284 the Contemporary Pacific • Spring 2000

09-CP 12-1 (br pp.256-293) 6/5/03 11:11 AM Page 284 284 the contemporary pacific • spring 2000 After Moruroa: France in the South Resource Centre in Suva, Fiji, says in Pacific, by Nic Maclellan and Jean his preface that After Moruroa is an Chesneaux. Melbourne: Ocean Press, update (and translation) of La France 1998. isbn 1-876175-05-2, ii + 279 dans la Pacifique: De Bougainville à pages, maps, notes, bibliography, Moruroa, which he published in 1992 glossary, index. Paper, us$19.95; with Chesneaux, an emeritus historian a$29.95. at the Sorbonne. The opening chapters stress the links between French colo- Moruroa and Us: Polynesians’ nialism and nuclear testing, though Experiences during Thirty Years of Paris thinks of its Pacific territories as Nuclear Testing in the French Pacific, benevolently subsidized and “autono- by Pieter de Vries and Han Seur. mous.” Like Robert Aldrich and Lyon: Centre de Documentation others, the authors regard World et de Recherche sur la Paix et les War II as a turning point in the French Conflits, 1997. isbn 2-9508291-5-5, Pacific, because Paris wanted to regain v + 224 pages, maps, tables, glossary, its tarnished status, after humiliating bibliography. Paper, us$20.00. defeat and Nazi occupation: it would grant greater self-government to its From 1966 to 1996, France detonated territories, in order to retain them and nearly two hundred atomic bombs in thus secure for itself the desired role the Tuamotu atolls of Moruroa and of a middle-sized power with nuclear Fangataufa. When France finally weapons and a globe-spanning ceased its last round of tests, after presence. violent demonstrations in Tahiti, The book traces French mythology and signed the South Pacific Nuclear about the Pacific from Bougainville’s Free Zone Treaty, it ended what Bengt “paradise,” through Gauguin and Danielsson and other critics have even Jules Verne and the surrealists, called “nuclear colonialism” in French to a “grand design” based on “the Polynesia. But two nagging questions facade of autonomy” (77). As late as remain: what will the territory do now 1986, France described mineral-rich that the Centre d’Expérimentation du New Caledonia as “an immense Pacifique is closing down, and what aircraft carrier” (80) to defend the health consequences of radioactive region, while the Centre d’Expérimen- contamination, if any, has Paris kept tation absorbed the largest French secret from the local inhabitants in the budgetary expenditure in the Pacific. interests of national security? These Chesneaux reuses his “franconesia” two books, one by longtime critics label to portray anachronistic metro- of French nuclear and colonial policies politan pride in artificially subsidized in the region, and the other by mem- outposts, in contrast to the enduring bers of Europe Pacific Solidarity who nationalism expressed by Kanak and are reporting findings from a survey Ma‘ohi activists. The authors are among Polynesians affected by nuclear critical of France’s ongoing “charm testing, address those questions. offensive” (188) in the Pacific, as it Maclellan, of the Pacific Concerns offers money, military aid, diplomatic 09-CP 12-1 (br pp.256-293) 6/5/03 11:11 AM Page 285 book reviews 285 reconciliation, and francophonie would probably be dissatisfied with (241), that is, the spread of French the postponement of an independence language and culture. referendum for fifteen to twenty years, They argue convincingly that Paris but Kanak negotiators say that Paris wants to transform its habitual pres- will gradually delegate more and ence into a springboard to the mythic more authority to the territory, and “Pacific century.” French investment that Kanak culture will be validated. in the Asia-Pacific, and the appeal of The Noumea Accord represents a sig- exclusive economic zones that give nificant move in the direction that the France third rank in maritime domain authors recommended, if not as far after the United States and Russia, toward sovereignty as they and others remain powerful attractions, and eco- wanted. nomic dependency keeps the majority If the quest for sovereignty in the of residents in French Pacific territo- French Pacific remains problematic, ries from supporting full indepen- so does the issue of health problems dence. France promotes a problem- due to nuclear testing, because French atic, 1789-derived vision of individual “national security” has kept crucial rights in an indivisible republic, rather data classified. The result is unending than self-determination for colonized controversy about how much environ- peoples. The authors say that French mental and medical