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French Polynesia French nuke vets unhappy with compensation

French Polynesia French nuke vets unhappy with compensation ABC Radio Australia Jul 2, 2009 7:40am AEST

The French National Assembly has approved a bill to compensate the victims of the nuclear tests it carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria for more than three decades. It’s the first time the French government has acknowledged it has a legal obligation to compensate the 150,000 military personnel and local staff who may have suffered serious health problems due to exposure to radiation.

But the workers aren’t happy, saying the new bill falls short of what they need. Presenter: Meredith Griffiths
Speaker: Roland Oldham, President of Moruroa e Tatou; Nic Maclellan, author  We have a very high rate of cancer here in our country and some of the cancer very, very rare. The problem is our system especially the French system of health department, no data has been done about it……………………………..This law is completely controlled by the Ministry of Defence. They have been doing 30 years of nuclear tests here and today they are the same ones who make a law to compensate the people. It is not independent institution at all. It is a committee of compensation that is nominated by the Ministry of Defence. There is no representation of the victims committee. The area of concern is also decided by the Ministry of Defence..

French Polynesia French nuke vets unhappy with compensation

July 3, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized