WW Ln (|e Ht WORLD France an independent player in arms race The sinking last month of the Greenpeace organiza- tion’s flagship, Rainbow Warrior, has raised a storm of controversy. Evidence increasingly points to the French government and its secret service, the DGSE, as the culprits. The evidence suggests that Greenpeace — an or- ganization that has often been criticized for its confronta- tional protest tactics — was targeted because of its high-profile campaign against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific. It is also likely that the bombing, which occurred in Auckland harbor, was intended as a warning to New Zealand, because of that country’s leadership role in the growing South Pacific nuclear-free movement. Most media attention has so far focussed upon the plot to bomb the Rainbow Warrior, and speculation concern- ing how high in the French government the conspiracy extended. As interesting as this is, it is the least im- portant of the issues involved. Central to understanding how French officials could have been driven into planning such a desperate and cold-blooded act is a knowledge of the dangerous and narrowly self-interested role which France has been playing in the global nuclear arms race. France, a nation which seems to be pursuing its own neo-Napoleonist fantasies in Europe, has the fastest- growing nuclear arsenal of all the great powers. The force de frappe, comprised of long-range supersonic bombers, land-based and submarine-based ballistic missiles, is ex- pected to more than double in size by 1995. French nuclearexpansion very closely suits the needs of the United States, which is presently engaged in its own nuclear buildup in Europe. Although French weapons are aimed exclusively at the USSR, because France operates its nuclear force outside the military structure of NATO, the Americans 4re able to claim that they (along with British nuclear weapons) represent an _ “independent deterrent’’, and must therefore not be cal- culated in the general European balance. French nuclear adventurism in Europe sabotages chances for an East-West accord on Eurostrategic weapons, and bolsters the U.S. claim to have its own Ottawa faces mounting world pressure Backgrounder Fred Weir large nuclear presence ‘‘for the defence of Western Europe’’. France has staked a great deal on its policy of military power and glory. However the whole program has an achilles heel — and that lies far away, in the South Pacific. For its nuclear buildup to proceed, France re- quires an intensified schedule of atomic testing. French military planners are reportedly developing a Neutron Bomb, and preparing to MIRV (put multiple independently-targeted warheads on) their force of land-based S-2 ballistic missiles. The upcoming tests at Muraroa Atoll in French Polynesia are said to be of these new weapons systems. : The French government has been deeply alarmed by the emergence of a strong nuclear-free movement among the thirteen independent states of the region. In French New Caledonia and French Polynesia there is a rising tide of independence-fever, and the inhabitants of the testing zones have become increasingly active in their anger over the destruction of their islands and the radio- active poisoning of their environment. Peace and ecol- ogy groups, primarily Greenpeace, have focussed global outrage on the issue. Earlier this month, the thirteen nations that make up the South Pacific Forum met, and most signed a Treaty declaring the entire region a nuclear-free zone. The Tre- aty prohibits member states from acquiring nuclear ex- plosives; testing atomic weapons and dumping nuclear waste. Although it will not be binding upon the colonial powers in the area— France and the U.S. —it does send a powerful political message about the feelings of the region’s inhabitants. What frightens French officials is that they may be forced to stop testing nuclear weapons in the South 7 FUTUNA ISLANDS PAPUA WESTERN 2 ae eee NAURU.\ ‘i jamigatr AMO A: AMERICAN “ost ie SAMOA us 3" SOLOMON \. ok ; a" x. Sq ISLANDS perio ae . ee WIE ele es ISLANDS * 2 2%, NIUE "VANUATU ea] New FE \ — CALEDONIA wea SONGS POLYNESIA WALLIS ISLAND AUSTRALIA, we Site of Rainbow Warrior bombing ~~ U NEW 0 300 600 ‘ apart ee ee eas ae arn 0 400 800 Area of the South Pacific which has been subjected to ; concentrated U.S. and French atomic testing. Pacific, and if this happens the French nuclear program could grind to acomplete halt. It is highly unlikely indeed that the people of Western Europe and the Mediterra- nean region would permit the French government to test these weapons in their backyard. In the background is the United States, which ad- ministers a number of South Pacific territories as ‘‘Un- ited Nations Trusts”’, and maintains nuclear war-related facilities on most of them. Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands is synonymous with the hydrogen bomb tests of the 1950’s. The testing range at Kwajalein Atoll has long — been used for trials of ICBM’s, including the MX missile, — and in June 1984 became the site of the first Star Wars ~ weapons test. It is reported that the U.S. has approached ~ the French government about extending the range for — future Star Wars tests into French Polynesia. a The U.S. also maintains a major nuclear weapons base" at Guam, important nuclear assets in the nearby Philip- pines, and a number of nuclear related facilities in the ~ Marianas Islands. — Although there is so far no evidence to link American” intelligence agencies to the bombing of the Rainbow ~ Warrior, there is no doubt that U.S. interests in the South Pacific coincide very closely with those of France. — Those interests aim to maintain colonial bondage in the region, and to keep the South