Over Mangareva

Pitcairn Protests Over Mangareva Missile Site

The people of Pitcairn Island five protested to the South

acific Office, their administra

te headquarters in Fiji, over the

3ssibility that the French Gov mment will use the island of langareva, in the Gambier

archipelago of French Polynesia,

a nuclear and missile

unching base.

'HE Pitcairners have asked the South Pacific Office to express ;ir “grave concern to the propriate authorities” at the Dspects of finding themselves next or to a nuclear and missile testing )und.

Mangareva is about 300 miles from cairn and about 250 miles from no Island to which the Pitcairners ke trips from time to time.

Reports that France is considering

mgareva as a missile-launching

;e have been current for several inths. t was reported in September 'M, Oct., p. 44) that a decision the matter was expected during November sessions of the French liament. lowever, the French Parliament i later dissolved and new elections e held after President de Gaulle ght wider powers, and so France’s liamentary affairs were disrupted the decision on Mangareva was lyed.

Ir. S. A. Kinder, Pitcairn’s cation officer and editor of aim Miscellany, expressed the nders’ fears over a base on ngareva in the November issue of newspaper, [e said: “Up to the present time aim has seemed far away from great problems which have kept world in a state of uncertainty unrest for so many years.

Although by means of radio we able to follow world events from to day, because we are so ited these happenings are little e than words to us.

'low however, even this little id of only two square miles, half between New Zealand and tma, is suddenly confronted with

the threat of a nuclear and guided missile testing ground being estab lished by the French Government in the Gambier Group.

“Mangareva, the island on which it is believed the testing ground will be established, is one which has had close associations with Pitcairn in the years gone by.

“All the older islanders here have very happy memories of the days when the trading schooner ran be tween Mangareva and Pitcairn, and of visits they made to the people there.

“Now the 600 odd people of Mangareva and the surrounding islands are being threatened with the

possibility of being uprooted from their island home—their home for generations—to make way for what is called the progress of science, while here on Pitcairn, fears for our safety are expressed because of the small distance which separates us from this proposed testing ground.

“To the south of Mangareva lies nothing but water until the Antarctic continent is reached, to the north and west again there exists a vast extent of ocean over which any nuclear fall out which may be created can be dispersed, but should there be some unexpected change in weather con ditions, Pitcairn Island could be in an extremely dangerous position.”