Torato slams

visits

Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader, Paul Torato, plunged into the vexed debate over nuclear ship visits in the Pacific by calling on all mem bers of the South Pacific Forum to oppose what he called ’’su per power military rivalry” in the region. Torato, parliament ary leader of the United Party of PNG, said intervention of the super powers threatened the sovereignty, national and regio nal interests of the Pacific coun tries.

Mr Torato was attacking the PNG prime minister, Michael Somare, who had been quoted from London as saying he did not object to visits to PNG ports of nuclear-armed or powered naval ships of the United States Pacific fleet. Closer examina tion of Mr Somare’s statements in Europe showed that his view was rather more a qualified ’’maybe” than a green light for such excursions.

But, if Mr Somare had ’’de liberately decided to accept the visits,” said Mr Torato, then it was ”a direct blow to the security interests of the three million people of PNG.”

The statement continued at some length to denounce the idea, claiming that the govern ment had ’’not only acted irresponsibly, and in defiance of the Opposition’s policies,” but had ’’grossly betrayed” PNG’s security, ’’just to gain super power popularity for himself.

Speaking of Mr Somare, Mr Torato said: ”He better realise that he does not unilaterally

own this country to do anything he wishes with it.”

He said the PNG govern ment should ’’promote the best interests of our own people, and conduct our policies in the spirit of the South Pacific nuc lear-free zone proposal.”

The possibility of nuclear accidents could not be ex cluded, and, second, PNG was not obliged by any treaty or convention to facilitate the milit ary movements of any state.

PNG did not need nuclear energy of any sort for its de fence or for its development.