nuclear-news

French Polynesians: almost impossible to get nuclear compensation

Nuclear payments blow to French Polynesia ABC News  By Geraldine Coutts for Radio Australia   Oct 15, 2009 Activists fighting for victims of French nuclear testing in the Pacific are stunned by conditions imposed in a compensation bill by France’s upper house.There was praise in July when the National Assembly approved a bill for compensating the victims of tests carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria over more than three decades.About 150,000 civilian and military personnel took part and many later developed serious health problems.

Roland Oldham, president of the Mororua e Tatou Association representing French Pacific nuclear test workers, told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat the actions of the French Senate reflected arrogance in metropolitan France towards its territories.

He said the Senate has imposed strict requirements on applicants to prove their case on various grounds.

“For our Polynesian people it’s going to be hard. A lot of our people won’t be part of compensation,” he said………………

He said the Senate had further rejected a bid by his organisation to be part of a compensation committee, which will now be made up of only people nominated by the French Ministry of Defence.

“It’s the same people that have done the nuclear testing in our place, in our island,” Mr Oldham said.

“They’ve been saying for many years that the tests are clean and today they’re going to decide about compensation on their own.”

Nuclear payments blow to French Polynesia – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

October 20, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, France, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive