Falling Out

War in the peace movement

From its beginnings, the peace movement that drew more than 2 million antinuclear demonstrators into the streets of Western Europe last fall has been an amorphous alliance. Though it includes Communists, the movement has consistently denied that it is Communist controlled. But being vocally opposed to the deployment of new U.S. built intermediate-range nuclear missiles, the movement was an easy target for Moscow-inspired attempts to convince Western Europeans that the U.S., not the Soviet Union, was fueling the arms race. Last week West Germany's tiny, pro-Moscow Communist Party, which regularly polls only about .5% of the vote, showed just how effectively the well-organized Communists can impose their will.

The show of force took place at a meeting of 800 delegates, who had gathered to plan a massive anti-nuclear demonstration to coincide with President Reagan's visit to Bonn on June 10. Representatives of the Greens, a coalition of West German environmental groups, demanded that the manifesto outlining the demonstration's purpose also criticize the arms buildup in the Soviet Union and not concentrate solely on the U.S. But the Greens were repeatedly shouted down by a loud contingent of Communists and sympathizers. Complained exiled East German Economist Rudolf Bahro, a leading member of the Greens, before the microphone was yanked out of his hands: "These people are ready to compromise as long as they can be sure Brezhnev has enough rockets to secure peace." Having packed the house with supporters, the Communists rammed through their own platform condemning U.S. actions around the world but avoiding blunt criticism of Soviet policy.

Such power plays have also alienated influential religious advocates of the anti-nuclear movement. Two Lutheran organizations, the Evangelical Peace Service and Peace Without Arms, pulled out of the planning group for the June rally. Their main concern was that an openly anti-American protest would set back the growing peace movement in the U.S.

With or without the Greens and the Lutherans, the rally against Reagan has already developed enough momentum that concerned members of the peace movement fear nothing can be done to soften its anti-American tone. An even greater worry is that without the discipline and organization of the environmentalists and the two religious groups, the demonstrations may turn violent. That, even more than the Communists' crude manipulation, could deal a serious blow to the Western European peace movement.

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