Millions sign against
The Council of Guardians already reinterpreted the constitution must present a "new" cabinet to the
Hezbollahis, who have suphave been further weakened by their low poll. But nevertheless, the economic crisis and the increasing discontent of the masses are pushing the regime, which can be expected to continuing the purges in
THE NETHERLANDS
THE DECISION in principle of the rightist Lubbers government
Pasdaran) and further bureaucratizing to deploy the cruise missiles was approved by parliament on June the Islamic instruments for the control of the masses (for example, the Islamic
14, 1984, despite massive protests. This vote touched off a crisis societies and shoras) and bringing them under a tighter reign.
about
On the other hand, the Eclectics to continue to need the defeat coincided with expectations of a Social Democratic victory of the Hezbollahis in order in the 1986 elections. The following article describes the last campaign of the peace movement against the final go-ahead for deploymaintain the clerical hold on political ment expected on November 1 and the advance of the debate on
That means that it will be its pro-war fighting has assured a huge flow of
Hezbollahis, and they have come to depend on it.
Thus, in sum the elections show that the regime is sinking deeper in its impasse, and that the consensus it achieved in the last Majles elections
(6) is as its already coming apart, is political base shrinking steadily and rapidly.
The regime's rather fundamental contradiction is that it seeks to maintain the hold of the clergy on political power and at the same time normalize economic relacapitalism.
tions, that is, restabilize
But these two aims are at root incompatible. The clergy cannot run a capitalist economy and society effecultimately the holders and tively, of the economic power will be satisfied with nothing less than hitching the state directly to their interests.
The maneuvers by Khomeini and in
Rafsanjani these elections show the continuing determination of the rulers to maintain clerical power. But at the same time, the economic power and the audacity of the money bags are steadily growing and can less and less be held in check. This is shown of this in particular by the record
Khomeini had
Majles, in which succeeded in marginalizing both the
Hezbollahis and the Hojatieh. It is worth looking at this record in a separate article in the next issue of IV.
For analysis of the Majles an elections and the makeup of the parliament
"What the elections elected, see my article
Islamic
Parliament showed, for the
2 July
'International Viewpoint,
No 56,
1984.
22 in the antimissiles movement.
Moderates started talking perspectives. ROBERT WENT
The focus of the antimissiles move. the People's Petition, a massive collecagain that the majority of people who live in the Netherlands are against deployment Dutch territory. An estimated 80,000 on a card with the following text: States General [parliament]. I oppose nuclear armament. Around November 1, you are to make a decision about deployment of on Dutch territory. I ask you to say 'no' to deployment."
This petitioning drive has given impetus to a vast polarization. The supporters of deployment have responded with a more open counteroffensive than ever before. In advertisements signed by a "Committee for
Disarmament," personalities have been appealing to people not to sign the card but to "tear it up." In this campaign, the the former NATO secretary general Luns and the industrialist Frits Philips (of the Philips Co.).
The ultraright is clearly playing a role in this campaign. But it was leaders of the Christian Democratic Party (Christen Demokratisch Appel -CDA), the party of the millionaire premier Lubbers, that first came out for it. The CDA always tried to compromises. In fact, the intermediate position, but that the moment of truth is approaching, Vries, the chair of the CDA fraction in the Second Chamber, has spoken out against the petition, saying that he sees a great danger in "democracy" and the government ignore the res-
The other government party, the rightwing liberal VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Demokratie - People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) has always openly supported deploythat has not changed. Leaders of this party make slanderous statments about signatures being forged and people being intimidated when they refuse to sign.
The biggest country, De almost every day carries articles against the people's petition. In them, you find the argument being raised that the action could rebound against democracy. In even references to methods." right is not very confident.
