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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 44 No. 8. April 27 1981

From Us to You: With Our Compliments — Nuclear Testing in the South Pacific

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From Us to You: With Our Compliments

Nuclear Testing in the South Pacific

Monsieur Dupont sat in his office 16 blocks from La Tour Eiffel and eyed Le Matin distastefully. Splashed across the front page yet again was a report of what had happened in the Pacific; two people killed and 10 injured by a tidal wave, supposedly due to French nuclear testing. To make matters worse that Swede Bengt Danielsson and his wife Marie Therese from Tahiti were causing a stink about the amounts of radiation in the area.

Mon Dieu! Hadn't the Renseignements Generaux done their job in silencing this pair who had 'painted a black picture of the French policies in this part of the world?' Monsieur Dupont was quite happy about the radiation down in Tahiti; Jean Teillac, director of the "Independent" Central Agency of Protection against Radiation had stated in his report that there was only a "very small quantity." Why then were 28 French Polynesians flown back to France secretly to have treatment for severe radiation burns; well of course we have better hospitals here in France!

That Tahitian newspaper La Depeche had to stop printing rubbish from the Daniellsons such as inaccurate radiation counts; Jean and the other academics know what they're talking about; we paid them good money! Then there's the tidal wave that injured 10 people; that certainly wasn't due to our testing; 'Such phenomenon is natural,' in the islands 'down there.'

Anyway what are they moaning about. We, the French government have transformed these simple islands into a tourist mecca and what's more our nuclear people pay directly or indirectly a third of the salaries of people working in French Polynesia. Why anyway Mururoa's a thousand miles from Tahiti; don't believe that stuff about extensive upper atmospheric transport of radioactive particles, do we get it in French? Well there you are!

Sam Howitzer puffed on a cigar at Camp Smith and tallied his winnings. He'd bet the other rookies that an MKIA2 travelling to its target could knock a coconut off a tree without damaging the husk. These plebs didn't know their islands nor their islanders; Sam had Hawaii all sussed out; just about. He looked out of the aluminium framed window across the compound double fenced and specially lit to where trucks were arriving with another consignment of nuclear goodies.

Sam was a bit worried about sabotage; the natives had been getting restless lately what with wild cat strikes and rioting, he might have to transport the goods by helicopter. Sam was justly proud of his position as Commander-in-Chief of Camp Smith HQ. He had control over it and the 110 separate installations over the eight Hawaiian islands. There were now 3000 nuclear weapons on Waihele and Ohau islands alone as well as scores of bomber bases, nuclear weapon storage depots, shipyards and marine guerilla warfare training bases. In all 25% of the Hawaiian islands were devoted to war and Hawaii was the centre for America's nuclear operations over 60% of the earth's surface; from the Indian Ocean to Japan.

Sam was justly proud. One thing bugged him though; these Hawaiians; grubby people and dangerous too. Now he admitted it was a bit rough the states taking their land but look what the son-of-a-b's had got in return. A Japanese-American-Hawaiian style paradise, "native-style" high rise hotels, housing, employment. What do they care if we vaporise a few islands and have a blast now and again?

They complain that we're destroying the vegetation, they vandalise American property, they create urban slums and their juvenile delinquency rate is soaring. Then to top it off they've got a growing independence movement. Sam was justly peeved; can't these people appreciate what we've done for them?

James Norris

"YOU NEW ZELANDERS ARE CONSTANTLY CRITIZING OUR NUCLEAR TESTING...SO I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT IT ES ONLY A LEETLE BOMB... YOU WILL HARDLY FEEL IT...." "NOT UNTIL THE NEXT GENERATION, ANYWAY..."