A Gold Lining

Even A Nuclear

Cloud Can Have

From a special correspondent

Every cloud has a silver lining, so they say. But in the case of the French nuclear bomb cloud, it is a matter of looking for the gold lining.

Of course, anyone who can make gold, even silver, out of a nuclear cloud would be inclined to conceal this lucrative fall-out from protesting observers. And since all’s fair in love and war, the best strategy is to plant decoys and send the enemy off on false tracks by talking about national indepen dence, maintaining the world equilibrium for peace, even accus ing opponents of political subver sion and lust for power.

The sale of arms is big business in France: every Frenchman dreams of having a gun and on attaining certain official posts he may even become eligible for a second one. But more signifi cantly, on the world market France is in the third position, behind the Soviet Union and the US, as a source of arms sales. There are no export statistics released on this delicate subject to prove the wealth of the French arms industry, but French writers have openly claimed this world distinction.

Moreover, a whole section of the Defence Department, the Delega tion Ministerielle pour I’Armement, is devoted to the arms export trade.

While Australia has already bought such equipment from France, in the form of Mirage jet planes, it must also be remem bered that Rhodesia, South Africa, Libya, South America and a whole string of African nations are assiduous clients. A version of the Mirage can carry the bomb.

There is little doubt that if France can make its H-Bomb operational (ie, small enough) it will be in a position to market it.

After all, France has not signed the Vienna agreement for the non proliferation of nuclear weapons. (At this point the French bombs must be tested in the atmosphere for technical reasons.)

If some nations are worried about radioactive fall-out from the Tahiti tests, one wonders what will be their reaction when any banana republic or dictator, for a few bars of gold, could acquire an opera tional French H-Bomb.

Some observers have been un able to comprehend the unwaver ing determination of the Paris Government over its nuclear weapons policy. The intransigent attitude of the Paris authorities in refusing to heed the fears of Pacific peoples has been a shock.

The world is likely to witness a great struggle by all nations to acquire nuclear power and tech nique: it must be recognised that the potential French role in this race has been skilfully camou flaged by the Paris authorities.

Effective tactics have been em ployed to divert outside critics, eg, top members of the French Government have charged that Australia’s real motive in seeking to have the Tahiti tests banned is not to fight radioactive fall-out, but to drive France out of its three Pacific territories (Tahiti, Wallis and New Caledonia). And in these territories, since the radio and TV are state-controlled and the Press obedient, only the Paris version of the plot receives coverage.

To add credibility to their goal, the French have even gone so far as getting an Australian consul, Allan Edwards, recalled from Noumea in February, 1972, on charges of so-called interference in the island’s internal affairs and championing the autonomy cause.

This builds up the image of an "enemy” threat from Australia and puts Australia on the defensive to prove that she does not wish to eliminate France from the Pacific.

By such manoeuvres, the Paris bureaucrats hope to gain sufficient time to perfect the bomb, and keep their critics confused in the tiring duel of inconclusive debate.

At the same time, France is un concerned about action in the UN,

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for she has staunch allies there: the independent French-speaking African states who rely heavily on French economic aid always use their influence within the Afro- Asian group to prevent discussion or vote on issues which might embarrass France. A good example of this is how the UN committee on decolonisation has never included the French Pacific territories in its list of “non self governing territories to be investi gated”.

France continually challenges the right of outsiders to meddle in her own internal affairs and in matters of national defence, claim

ing that her nuclear testing is being carried out among Pacific territories which are an integral part of France. To claim these overseas territories as an integral part of France raises the interest ing guestion of why these islands should be receiving assistance from such bodies as the South Pacific Commission and the UNDP.

How can a metropolitan country— one central state —that is not underdeveloped, be entitled to this help?

How can New Caledonia, for example, be an integral part of France, with the Paris Government having hoped for the island's nickel development to earn some SUS3OO million annually for France (current Sixth Plan), when at the

same time the territory is seeking aid from the SPC and UNDP to develop its fisheries exports? How can France have its. cake and eat it too? It suits France to be one indivisible republic for the bomb tests, but not for foreign aid.

Only the French territories, among the 17 island groups re ceiving SPC aid, are claimed as integral parts of any of the five big nations sponsoring the SPC.

Hawaii is. an integral part of the USA and yet this island does not seek aid from the SPC.

Obviously, there are many issues hidden behind the nuclear cloud. But for the Paris tacticians, the most brilliant aspect of that cloud must surely be the gold lining.