GREENPEACE SAYS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT LAST CHANCE FOR NUCLEAR TEST BAN

GENEVA, Monday, 31 July, 1995 (GP) -- Greenpeace urged France, the United States, Britain, China and Russia to make strenuous efforts to use a last-ditch opportunity to agree a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT) at the final session this year of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva this week.

"The disarmament talks, which open today through September 22nd, will show whether diplomats will continue to dither while further nuclear tests are exploded, or whether they will make serious attempts to reach a nuclear test ban," said Greenpeace International's Simon Carroll from Geneva.

Greenpeace said non-nuclear nations have an urgent responsibility to pressure the nuclear weapon states to meet their disarmament obligations.

"If the Nation Parties to the UN are really committed to ensuring a test ban treaty is agreed this year, the 50th anniversary of the first "test" dropped on Hiroshima, they must act now to convince the nuclear weapon states that their delaying tactics are completely unacceptable," said Carroll.

Carroll added that the nuclear weapon states had blocked agreement on the text of a CTBT since talks began in January last year.

"If 1995 ends with no agreement on a CTBT, or worse still, allows for tests of some kind to continue, this will be a disaster for nuclear non-proliferation, and the Conference on Disarmament will be seen as a failure."

Any real progress depends on the five nuclear weapon states blocking progress and committing themselves to meeting their pledges under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Greenpeace said.

"A serious commitment to non-proliferation would require France to reverse its plans to resume nuclear testing at Moruroa in September; China to join the international moratorium, and the United States to show real leadership by making a successful CTBT its highest foreign policy priority," he said. "If the United States would show as much energy in achieving a test ban treaty as it did in promoting indefinite extension of the NPT earlier this year, we would see concrete progress toward the goal of eliminating all nuclear arsenals and a safer world for everyone," added Carroll.

The Rainbow Warrior arrived in the Fijian capital of Suva over the weekend to a warm welcome from the Fijian people. Ten local groups, who have formed an anti-nuclear testing coalition, welcomed the Rainbow Warrior with banners on the Wharf while students from the University of South Pacific danced and drummed in the arrival.

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