the peace movement: after trafalgar square

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Fortnight Publications Ltd. The Peace Movement: After Trafalgar Square Source: Fortnight, No. 138 (Dec. 3, 1976), p. 4 Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25546067 . Accessed: 25/06/2014 03:19 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Fortnight Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fortnight. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:19:26 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Page 1: The Peace Movement: After Trafalgar Square

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 .

Accessed: 25/06/2014 03:19

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Fortnight Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Fortnight.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:19:26 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: The Peace Movement: After Trafalgar Square

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.

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:19:26 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions