West Bank threat to Arabs

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Conference open to Labour Committee on Palestine members, delegates from affiliated organisations, an non-voting observers. Details from the secretary, 28 Carlton Mansions, Holmleigh Rd, London N16. ARAB leaders who might have expected a friendly reception for their latest 'peace' plan from Ronald Reagan in Washington trailed back with their olive branch in tatters last week.

Reagan has reportedly followed up the military and political defeats inflicted during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon by posing a new, stern ultimatum to the Arab rulers.

Either they must hand over negotiating rights Ior the Palestinians to King Hussein of Jordan, or face the prospect of Israeli annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

As if to underline this threat, Reagan's administration last week issued a cosmetic complaint at the most recent Zionist settlements on the West Bank - effectively warning the Arabs that the savage Israeli state machine could at any moment lurch out of Washington's control.

With this as a lever, Reagan is attempting to force the conservative Arab rulers - and through them the PLO - into de facto recognition of the state of Israel.

Publicly

King Hussein himself has only just publicly urged the PLO to recognise the existence of the Israeli state.

To begin negotiations from such a standpoint is effectively to renounce the demands for the right of the Palestinians to retum to their homeland, and for a democratic, secular state of Palestine with equal rights for both Arab and Jew - both of which require the destruction of the viciously discriminatory Zionist state.

There is every indication that many Arab bourgeois leaders would themselves be more than ready to contemplate such a sellout - were they not fearful of the hostility of the working class and peasantry in their own countries.

The defeat inflicted upon the PLO in Lebanon, however, has now weakened their political influence and thrown the Arafat leadership more into the arms of their wealthy Saudi sponsors. It is this opportunity to force home crucial concessions which Reagan has been so obviously eager to seize.

Reagan's squeeze on Hussein and other Arab leaders is linked with a pell-mell rush to reconstruct the Lebanese army, and complete the destruction of the PLO and left wing forces in order to stabilise the new right wing government.

Advisers

US 'advisers' have been dispatched to Lebanon to begin training Lebanese soldiers in the techniques taught to the Salvadorean army. Lebanese president Gemayel himself has continued his world-wide search for more bodies of armed men to swell the present multi-national 'peacekeeping' force to a projected total of 20-30,000 men.

At the same time plans leaked from his government look to the eventual expulsion of up to 450,000 of the present 500,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Such a move would obviously be explosive.

Gemayel's neo-fascist Phalange party and its 25,000-strong militia have long taken a viciously racist attitude to the Palestinians - exemplified by the recent slaughter in Sabra and Chatila camps. But so far his public pronouncements have been carefully calculated to extend a cautious invitation to economic assistance from the Arab oil states -whose rulers, like Reagan, wish to see a stable state established in Lebanon.

In each of these aspects of the wheeling and dealing of Middle East politics, the chief victims are the oppressed and exploited, the working class and peasantry of the Arab states and the dispossessed. Palestinian people.

Only the struggle for the revolutionary socialist overthrow of the Arab regimes and the destruction of the apparatus of the Zionist state can open the door for the establishment of democratic rights, peace and decent living standards for the peoples of the Middle East. of an illegal phone-tapping Rates: £5 for three nonths, £8.75 for lix months, and £16 lor a year.

Bundfe of five each week: £12 for three months.

Bundle of 10: €21 for three months.

Name Address I encose £ To: Socialist Organiser, 28 Middle Lane, London N8 8PL. The same family on averSocialist Organiser no. 108 November 11 1982 Page 6" on Thatchers war November 27th, will be looking at. Rogi.

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JOHN HARRIS

GREENHAM Common women's peace camp was set up outside the main gates of the United States Air Force base near Newbury in Berkshire in opposition to the 96 Cruise missiles which the government plan to site here in December of 1983.

Fourteen months on, and despite two eviction attempts, the camp is now stronger than ever, and is One A woman from the Common peace camp describes ed onto the base, past the security men, and occupied the sentry box for about an hour before Thames Valley police smashed their way into the box (causing a conwomen are appearing in court on another charge of breach of the peace in what has become known as the 'sewage pipe trial' Shortly after the last THE City's Falklands Victory Parade got a big splash in all the press — but a protest against the parade by women from the peace movement went almost unreported.

Despite the fact that we had sent out press releases to all the national papers explaining what we were planning to do, and later followed these up with phone calls, all the press chose to ignore the action with the exception of the Guardian, which wrote:

•.. a group of women turned their backs on the parade"!

The protest originated from a weekend of workshops on non-violent direct action held in September for women living at or involved with the Greenham Common women's peace camp. On the Sunday we talked about the victory parade, and felt that the event was so horrific that we could not let it go by without protest.

On Monday October 13, 30 women met in London to take part in planning and preparation for the following day's action.

The parade was due to begin at 12.40 from the top of Moorgate, and would take about 30 minutes to reach Mansion House, where Thatcher, Foot and all the top brass military people were seated in a special box. Opposite them were the TV cameras, and on the third corner of this triangular area we stood where we would be visible to the TV cameras.

We arrived at 9 am when there were very few people about, and stood right at Inference, on OVER WHOSE TO BE AGAINST SAILORS WE the front near the crash barriers.

The police were obviously suspicious of us early on, and insisted on searching our bags and asking us what organisation we were from. Fortunately we had our banners concealed under our clothing.. and they didn't find them.

As more and more people arrived, we found ourselves being pushed forward into the barriers. There were three very obvious plain clothes policemen immediately behind us watching our every move, and three ordinary policemen in front of us on the other side of the barrier.

As the parade passed in front of us, we deliberately turned our backs on it and held up a banner which read, 'Women turn their backs on war' There was a great deal of hostility from people in the crowd. The banner only stayed up for two or three minutes before it was rippVOO 3M,SGN POPULATION DON'T FOUGHT OVER IN SHIPS WE HAVE BUILT ed dowr people 1 were ti shouted 'Go back boys die should 'Stupid w - One "p man beg of the u Immediat man leap and arres of the per after tryi for 15 mi through her.

The re women Cl with the parade ur was a experienc longest ha As we were stor man who glad we h test and l lieve how people we INTE • WISH 2ANH TRAINED, JOHN HARRIS n by a group of behind us. There le usual clichés at us, such as •to Russia' ', "Those d for you, you be proud' • and romen' articularly hostile jan to attack one vomen physically. tely a policeit over the barrier ited her for breach ace! He let her go ng unsuccessfully inutes to struggle the crowds with emainder of the ontinued to stand ir backs to the atil it was over. It very - frightening e, perhaps the lf hour of my life. were leaving, we pped by a Swiss said he was very ad made our prohe could not be• stupid all these re.

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Saturday November 20, 1pm to 5pm at Brixton Town Hall, Acre Lane, London SW2.

Labour Committee Palestine founding conference

Women jer