Pacific as a preserve for” U.S. and French nuclear war preparations. Greenpeace ~ deserves the support of the world peace movement in its ~ efforts to unmask the murderers who destroyed the — Rainbow Warrior, and in its continuing campaign to” expose the role of French nuclear testing in escalating” and complicating the global arms race. Manchester the : Continued from page 1 - apartheid and for economic, trade and cul- tural sanctions, although it followed by a day Mulroney's get-tough pledge, was undoubtedly a factor in the prime minister’s decision to make a statement. Yet Clark’s subsequent “go easy” remarks show that much more must be done to move a government that has so far made only token opposition to apartheid. The measures include the virtually tooth- less economic sanctions imposed in early July. Ottawa followed those with the recall Of its ambassador to South Africa after the _ State of emergency declaration July 21. But whereas several European govern- ments recalled their ambassadors in protest, _ Canada’s action was merely for “‘consulta- tion,” according to Clark, and the ambas- sador will return to Pretoria. Meanwhile, Canada accepted the creden- tials of the new South African ambassador, one day before Botha’s speech dashing any hopes of changes initiated by the ruling National Party. The president vowed there would be no abolition of apartheid, no vote for the republic’s 24 million blacks, and no freedom for jailed African National Con- _ gress leader Nelson Mandela. While several European nations have taken meaningful steps against Pretoria — including the cancellation of air line flights, _ the banning of South African fruit and new loans to South Africa — the United The reluctance of the Reagan administra- tion to move on apartheid is not surprising, considering the economic and military importance with which it views South Africa, the U.S. military-industrial com- plex’s “bulwark against Communism” in Africa. Such sentiments hold sway in Canada as well, and explain the Mulroney govern- _ ment’s reluctance to take the initiative while striving to bolster its sagging popularity by . appearing to be concerned about apartheid . and repression. But the pressure is on, both from anti- apartheid groups and lower levels of government. Although premiers at the recent first ministers conference in St. John’s — noting ‘that seven provincial governments are Tory — rejected a call to impose sanctions of their own, three Cana- dian provinces are removing South African liquor from their shelves. The mainstream media is also joining the sanctions call..A recent ‘editorial in the - Guardian — rejecting argument, voiced by Clark and others, tha economic sanctions would be “counter- — productive,” noted that sanctions accord — with the wishes of the black majority in — South Africa. ; ; The Pretoria regime, continually increas ing its armaments budget as unrest in Sout Afica grows, faces a mounting deficit propped up by foreign investment an loans, the paper noted. « —, TORONTO — Condemning the apar- theid violence of the South African government against those who struggle for freedom in that country, the Metro Toronto Labor Council recently agreed to adopt as policy “The right of all workers to refuse to handle South African goods and to encourage affiliates to do likewise.” Council also pledged to work to make - Toronto an “apartheid-free zone”, a quest initiated on a provincial scale by the Onta- rio Public Service Employees Union “to remove South Afri¢an goods from Onta- rio institutions, (and) to withdraw pension funds from any association with South Africa. ..” Council said it would encourage munic- ipal and/or city leaders to work toward the same goal. It noted that (at that time) “some 500 Africans have given their lives. ..Black townships are now virtual war zones. . .the treason trials that were a sham in the early 50s are being played out once again as 16 Labor urges action against apartheid | political and union leaders have been charged with ‘high treason’ and face pos- sible execution because they dare to pro- mote a free and democratic South Africa. “Both open and clandestine union organizations are attacked by the regime; the popular union leader Andreis Radit- sela of the Chemical Workers Industrial Union was tortured and bludgeoned to death by the apartheid police, and South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) organizer Vernon Nkodeming was blown apart by a car bomb specifi- cally designed by the South Africans to impede the underground work of SACTU,” the council resolution pointed out. : The SACTU Solidarity Committee of Canada (SSC) in its most recent publica- tion, “Trafficking in Apartheid,” esti- mates that if South Africa were totally isolated, 380 Canadian jobs, at most would be remotely at risk. It is also a fact that the cheap labor system of apartheid is a threat to every well-paying unionized job in Canada. It notes that “none of Cana- da’s imports from South Africa are essen- tial to our economy and in every case alternatives exist, especially with respect to agricultural imports, such as fruits. Seeking support for the South African | workers, SSC has been holding sanctions _ workshops across Canada. Canadian autoworkers leader Bob White has also called on the federal government, to place sanctions on South Africa in the wake of that country’s impo- sition of repressive measures. Arguing that events in South Africa |] have outstripped arguments about the costs and benefits of economic sanctions, White, in a telegram to External Affairs Minister Joe Clark, urged: ““We must act concretely to isolate this (apartheid) regime and express our unequivocal solid- | arity with those trying to defeat this racist | state.” ‘ .