In June 1984, the Lubbers government decided that the decision was to be made for deployment November 1, unless the Soviet Union between July 1984 and November 1, 1985. This was seen immediately by a lot of people as a cheap trick to International Viewpoint 14 October 1985
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the missiles
put the blame for the deployment the Russians. But, nonetheless it took the leadership of the peace movement (the KKN) a long to take any new initiatives. (1)
Leaders of the KKN said openly after June 1, 1984, that the time for was past. And that was despite the fact that only a couple of weeks before, on May 10, hundreds of thousands of workers struck against missiles, together with high-school students. A lot of pressure from the rank and file of the movement was necessary before it was finally decided at the beginning of this year to organize a petition Local committees established
Petitioning has been going on now for more than three weeks, and as when there has been some organization, it has been a great success. Thousands of new people have become involved in this action. Tens of thousands of activists who were able to do little or nothing after June 1 have been reactivated.
Never have there been so many local united-front committees. There for the total of slightly over 700 cities and towns in the country. The bulk of the people living in the Netherat least once between September 7 and October ask them if they have signed or if they
From the opinion polls, it seems that since the start of the action, the number of those against deploy. ment once again stands above 50%. Estimates are that at least 3 million signatures will be turned in end of the campaign, perhaps even
The big question is "And what then?" The KKN has called for a demonstration October 26 mark the handing over of the signato Premier Lubbers. all well and good, but where do we go from there? What happens the tens of thousands of people who have carried out the action? Here, we come to an area where the Social Democrat-dominated KKN is playing more and more of a braking role.
The KKN is explicitly opposed to a real demonstration to conclude the petition drive. It wants only a modest demonstration for the presentation of the petitions to Lubbers. This is despite the strong pressure of the local committees for a demonstration, which found expression in the natiassembly of local committees
International Viewpoint 14 October 1985
The KKN sees no good in organizing an action for November 1, the day when the government is to make refuses to conduct a about "where to go after that it will be time to consider that if the petition drive does not
The well-known IKV chair, MientJan Faber, is trying to work out
"deployment" "nondeployment," in make it possible for the Social Democratic PvdA (Partij van de come into the government along with elections scheduled for next May.
The FNV (Federatie Nederlandse Vakvereningen), the country's biggest union confederation, which called a 15 minute strike against the cruise missiles on May 10, is giving only faint encouragement to its people to take part in the petition campaign and bring it into the factories and offices. The result is that much less has been done in the petition campaign in and by unions and locals than in the previous actions of the peace movement.
The leadership of the peace movement decided only to petition campaign and not to look beyond November 1. Or fact, putting on the brakes and developing no perspectives for after the government's decision means letting the movement wane again after parliament and the government make their decision. For a lot of leading figures in the peace movement, this petition drive seems for the moment to be the movement's last big action.
However, there is an important difference now. For the first time, a section of the movement has had the self confidence to undertake something ambitious, even if the national leadership of the movement (the KKN)
On November 1, actions are to take place in many localities throughout the country. important will be a new school strike. At the moment Jongeren tegan Kernwapens (2) has sixty local branches that are organizing this strike. In various places, there will be demon-
And here and there the union leaders are getting appeals from factories and officies to make November 1 a day of action. Given the toward the petitioning, however, there seems no possibility of this happening.
A section of the movement, mainly more radical groups, is organi-
"alarm demonstration" for 26, following demonstration concludes the petition campaign. This alarm demonstration will not only mark the end of petitioning but also focus attention on the need to continue the moveon the actions to be held on November 1.
The demonstration is being built by a number of city united-front committees; Kernwapens (Women Against Nuclear Weapons), BONK, a national organization that builds civil-disobedience actions; and one political party, the Socialistiese Arbeiderspartij (SAP -Dutch section of the Fourth International). The other left parties will not have anything to do with an initiative not supported by the KKN
For the future of the movement, it is of great importance that these and actions be a great success. It is clear that there are two for strengthening the November Peace building new initiatives. On the hand, the national united actions. On other hand, sections of the movement of the movement is against even if - as is the case with the leadership explicitly opposes it. In this sense, the movement is making some important advances in
EXTRA ant atoombommars
'tharde
zaterdag 28 sept 85 Vertrek 14.00 uur vanaf station 'tHarde Geen kernwapens in Nederland Dus zeker geen kruisraketten
The KKN is the national coordinating committee of the peace movement.
includes the left parties represented union confederation, the FNV
Kernwapens now has sixty branches, and consists (the Social Democratic youth organization) Fourth International).