. By JIM STANFORD
lin, ee detest act of civil disobedience
Angee ern history of the British peace
eens the Campaing for Nuclear
tes eect (CND) launched a whole
aig ase in the campaign against
ras ees on Feb. 6 with a success-
ae * Ong blockade of the U.S. Cruise
, oe os = Molesworth.
ine hours over 5,000 activists
Perel blocked the six gates to the
. Bon an 125 km north-east of Lon-
aa pay and construction per-
B eavi a prevented from entering or
oa nlike previous blockades the
cA not attempt to get token con-
Past the demonstrators.
Binet cout was impressive consider-
. oe took place in the midst of
ais ee winter storm this year.
ew pe Peretienss heavy snow and
Way t vinds left many activists on their
af 9 join the blockade, stranded on the
Ways.
Bevo will be the second of two
“af, siles Ph e UK to receive Cruise mis-
; Structio € base is currently under con-
ene and an expected 64 Cruise will
oF oo there by 1988. There are
Bearion : of the American first-strike
mon a eployed at Greenham Com-
: ~Oase in western England.

Police Backed Off

cones police violence has esca-
made at Stee there were no arrests
National . Molesworth blockade. CND
elegested ouncil member Peter Strauss
Political d that the government made a
Sched €cision not to interfere with the
in fearing the political con-
ive :. of mass arrests.
the en women blocked one of
Protest th gates in an all-women
- ced was a strong delega-
the organ; omen Against Pit Closures,
ss Bee ation of miners’ wives that
Strike. of last year’s coal. miners’

vo

et, view of CND vice-chairperson
Marked €nt, the Molesworth blockade
an important development for

the peace movement. The blockade was

“a serious attempt by conscientious
people to prevent further deployments’,
an attempt to ‘‘explain to their fellow
citizens that the policies which have led
to the deployment of these nuclear mis-
siles are illegal and immoral”’.

Public opinion polls have consistently
shown that a sizable majority of UK citi-
zens oppose the Thatcher government’s
Cruise and the massive Trident sub-
marine programs. But neither polls nor
the numerous large demonstrations (in-
cluding a march of 100,000 through Lon-
don three months ago) have convinced
the government of the political necessity
of nuclear disarmament.

Events like the Molesworth action
show that Britons are ready to take mat-
ters into their own hands. Another effec-
tive direct-action component to the
anti-Cruise campaign have been the
Cruise-watch activities. Cruise-watch
supporters have continuously monitored
the movement of Cruise missiles in and
out of the Greenham Common base,
publicizing their movements.

This completely under mines the use-
fulness of the mobile Cruise launchers,

_which are supposed to be able to ‘melt

into the country-side’ in order to launch
their surprise attacks. Largely as a result

of the Cruisewatch efforts, no Cruise
missile manoeuvres have been carried
out for several months.

Basic Case Campaign

The Molesworth blockade is not the
only new thing from CND this year. In
tandem with this more aggressive style of
campaigning against Cruise, CND has
also launched a new public education in-
itiative, called the ‘Basic Case’ cam-
paign.

Under the slogan ‘The Chance of a
Lifetime’, the ‘Basic Case’ is designed to
convince those Britons who may oppose
Cruise and Trident, but still support the
maintenance of other British nuclear
weapons, of the argument for nuclear
disarmament.

Peace activists have long been frus-

For nine hours, 5,000 ac-
tivists blocked the U.S.
Cruise missile base at
Molesworth, England. The
second base now under

construction, Molesworth
will house 64 GLCMs when
completed in 1988. Added to
96 missiles at Greenham
Common, the strike force
will total 160. Polls con-
sistently indicate majority
opposition to Cruise mis-
siles on British soil.

TRIBUNE PHOTO —JIM STANFORD

trated by a majority of the population
supporting CND on specific weapons
programs (like Cruise, Trident, or Star
Wars), yet remaining unimpressed by the
merits of nuclear disarmament in gener-
al. As Kent says, ‘‘Until we convince the
majority of voters in this country that
nuclear weapons do not defend them, we
will not have a government committed to
disarmament’.

