IN THE Name of the People is a new film shot in El Salvador's liberated zones. parallels with the miners' strike, but multiplied and intensified a thousand times over.
Watching government peasant suspects and kicking their heads brought back picket line memories. died in the last 12 Salvador, 50,000 have died over five years.
To fight a government army financed, trained and equipped by the USA, the popular opposition (the FMLN-FDR) has had mobilise and organise the whole population in the zones it controls about a third of the country. Like the miners' suppor natw b rt ing everything fighting a war.
Everything is organised around the struggle. To take part you have to read and write, so the guerrillas run SCHOOS for everyone, not just the kids. You have to eat, so there is collective organisation of food, from crop cultivation to canteens.
You have to fight, have to keep healthy, so the guerrilla para-medics SEUlS both emergency surgery for the wounded and basic health care for the general population - the first it has ever had.
Moreover, as with the Watching it drew many soldiers spread-eagling But, here, five miners months of struggle. In EI experience of women in the miners' strike here, everyone takes part - the kids messages women run food distribution and fight with the guerrilla units.
These people fighting a society that only has room tor them silent, powerless and expendable units. Many of them have returned to El Salvador refugee camps in Honduras. Only in the liberated zones can they survive, rebuild their lives defend themselves.
The film does not glorify or prettify the war Sequences late in the film of guerrilla sortie int San Salvado CIWO shots Salvador army up to that point an unseen threat, picked up distance on crackling radios -aJn a :very IF GRENADA FALIS HE AND IF. vigorous counterattack Bocca toughness that may be taut DOILI But they show the struggle ahead will be long hard.
It also shows why the Sne end. Aganst popular end. Against popular mobilisation based popular needs, the oligar chy and the USA can only ruthless killing machine half-drunk on its own violence/!
The film's politics are low key. It doesn't go into the situation since the election Duarte elaborate on the FMLN-FDR proposals for negotiation But it does ook at the position on th ground - gives a glimpse of the way the war is the population. As such it has played to the USA (even getting into the Variety ". list), ci At just over an hour long it's very useful for meetings deserves widespread through the solidarity and labour movements.
• In the Name of the People opens Rio, Dire on Sanda DES Hire The Other Cinema, St, London WCI V3TH (01 734 8508/9). weekend of 16-17 March.
Saturday started off on • a high with some excellent speakers. But the ovation was reserved for women from Greenham and Italy.
Thirty workshops ran simultaneously, with viacos, Ivs, stalls, and ex hibitions. Everyone exchanged ideas and planned how cruise could be kicked out. The conference was very exciting. The only sour note came James the lone national representative.
He sugested that at Molesworth at Easter people should refrain from actions unti arter s.Jubi in case of trouble!
Sundav started with a vigil Cathedrat by O lSCU Helen John show solidarity with the people of Belgium and the women from the Pacific who had SO movingly of their nuclear problem People had been asked to let the organisers know they wanted all these ideas were takes ILONC final workshops on Sunday afternoon At the workshop I attended the general was that national must broaden their Town Hall (with the council's blessing and 100 per cent cooperation) for a cruise conference on the horizons to avoid a split with the activists who condemned them for not coming out on the side of the miners People felt CND must spena more money on ac tions as opposed to medl: coverage. Also they were unhappy at the way the chair at national had manipulated the meeting to stop a miner being invited to speak.
The cruise conference was not mandated to move resolutions demand changes but sug. gested that CND back the women trom the Pacific in their fight against nuclear weapons and that a special group be set up to deal solely with cruise Conference brought a lot of fresh ideas and new ways of campaigning against cruise Credit rea ly must go to Rusholme and Longsight CND anc Greenham Umbrella Group for their magnificent organisation.
On a sad note: in the early hours of Monday morning my telephone tree broke the news that cruise was out again. This shows just how m canne conference of cruise activists Was -cccssaly that cruise must continue to be the main tocic toi -oCald movement activists in the months to come
Socialist Action 5 April 1985
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THEN SWITZERLAND FALL S.... DISNEYLAND FALLS... AND IF DISNEYLAND FALLS THEN CHAD FALLS...
AND IF EL SALVADOR FALIS , IF NOWFOUNDLAND FALLS AND IF SWITZERLAND FALLS THEN