Conference. The same description applies to it as Trotsky applied to the pre-1940 Anti-War Movement - only more so:
*It bears witness to the fact that the class struggle has overflowed the limits of the traditional organisations of prolefariat."
The fact is that the mass parties of the working class and the Trade Unions, despite occasionally paying lip service to unilaterial nuclear disarment, have stood by and allowed the arms race to continue at tremendous cost 10 the resources. In general, Peace activists in Amsterdam listened politely but with some bewilderment and silence to speakers irom The politics of the MINERS STRIKE By BILL PETERS TU C GENERA
Report from 4th END Convention By DAVE SPENCER the Official Peace Movements of Rumanie, Yugoslavia and China Democrats from the FRG and Holland. this catastrophe sincere note. So distinct from conventional Social Democratic politics. For example: • Solidarity with national liberation struggles. Darlene Keju-Johnson from the Marshall Islands and Roland multilateral Imperialism and racism hand in hand. to get tid of the other. Spokespersons irom Nicaragua and South Africa were also en- thusiastically welcomed by the Conven- super- tion, where Peace and the fight against op pression were linked. • Support for human rights struggles in Eastern Europe. with the Independent Peace Movements in Eastern Europe, all of whom insist forceful- Norid Peace and democratic rights in Eestern Europe, Most of the members were the prevented from attending the Convention Jan Faber (Secretary of the Dutch IKV) world's was given to all delegates, teresting booklet Reticenue" by the Czech playwright and Charter 77 spokesperson Vaciav Havel. New! Perhaps the first attempt at an objective and coherent political analysis of the miners' strike and its lessons for the workers' movement. 44 pages, 80p. including postage, from Socialist Viewpoint. BCM Box 3956, London WIN 3XX.
sion by from the USSR. movement. and Social to They did not seem to hit a relevant or voice. At the same time there is a developing consensus at END Conventions on certain basic political principles which are quite Stalinist It was clear irom the contributions of for Peace. Simbulan from the Philippines that nuclear weapons and US Movement. went very much The Lo get rid of one evil meant Movements the Movement. enough There has been a tremendous increase which In contact and dialogue over the last year y upon the link between the struggle for the for struggle paysically away but sent messges by one route or another. A letter of greeting to the Convention from Lech Walesa was read out; a copy of the discussion between Jacek Kuron and Uient as was an in The Anatomy of a support policies. only to each country their own areas. Socialiet Viewpaint, No. 7, September 1985 Page 36
Smuggled videos were shown of discus-
Charter 77 spokespersons, in cluding Jiri Hajek, Foreign Minister under the Dubcek regime, deposed by the Russians in 1968, and of members of the Moscow Trust group who still hold weekly seminars and monthly demonstrations, in spite of constant harassment and imprisonment. The Convention Itself gave lengthy ovations to Ferencz Misziwetz, a young researcher from Budapest University who spoke on behalf of the Hungarian Dialog group and Vitaly Barbash of the Moscow Trust Group who was recently expeiled • Learning from the women's
At the first END Convention in Brussels. Greenham Common women and their supporters stormed the stage demanding a
This year women had their autonomous meetings and workshops but also led mixed workshops and participated very fully in the whole Convention on the platform and in discussion. There was almost an equal number of women and men delegates. The male organisers and most male participants seem to have taken the point that there is a link between the fight against male dominance and the fight Broadening the Peace
Amass West European Peace developed to oppose the depioyment of Cruise missiles. In those countries, like West Germany, Britain and Italy, where Cruise has already arrived, there has been a certain demoralisation in
Thin pessimism was expressed strangely
Tin the opening speech by the Dutch IKV Secretary Uient Jan Faber —
Tif nothing else was at least refreshingly honest.
In Holland, the government has costponed its decision on Cruise until November 1 this year. In a way this shows the success of the Peace Movement, on the other hand the postponement has taken
Othe protest momentum since everybody belleves the government will live in to NATO In the end. The Dutch KV are concentrating on a national door to door petition before November 1.
The Spanish movement has grown enormously, pulting over 1 million people on the streets of Madrid to protest against Reagan's visit to Spain. They believe they will win the national referendum against Spain jolning NATO
The French Movement CODENE at one time was very small because both the Communist Party and the Socialist Party
French Independent nuclear However it hasgrown con siderably over the last year campaigning against EUREKA and against nuclear testing in the Pacific.
The West German movement is clearly In a state of confusion after the deployment. of Cruise and the entry of the Greens into Tocal and national government.
These national fluctuations are of course
Tbe expected without any authoritative political leadership. Nevertheless the discussion and dialogue help
group fo benell! from the experiences of others, be they defeats or suc cesses. From these Conventions as I said eariler, an encouraging broad consensus it developing. A mass mobilisation in one
would an Immediate response all over Europe, For example, numerous delegates expressed their ad. miration, for the British miners' strike and had spontaneously started collections in
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