Chirac Victory Gives Green Light to Fr Testing

[The.Greenbase@gb.greenpeace.org]

CHIRAC VICTORY GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO FRENCH TESTING


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                   GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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CHIRAC VICTORY GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO FRENCH TESTING


May 7 1995:-(GP) The election of Jacques Chirac as President
of France today gives the green light to nuclear proponents
wanting to resume French nuclear testing in the South Pacific,
Greenpeace warned today.

The organisation said it would take all peaceful steps at its
disposal to prevent and protest any tests at  Moruroa and
Fangataufa atolls, and urged the international community to
persuade the new President to extend the current testing
moratorium until a comprehensive test ban treaty was achieved.

M. Chirac has previously said that experts claimed France
required 10 or so more nuclear blasts at France's Moruroa test
site to test new nuclear weapons, and that he would rely on
their advice to make a decision about resuming testing.

"Even one more test at Moruroa is one test too many,"
Greenpeace's Stephanie Mills said. "M. Chirac has de facto
approved a resumption of nuclear testing under his Presidency
in recent days.  In this, the final week of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), M. Chirac must clarify
France's position on nuclear testing.  Will it flout
international
opinion, risk outrage from the Pacific, and derail the NPT and
talks on a comprehensive test ban, or take a rational
and long-awaited step toward nuclear disarmament?"

France would bear the responsibility of wrecking chances of
achieving a comprehensive nuclear test ban this year, and
causing further environmental damage at Moruroa if testing
were resumed, Mills said.

Greenpeace urged the other nuclear weapon states currently
observing a moratorium  -- the United States, the UK and
Russia -- to use moral and political pressure on France to
continue its moratorium.

"The United States and the UK have indicated they will not
isolate France by signing the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone
Treaty themselves while France maintains a moratorium and
participates in test ban negotiations," Mills said.  "If
France breaks this bargain, they must show their own
commitment to ending testing by signing the Treaty and
denouncing France's tests."

European Union countries must condemn their fellow member for
any resumption, and launch a diplomatic offensive to ensure
France and all other nuclear weapon states to end testing.

South Pacific countries should immediately suspend diplomatic
relations with France if testing resumes, she said and use the
up-coming South Pacific  Forum in Papua New Guinea to condemn
tests.

"Regardless  of  what Chirac finally decides, things will
never be the same",  said Mills. "Not  only   did  the
moratorium observed for  three  years  give credit  to
Greenpeace's  demand for a test ban, but for the first time,
the  issue  of nuclear  testing became a major topic  in  a
Presidential  election".
On Friday May 12, the final day of the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty, international non-governmental
organisations including Greenpeace will phone and fax French
diplomatic posts world-wide to urge France to live up to its
NPT obligations and end testing forever.

ENDS