[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 138 (Thursday, September 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



[[Page E 1721]]


                IN OPPOSITION TO FRENCH NUCLEAR TESTING

                                 ______


                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 1995
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
outrage over the detonation by the Chirac government of a nuclear 
device in the South Pacific.
  The French have blatantly and egregiously ignored the environmental 
sovereignty of the region. I strongly object to the fact that France 
carried out these tests more than 10,000 miles from their mainland. If, 
as Mr. Chirac has stated, these tests pose no threat to the ecosystem, 
why are they being carried out 10,000 miles away from France? Why 
detonate atomic weapons in somebody else's backyard? Why not in central 
France?
  The United States, numerous countries and respected individuals in 
the region pleaded with the French not to carry out these 
``experiments.'' But Mr. Chirac insisted that they are necessary. Why 
are these tests necessary? Whom are the French preparing to fight? Are 
they planning to drop a bomb on Algeria? What specter so haunts them 
that they need to test their nuclear weapons before they sign the 
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? And what will this mean for the 
future of the treaty? Will other countries rush to detonate bombs 
before they finally renounce nuclear testing? Will rogue nations and 
terrorist organizations experiment with nuclear weaponry, claiming that 
they must protect themselves from French aggression?
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot adequately express my disappointment with the 
Chirac Government. Economic boycotts, political protests, editorial 
outrage and public opinion seem all to have failed in convincing Mr. 
Chirac that his policy is wrong. It is dangerous for the ecosystem, 
dangerous for the fragile marine environment, dangerous for the people 
living around the mururoa atoll, and dangerous for those who seek a 
nuclear-weapon-free world. As Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans 
stated: ``This is not the action of a good international citizen.''


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