[On LAST WEEK Gerry Byrne wrote down for…]

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On LAST WEEK Gerry Byrne wrote down for readers of Socialist Organiser what she's been 'thinking about Greenham Common." I'd like to add some thoughts on Greenham, partly as a response to Gerry, partly to tell readers of what is happening there at the moment.

Many things need expanding on in Gerry's article. She pointed out that attitudes to Greenham are polarised between the classically sectarian left rescate on spontaneous. ponse and the guerrillaistcalled "spontaneous position.

She evaluated the Greenham struggle and attempted to identify its politics; the emphasis on fighting male power and the women's attitude to CND, the Labour Party and its leadership.

The sort of politics that come out of Greenham are dictated by a whole variety of factors. The camp is politically very disparate. Decisions on activity at the base and on campaigns work most successfully by consensual agreement.

Often though both inside and outside the camp individual women take their own initiatives and not everyone agrees.

For example, we discovered this on one occasion when we planned an action as a decoy to get women into the base. Not everyone agreed because they thought it too dangerous. We still could have done it but we decided not to - mainly because we were not permanently at the camp and it would not have been us who had to suffer the worst of the likely consequences - further army attacks and extra arrests.

Women tend to take up acuvity suggested by their own political interests. Hence the political spectrum is wide.

Some women, for example, have decided to link up with the struggles of women in the "third Judith Bonner takes up some arguments from Gerry Byrne's article, last week.

world". So at one gate in partic.

ular, women divide their time between Greenham and activity aimed at promoting links with women's struggles in those countries.

Non-violent orrect actio ~VDA) nas. aso been a majo political orientation at Greenham. Essentially socialists can find no opposition to NVDA.

NVDA has been the women's response to the violence meted out by the police and army. Women at Greenham, far from rejecting traditional ways of organising, are looking to them to hep them find alternatives — ways we can use ourselves, our bodies, our creativeness.

Within this, too, even the mysticism and symbolism can serve a function. It goes outside the traditional, usually maleidentified ways in which people have organised against the State for specific demands.

The state is usually fully aware of familiar tactics and how best to respond to it. They are not familiar with, for example, three-mile long dragons.

In July the women - lots of women - made a big dragon. That was a ceremony where the dragon was "imbued with the spirit of matriarchy and powers beyond and above men" • On encircling the base policemen were warned not to touch her -or be struck down dead. They were visibly scared.

How do you combat a big dragon and lots of women?

Well, while they were thinking about it lots of women entered the base.

The women at Greenham would be the first to admit that the state can contain them. It can, by pulling out more forces, completely smash the women's camp at Greenham. But in face political lesbian separatists who of continuing opposition to refuse to participate in male Cruise is this feasible? organisations. Women-only The state has to compete with organisations undoubtedly are Greenham for the title of in practice the only forum where "peace movement". Greenham women have any real say or in this sense has the upper power. That men divert our hand. It has forced the state to energy is often also true. show its undemocratic face and in Michael Heseltine's House of to believe that Greenham can Commons statement to proclaim succeed using such a strategy. its willingness to shoot protest- We have to get our hands dirty. ers. At the very • least, Greenham The camp has suffered sus- should campaign within CND, tained physical attacks from the Labour Party and the trade vigilante groups, including unions for unconditional supof