Basic Case will involve door-to-door
canvassing, creative and catchy advertis-
ing, work-place and community-based
educational meetings.

Basic Case pilot project was intro-
duced by the Bristol CND group in 1985,
resulting in a higher profile for the peace
movement and increased public support.

CND Chairperson Paul Johns
explained the Basic Case to CND dele-
gates at their annual conference late last
year in Sheffield: “‘We have to couple
demonstration with dialogue, protest

with persuasion, and successfully stimu-
late a national debate on defence and
disarmament. And this debate must take
place on the doorsteps as much as in
parliament’’.

It is a tribute to the breadth and flex-
ibility of CND that campaigns as diverse
in style as Molesworth and the Basic
Case can be combined within a single
organization.

CND is a rough equivalent to the
Canadian Peace Alliance, but with a
longer history and a much stronger man-
date for centrally-coordinated cam-
paigning. At the local level, semi-
autonomous CND branches have shown
a remarkable diversity in terms of
membership and activity, and are gener-
ally supported by virtually all peace ac-
tivists ina given locality — from the most
die-hard ‘‘direct action’’ campaigners to
activists who work in more traditional
manners.

- 300 more jobless
Cominco

L — Civic leaders were
8 this B.C. town will expe-
€ highest unemployment
Limiteg nada with Cominco
that 399 S announcement last week
the axe, More workers were getting
ee ey Officials suggested
Since 198 ots could follow.

nt of th,
Tail

dian Pacific Enterprises is the
majority shareholder, decided to
sacrifice the workers’ livelihood to
cover its losses in the crisis-ridden
metals market. :

Trail has a population of just
under 10,000 with the surrounding
area numbering close to 15,000
more. Mayor Chuck Lake expects
the jobless rate in his town to rise to
20-22 per cent as a result of the
company’s action.

Letter Carriers fight
cutbacks

WINNIPEG — Cutbacks in
postal service to the public could
figure prominently in a possible
strike by the 22,000-member Letter

aati ye Meee:

Carrier’s Union of Canada,
(LCUC).

Without a contract since Dec.
31, the union said Feb. 9, after
negotiations with Canada Post
Corp. broke down, that it would be
conducting a country-wide strike
vote later in the week.

Union officials say wages aren’t
the hottest issue in the talks. What
has the LCUC concerned is the new
trend at Canada Post of setting up
group postal boxes in new subur-
ban neighborhoods instead of
expanding door-to-door delivery.
The letter carriers see this as a threat
to jobs and a denial to a few tax-
payers of their right to receive the
same service as all Canadians.

Sewage workers

want health tests

TORONTO — The detection of
cancer-causing substances in recent
air tests at the city’s main sewage
treatment facility has prompted
Local 43, Canadian Union of Pub-

lic Employees, to request the test-
ing of about 100 current and all
retired or former workers.

Local 43 in a statement Feb. 11
said 120 cases of skin rashes have
been reported to the nurse at the
Ashbridge’s Bay treatment plan,
since Jan. 1985. Among the chemi-
cals the workers are exposed to are
such cancer-causing substances as
polychlorinated biphenylls (PCBs),
trichlorethylene and benzene.

Tests on 16 chemicals in the air at
the treatment plant have been
completed. The union is awaiting
the results of tests for another 154
toxic substances that appear in the
plantas a result of the processing of
sewage waste.

Rich-poor gap
widening

OTTAWA — Studies commis-
sioned by the three largest unions in

ae 7 :

the country for a public sector con-
ference they’re planning for next
month show that government
spending cuts are contributing to
the widening chasm separating the
rich from Canadians trapped in
poverty.

The conference is being planned
by the Canadian Union of Public
Employees, the National Union of
Provincial Government Employees
and the Public Service Alliance of
Canada to focus on the effects of
public sector cuts on the livelihood
of Canadians.

The papers will look at such
aspects as the impact of the cuts on
the welfare system and those forced
to live on it, education and unem-
ployment. They will also look at the
postive effects of a strong public
sector as a key element of the econ-
omy and a means of stimulating its
growth.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 19, 1986 ¢ 7