaking will sit at the front to make our presence felt.
We rush back to conference in jubilant mood. Sunday, 3.30pm:
Rebecca speaks to a silent audience. Women give up a large part of their lives fight the missiles. women at the camp evicted for breaktast, harrassed for lunch, and arrested for supper.
She explains what is happening at Greenham, everyone The red light flashes. Ruddock glances nervously over Rebecca's shoulder. How far is she through her speech? The red light flashes again. Rebecca will not he stopped At last women have the conference floor.
As she draws to an end, stands. For several there thunderous applause.
There's no way this debate can be stopped.
woman takes the mike. We should oppose separatist actions, she says. al C sexist.
There are few hisses.
Conference waits till this irrelevance is over women's delega"The tion is raised during the It's our conterence, and we will organise One speaker the feelings of the whole room. ast. he says, discussing what really matters: how to fight the missiles.
Socialist Action 30 November 1984
----- pull-quotes -----
up, but the conference ar- rangements committee tell us it's out of order'.