AGM 2010
This year the veteran peace activist Lindis Percy gave a talk to our group called "Menwith Hill: Does Obama still want it?" at the Friends Meeting House.
Lindis Percy was one of the co-founders of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) in 1992 which evolved out of many of years of protests at Menwith Hill. She is a trained midwife and health visitor by profession but the campaigning at Greenham Common in the 1980s shaped her future activism, which over the years has led to her arrest hundreds of times for involvement in non-violent protest.
We started with welcoming music from Celia Briar on her harp, then Paul Andrews introduced Lindis Percy to an audience of around twenty people who then heard Lindis speak eloquently and movingly about the history of US bases in the UK, and her own attempts, through the establishment of CAAB (The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases) to find out more about these bases, especially Menwith Hill, and to protest against their continued presence in England. She emphasised the importance of asking questions to get at the often ‘awkward’ truths, and of sharing any information gleaned. In particular she emphasised the importance of taking every opportunity, however unpromising it may appear, to talk to people about concerns over US bases, given her own experiences of unexpectedly positive reactions, some with far-reaching positive consequences for the campaign. Asked how LDCND could best support CAAB’s work, Lindis noted national CND’s strong anti-missile defence policy and suggested we work within that framework.
Lindis also encouraged people to go to Menwith Hill on Saturday, October 2nd to join in the “Who are the Invisibles?” protest being organised by CAAB as part of a Keep Space for Peace international week of protest.
The whole evening was chaired by Andrea King and after a refreshments break we began the business meeting. This year there was a constitutional change approved which resulted in the removal of the office of chair, and the creation of an Education Office position. A new webmaster will take on the management of the website, although the Press Officer position remains vacant.