PEACE MOVEMENT-
and the Third World, was the most especially because interesting of the contributions from activists peace in the Philippines, South
Africa and
European movement meets
Nicaragua were present at the convention. A decision was taken to set up an 'embassy' of the peace movement in Managua as well as a coordinating structure on the issue of Central America within the peace movement.
The fourth convention of the campaign for European Nuclear Disarmament (END) took place on July
Amsterdam. More than 1,200 people from Western Europe and other areas attended. The official peace committees from Eastern Europe, no doubt remembering what they went through in Perugia the year before, refused to participate in this meeting (see International Viewpoint No
61, October 15, 1984).
Furthermore, many independent peace activists from Eastern Europe were refused visas to come to the conference. Like the previous meetings, the conference gave only a very distorted picture of the reality of the fe termovements, with many activists, unconvinced of its usefulness failing
Having said all this it is true that this convention came at a time when all the peace movements in Europe are beginning to redefine themselves following the deployment of the missiles, which highlights the international character of the anti-war movement.
In the opening session, apart from speakers from the two countries symbolise resistance - the Spanish state and the Netherlands — the floor was given independent peace movement activist from Hungary and to a representative from the Marshall Islands who was a spokesperson of the movement for a nuclear free and independent Pacific.
The latter speaker insisted determined mobilisation could roll back the US government's offensive and gave the example of the successful anti-nuclear movement in the Pacific region, which, created in 1982, had managed to force the US to close down some of their bases in the region and to stop nuclear testing. The movement is following this up by stopping boats transporting nuclear day of the convention organised around a central theme. The first day was given over to the peace campaigns in the West. The introductions brought out once more the heterogeneity of the different movements. For example, the scepticism of one activist from West Berlin was rebuffed by the combativity of the representative from
One activist from the US recalled how the mobilisations affected the anti-war movement in her country which was axised both against nuclear arms and against intervention in Central
Explaining her lack of faith in anything coming out of the summit negotiations, she insisted at the base, around concrete the only thing that Reagan spokesperson of the British participants stressed the new challenge
International Viewpoint 29 July 1985
3 to 6 at the free university in posed by the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) for the future of the movement (see International Viewpoint No 75 May 6, 1985). This concern, which was reaffirmed in the debates in the commissions was not, however, translated into proposals for action on this theme as also happened on the NATO issue. This was left to the Dutch movement, who have decided to organise a conference in the Netherlands the anti-NATO movement for December
The second day of the convention on relations between the peace movements in the East and the West left because of the difficulty of taking the discussion any further in the absence on the type of solidarity that turned out that efforts made the previous year by peace activists of Germany, France and Italy, in particular had begun to bear fruit. This was due to several bilateral meetings between
Solidarnose, Charter 77, the Hungarian Dialog group, and the Moscow Group for Trust. This was shown the number of written contributions sent by various groups to the convention and in the response to the Prague Appeal launched by Charter 77 last March. This text significance of a nuclear free and democratic Europe within the framework of the existing social systems.
Following the forum which took place in West Berlin last February a further meeting is envisaged in Milan in February, 1986 with the object of discussing the role of the agreements to which peace activists in Eastern Europe are always referring. The aim is also to draw up a platform on the main points of agreement for the establishment of a European peace move-
The third day, given over to relations between the western peace movements
Norway have launched an appeal for a peace march in Central America for the end of the however, it is important to draw attention to the timid approach of many of the members of the liaison committee (which organised the conference) who were guided by a pessimistic view of the situation although several of them did pose real questions about the future of the movement and the need to broaden their field of activity. The problem was that for them 'activity' means discussion and not action as such.
On the other side it is important to dynamic role played by the women throughout the In an address stressed the need to link expense of the Eureka and SDI projects They also talked about their disagreement organise a network of peace movement women and delegates from the Mediterranean countries will be organising a meeting in Rome next December around of the social effects of
Altogether the number of initiatives most of the participants in the convention want to go far beyond the simple exchange of ideas proposed by the organisers. The trade unionists present set up a permanent coordinating and will be publishing a bulletin under the auspices of the CND trade union group. The youth decided on a week of action from 21 to 27 October, 1985, under a common banner with Youth CND taking on the publication of a liaison bulletin. The varied nature of these proposals is partly a reflection of the richness and heterogeneity of the movement at the international level. But it is nonetheless true that it ought to have been possible to map out perspectives for action, even limited ones, around the theme of Star Wars or in Netherlands and the Spanish State faced with important challenges which will have repercussions for all the peace
Another convention will 1986. Its usefulness will depend a great deal on the ability to plan discussions in such a way joint actions ferent movements.
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WOMEN'S LIBERATION -