I'm writing in response to your article "Greenham women's parting shot to misiles", written by Mike Prestage, 2 June (?)1989.
Not only does the article trivialise the real issues involved in the 8 year struggle against the military at Yellow Gate, it also contains many inaccuracies. Before yesterday's flight there were 101 not 96 missiles inside the base.
Secondly, your treatment of an important issue of the warheads is very ambiguous. We have found that the I.N.F. treaty, signed 2 years ago this December, does not in fact cover the warheads at all - and have no proof that these will actually leave the base.
The base is just as much a threat to life as it has always been. The money stolen from the work of the oppressed people throughout the world is still being misused to test more Nuclear Weapons in the Pacific and Canada, raping the land of the indigenous people of those countries.
Your article takes no account of the real work going on at Yellow Gate to resist the military at Greenham Common, work which results in prison sentences for those who take non-violent direct action against the military.
The military's publicity exercise at Greenham Common on August 1st was not a 'moving moment' for us, but yet another reminder of the role of the British press in upholding the lies and propaganda of the military powers preparation for genocide.
We at Yellow gate did not consider August the 1st to be a 'great day' in any way. All that is leaving Greenham is the weapons casings, not the warheads. Every month cruise missile convoys still leave Greenham Common to practice on Salisbury Plain, and every month women are arrested for tracking and stopping it.
The article also claims that the I.N.F treaty was aimed to scrap 'all U.S. land missile bases in Europe.' There are no such plans. The I.N.F treaty covers the missile casings alone, not the warheads, not the bases.
This treaty was basically designed to lull people into thinking that the world was actually a safer place. It is a victory for us though, that the world is seen as more secure 'without' nuclear weapons, wheras before we heard about the need for the security of a nuclear deterrent.
Helen Thomas
Yellow Gate
Women's Peace Camp
Greenham Common
Newbury
Berks