Terp, Holger: Danish Peace History - Det danske Fredsakademi

Bach then the Liaison Committee for Peace and Security The umbrella organization
for the Danish peace groups had been established in 1973 189 . In 1977 it had launched a
nation-wide campaign against neutron weapons, but after the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan in December 1979 most of the non communists left the organization. Also
the members of No to Nuclear Weapons and the Liaison Committee heated
disagreements over tactics, slogans and policies especially over the idea of
Scandinavia as a nuclear free zone disempowered the two groups.
In spite of the political disagreements the
old iron curtain became rusty and peace
began to move. The Soviet Peace Committee
and the Soviet Women’s Committee had
already seen the International Peace March-
82 (Stockholm-Moscow-Minsk) organized by
Scandinavian women peace organizations
and the Bike-ride for Peace 83 from Moscow
via Scandinavia to Washington DC 190 . Also
Danish youth organizations created the
campaign: Next Stop Soviet 191 . In the
summer of 1989 nearly 3.000 Danish peace
activists demonstrated in Soviet Russia.
Military personnel organizations and the
right wing created its own groups to fight
the peace movement 192 . The Soviet nuclear
submarines in Swedish waters and on the
Swedish archipelago 193 was used by the
growing right wing to claim, that the leaders
of the peace movements indeed were Soviet
and East German influential agents or
spies, and as a result many left the peace
groups.
The Danish politicians held the election of May 10, 1988 on the nuclear weapons issue,
which “endangered the Danish membership of NATO” 194 . The liberals and the
conservatives won the election.
189 Samarbejdskommiteen for Fred og Sikkerhed.
190 Soviet Peace Committee: Report on the Participation of the Soviet Non-Governmental Organisations
in the World Disarmament Campaign for the period 12. April – 20. October 1983. Moscow, 1983 p. 10.
191 Knudsen, Jørgen: I Sovjet: På rejse med next stop, 1989.
192 Teglers, Jørgen: Fredsbevægelsen – med og modspillere, 1988.
193 Lindfors, Tommy: Under ytan: Ubåtar och svensk säkerhetspolitik. Göteborg, 1996.
194 Petersen, Nicolaj: Sikkerhedspolitik og indenrigspolitik: Folketingsvalget den 10. maj 1988. In:
Dansk udenrigspolitisk årbog 1988 pp. 30-54.