the peace movement: after trafalgar square
TRANSCRIPT
Fortnight Publications Ltd.
The Peace Movement: After Trafalgar SquareSource: Fortnight, No. 138 (Dec. 3, 1976), p. 4Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25546067 .
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4/Fortnight
The Peace Movement AFTER TRAFALGAR SQUARE
The Peace Rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 27 November was, to say the least, impressive. 15,000 or
20,000, does it really matter? It was
not a question of playing the number
game. What was important was the fact that in the heart of London, British eyes and foreign eyes focussed on the Peace People, supporters and leaders. About 2,000 Northern Irish people turned up in
special trains and even a plane to
march and meet in the square
delegations from Norway, Sweden,
Germany, the USA, and France.
The reporting of this extremely well
planned event was straight to the
point of being bland if not sometimes rather unprofessional. Attention was
centred on the church leaders, Joan
Baez, Jane Ewart-Biggs, Betty Wil
liams, Mairead Corrigan, roughly in that order. Hardly a word about or a
picture of Ciaran McKeown (however the next day the BBC World at One
managed to interview this ex-journal ist, sometimes described as the
"shadowy figure" of the movement).
Admittedly, because of the time
factor, it is difficult to report accurate
ly speeches on TV and radio. But the ones made on the platform that
Saturday were curiously absent from the main national Sunday papers.
This deserves to be examined more
closely: the conventional news media have been most helpful in putting the
message of the Peace People around the world. Indeed some critics even
say that they "created" them. What
they have surely done is to build an
image of a Women's Movement
struggling for peace on their little
hopeless patch of Northern Ireland
and that was all. In other words,
pretty faces with not much ideas. So
today the media are astonished that
this "little" protest (1) has gone off
the ground to reach international
fame and political significance at
home; (2) has not collapsed like the
other peace protests; (3) has been
developing ideas usually not associ
ated with housewives. Disturbed by these facts the British national press ?at least?keep the feminist image well in the forefront, shying away, most of the time, from the potentially "dangerous" contents of the
speeches. True they may not always be clearly formulated but basically
they can be summed up in two main
themes: (1) Pacifism; (2) a new form of political expression.
The presence of Joan Baez on the
platform and of Troops Out Move ment supporters?plus other genuine pacifists?in the crowd should have
opened some eyes. Mairead Corrigan's speech and Ciaran McKeown's dense vision of the future were fairly explicit with references to Martin Luther
King. After three months of running
success, balance-sheets tend to be drawn up by well-wishers, would-be
supporters and critics. Some workers of the Peace Movement worry about its sudden growth, the amount of
money received from abroad and its
distribution, the foreign trips and the leaders. The most cynical and
sceptical journalists have conceded that the Peace People are not just "pushing" hope and hazy ideas. The
practical achievements are there to be seen: over 100 groups working daily and quietly to the reconcilation of the two communities by tackling the
most urgent problems of their
districts; a well-made magazine and a lot of people turning up at rallies or
meetings when it could be dangerous for them. If it is a question of standing up to be counted, this can be done
with a pretty good accuracy when
adding up all those who have marched already. Perhaps of even
greater significance is the fact that Protestants are supporting the
movement. What is missing now is more youngsters and the creation of Youth Peace Groups should compen sate the present middle-age image of the Peace People.
All this in itself is "disturbing" for two reasons: (1) People have been brain-washed with the tune of
"Nothing can be achieved in N.I." and today most of them believe it, in Ulster as in the mainland; (2) the Establishment feels somewhat con ned by the Peace People: this bunch of crazy but courageous women not
only desire peace in their country but
they also want to change the whole fabric of the society and spread their
message to the world. That is
definitely too much to swallow in one
gulp. A programme which includes
forgiveness, reconciliation, self
respect, peace and economic
development is bound to look
suspicious, especially when women to present it. Perhaps the greatest fault of the Peace People, in the eyes of the more conservative members of our society, is to make people think and decide for themselves. The
consequences of this act?after all a human one?are well known, hence the reactions of political parties, para
military groups etc. Before August 10, 1976, the players and the rules of the
game in Northern Ireland were well established and respected. Today the Peace Movement is there and
everything has to be reconsidered before the next game.
Of course, much rests on the shoulders of the three leaders. They are almost expected to solve daily the Irish Question and to have an answer
to everything under the sun. The pressure they have to face is enormous and they have made
mistakes but so would have other
people. The end of the rallies season?with the debunking of the
mythological Boyne?is in a way a
good thing, for it is time for self
criticism, discussion, consultation and the conferences planned for the next year can only be beneficial to
everyone in Northern Ireland. For the whole political spectrum has to
reappraise its position now, not only towards the Peace People but also in the context of Direct Rule. And furthermore this reappraisal has to be done with new ideas, and it is not that
easy to forget a lifetime of slogans and political concepts. In that sense it is very much the task of the Peace
Movement to clarify without doubt its
conception of a "Northern Irish"
society. In the same way there should be no hesitation about its position regarding the independence debate. It is not only for the three leaders to
decide, the onus is also very much on each individual supporter and worker of the Movement. For after all, it is
they who will decide when proper structures would have been estab lished?if this new force will turn
party political. The leaders have no wish for it but at grassroots level the discussion is going strong and after the January conferences the real test
will be the local government elections of May.
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