Fighting back After victories in local struggles at BL Long

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MOVINT PUN THE Fleet Street press has presented the recent High Council against the Greenham women as a setback for the women's Peace Camp and the whole anti-nuclear Socialist Organiser went to interview the women at the camp to find out how they interpret the court ruling.

We spoke to Amanda and Bea, two students from the National Film School.

*The papers say we've moved the camp. It appears we gave up without a fight.= But as you can see, we have not moved off Newbury District Council land at all. The camp has actually expanded onto all the land around the main entrance to the base, including the Ministry of Transport area near the road," Amanda told us.

"The injunction applies to one piece of the common near the main gate that the Council have managed to get ownership of. We emphasise that they will have to move us off this before they get real possession," Bea added.

This was confirmed by all the women we talked to.

*The injunction has been used to divert attention away from the real issue of Cruise missiles and to focus attention falsely on legal battles and arguments.

"For me, the issue separates into two parts. In serving the injunction on the 21 women to leave, the state is trying to pick off what it sees as the leaders of the camp. They can't understand that there are no ringleaders. If there is one thing that we've got in common with capitalism it is that if Thatcher was killed tomorrow, they'd soon find a replacement for her, It's the same here.

*The more they arrest and imprison, the more women come and take their place on the camp.

The second thing is that they are not really trying to get rid of us. If they really wanted to they've got enough clever lawyers involved in the case.

They are really trying to exhaust people through legal action and the threat of eviction.

"Over the last few days the police presence has noticeably increased.

There are constant foot patrols along the inside of the perimeter fence.

Two van loads of police are THE constantly in the vicinity, defer night and day, cruising between three parking gand places." CND YOUTH CND sponsored later: march, 19-20 March. anotl Saturday 19 March: morning - Civic send-off Li in Oxford Town Hall and disar march through Oxford. state Early afternoon: march to ment Abingdon and march on Heseltine. YCND challenges him to a public debate.

Evening: rally in Didcot followed by Disco in Didcot Labour Club. Overnight stay (The march passes through Heseltine's constituency on Saturday).

Sunday 20 March:

March to rally at Greenham Common base addressed by women's Peace Camp. Last cour Gree But Orga Com WON ing f biggi Thursday, 10th, Newbury's Tor cil got a court order to evict the enham Common Peace Camp.

the women are defiant. Socialist iniser went to Greenham imon, where the peace campten told us they would be standfirm: "In fact, it has made us er and stronger"

Greenham Common women won't easily be ut there are more ways than one of blocking uni- Labour policy.

al nuclear disarmament. And Dennis Healey has abour is firmly committed to unilateral nuclear mament as conference policy. But Healey has t that implements this policy.

little more in definite terms than cancelling Trident= something supported on technical/military grounds by people like the SDP.

The 'campaign document' on which the Labour manifesto is to be based talks about unilateral nuclear disarmament - but 'not all at once'. Clearly the fact that Labour is not yet opposed to NATO is going to be used to make disarmament conditional on discussions with NATO, i.e. to prevent it.

ternatic al Women's Day, Birmingham: 500 eenhan Common Peace Camp. Photo: John The Greenham Common women have shown that activists now is to fight to hold Labour's leaders to The fight must start from the rank and file. We car Common, and for the events planned by CND at Easter; by involvement in CND's 'Peace Canvass'; and paign recently established by Labour's left to work radical policies, whatever Healey and Foot do.

CND Easter events: Thursday March 31, mass blockade of women and men at Burghfield Royal Ordnance Factory, and women's blockade at USAF Greenham Common. FridayApril 1, 14-mile human chain from Greenham to Burghfield via Aldermaston, followed by rally in Aldermaston. Saturday April 2: Scottish events - 12 noon mass 'die-in' in George Square, Glasgow, followed by march to festival at Kelvingrove Park. Sunday April 3, demonstration at Faslane nuclear base.

ESSAT

After victories in local struggles at BL Longbridge and Cowley, car workers at Ford Hale- bridge and Cowley, car workers at Ford Halewood are on strike against the victimisation of wood are on strike against the victimisation of a worker for alleged 'sabotage'. Behind the a worker for alleged 'sabotage'. Behind the strikes: a workers' revolt against attempts by strikes: a workers' revolt anainst attemnts hu the companies to use the slump to tighten the companies to use the slump to tighten management control and cripple union organ management control and cripple union organ: -isation. Reports: page 3.

"What the injunction is trying to do is stop women even talking about Greenham Common and to stop people from encouraging other women to come down here.

It hasn't done it because obviously everybody is still here, and more people are -coming every day. It hasn't achieved anything. In fact, it has made people more determined and more angry.

The women who have had the injunction are not allowed to come to meetings about it or incite other women to come down incite here. It's conspiracy or something! here.

And the women named in the injunction have been back here talking to visitors, doing articles, going to meetings, Three of the women have been arrested in Italy for protesting. It has had zero effect on us.

In fact it has made us bigger and stronger. Personally I'm not moving from where I live until someone knocks it down. So they're going to have to forcibly move me.

Some people have moved tents down onto the Ministry of Transport land and they knocked them down and impounded them. But I don't live in a tent, so they can knock down what I live in and I'll build another one further down.

The Ministry of Transport will probably get an eviction order on us but it will take several months to actually get it going, by which time we might have found somewhere else. Everybody is a bit tense about the eviction, but not really demoralised. I think it has had the reverse reaction that they expected. They thought it would knock the wind out of our sails but it hasn't. We've got more support in the area now than we used to have. People are beginning to be much nicer to us and our supporters. There are pubs here that really do support us. And people in the shops support us.

women Harris LIKE every socialist paper, Socialist Organisen needs fund-raising to keep it afloat. And just as donations.

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