Fall mobilizations show continuing impetus of peace movement
MASSIVE DEMONSTRATIONS in the Netherlands on October 26 and November 1 against deployment of the missiles and throughout the Spanish state on November 10 against NATO showed both the continuing strength of the peace movement and a growing need for more conscious organization and longer-term perspectives.
CARRY FOLFV than those against Reagan in May, and that the results differed notably from city to city and among the various nationalities.
One factor that kept the numbers down in the Atlantic coast regions in particular was heavy rain, although spirited participants in the demonstration of 5,000 in Bilbao shouted, "La lluvia de Felipe no nos derrite y la de Fraga no nos apaga! (The rain of Felipe [Gonzalez] will not melt us, and the rain of Fraga [Ibararne, the rightist leader] will not extinguish us."
In the Basque country, the actions suffered from disunity. The revolutionary nationalist organization, Herri Batasuna, did not participate. Furthermore the Communist Party; Euzkadiko Ezkerra (a moderate group of nationalist origin); and the CP-dominated union, the workers cominissions, held union, the Workers Commissions, held small diversionary demonstrations. But in Pamplona, the turnout for the united demonstration was 5,000, considerably larger than the 3,000 in May.
In Madrid, 20 ,000 people took part in marches on November 9 and about 300,000 in the big demonstrations on November 10. That was more than twice the December 2, 1984, figure, but less than the half million that demonstrated against Reagan. Combate wrote that, nonetheless, "it was the largest demonstration against the policies of the government yet, since an important factor last May was the physical presence of the emperor of the galaxy [Reagan]."
In Barcelona, about 30,000 people formed up to spell out "Nato, no: Bases out; neutrality; referendum" in the Catalan language. About 70,000 participated in the subsequent demonstration. That was a bit more than last December but far less than the half million that demonstrated against Reagan. "A big factor was inadequacies in building the action, with little propaganda in the last days," Combate wrote. It concluded more generally:
"We have to continue to stress that despite the opposition of the majority of people to NATO, there is no automatic guarantee that masses of people will come out to protest. Daily work has to be continued in the neighborhoods, towns, factories, and schools ... It is necessary to continue strengthening links with other social movements (unions, feminist groups, international solidarity movements) and with the parties and other groups opposed to Spanish membership in NATO. In this way we will assure that the next demonstrations coming up in February are much more massive than those on November 10."
GERRY FOLEY
In the Netherlands, the demonstration by the militant wing of the peace movement, timed to coincide with the presentation to the premier of the petitions against the deployment of the missiles, was an impressive success, despite the opposition of the moderate leadership of the national coordinating committee, the KKN (the Komitee Kruisraketten Nee - Committee Against the Cruise Missiles).
The KKN leaders not only directly called on people not to participate in the militant demonstration, they even changed the time of the rally at the Houtrusthalle in the Hague to keep people from participating in both events. As it turned out, the latter maneuver backfired. Birger Sorensen, correspondent for Klassekampen, the paper of the Danish section of the Fourth International, wrote from Amsterdam:
"Some 15,000 people chose to demonstrate their determination to continue the struggle. It was not the left wing of the peace movement that was left with a small following, but Mient-Jan Faber and company -with about 5,000 people, which seemed a small number in the gigantic Houtrusthalle. "
Among the main organizers of the demonstration were the SAP (Socialist Arbeiders-Partij - Dutch section of the Fourth International) and the militant peace group BONK.
At the conclusion of the petition campaign, 3.7 million people signed against the deployment of the missiles in a country with a total population of about 14 million.
On November 1, an estimated 150,000 high-school students struck against deployment of the missiles.
The SAP paper, Klassenstrijd, commented: "The call for the strike was issued by the national peace organization Jongeren Tegen Kernwapens (Young People Against Nuclear Weapons), which includes the young people of the lett youth organizations, as well as a lot of unorganized youth. Although this organization is part of the Committee Against the Cruise Missiles, this strike was organized entirely on its own initiative. It was all done by volunteers, without a penny in subsidies, with a contact network of 150 local groups and many individuals."
In the Spanish state, Combate, the paper of the Spanish-state section of the Fourth International, reported that in general the November 9-10 demonstrations were larger than those of December 2, 1984, but smaller 'NATO - no. Bases out ..."
RAN
To! BASES EVENE