damage the policy violates United Nations resolu- Centre d’Expérimentation caused tions on decolonization and ask, “Can in French Polynesia and the region. Pacific identity be maintained while Maclellan and Chesneaux contest advancing universal human rights?” studies that purportedly show French (257). Their conclusion is that France safety precautions were successful, will continue to play an important suggesting not only that inspection role in the region, but it should do teams had very limited access to the so as an outsider who listens better test sites but also that their reports to local voices in a postcolonial era. were quoted selectively to the press by The Matignon Accord of 1988 French officials. They cite evidence of promised New Caledonia a plebiscite cracks below the waterline in the radi- on independence ten years later, and ated atolls, of accidents that spread the authors assert, “The 1998 referen- contamination and caused worker dum will be vital for the future not deaths, and of residual plutonium only of New Caledonia, but the other in Moruroa lagoon, and they attack French territories and the region as a French arguments that illnesses attrib- whole” (252). The actual vote, held uted to nuclear radiation are really after the book’s publication, was a the products of modern “lifestyles,” ratification of the Noumea Accord, that is, unhealthy foods, smoking, and which required a change in the French the like. They side with critical socio- constitution to establish a local logical surveys by nongovernment nationality in New Caledonia that organizations such as Europe Pacific restricts voting and work rights to Solidarity and dismiss in advance the long-term residents. The authors study being done by the International 09-CP 12-1 (br pp.256-293) 6/5/03 11:11 AM Page 286 286 the contemporary pacific • spring 2000 Atomic Energy Agency (iaea), revealingly, almost the same propor- because that organization promotes tion said they “were not informed by nuclear power (114). the employer that recruited them that Not long after the publication of they were going to work for a nuclear After Moruroa, the agency presented testing programme” (29). Many who its findings to the Pacific Forum, worked at the test sites criticized the claiming that despite residual contam- propaganda “documentaries” they ination in the atolls, it would cause saw on French television about how no measurable health effects on indi- safe the sites were, since known acci- viduals or groups and consequently dents and deaths occurred, and work- needed no remedial work or monitor- ers were prohibited from fishing, ing. As usual, such a clean exonera- though they did anyway. In addition, tion of France, with appropriate legal contaminated areas were marked off, disclaimers against possible lawsuits, sometimes stripped of sand when the invited criticism from opponents of radioactive readings were too high, the Centre d’Expérimentation. France, and before outside inspectors visited, after all, solicited the iaea study, and the French cleaned up the places they publicity surrounding its own misrep- were allowed to see. Any worker who resentation of the Cousteau report voiced concern was warned, then had already caused a scandal during fired if they continued talking. the 1992 French election—which led More than a quarter of the work- to the first suspension of nuclear tests ers complain about their health and for three years. Like Maclellan and link it to the tests (77), and a large Chesneaux, De Vries and Seur, in majority feel that the whole program Moruroa and Us (which also appeared was “a senseless undertaking” (209) before the iaea report), question the that not only subjected their home- impartiality of the agency, “given its land to health risks but made it eco- reputation as a pro-nuclear organiza- nomically dependent. The Centre tion” (208). Moreover, widespread d’Expérimentation, they argue, was suspicion of French secrecy has made imposed on them by distant authori- it difficult, at this point, to separate ties, thus becoming a symbol of colo- fears among Polynesian workers nialism to nationalist leaders and rank about the effects of the tests, from and file alike. Of those interviewed, actual contamination, of which there 83 percent said that discussions about is troubling anecdotal evidence. the legacy of the Centre should con- Commissioned by Gabby tinue, and 91 percent want more Tetiarahi’s Hiti Tau and the local research done. De Vries and Seur Protestant Church, Netherlands-based recommend the creation of “indepen- Europe Pacific Solidarity conducted dent, non-political Polynesian institu- interviews with 737 indigenous tions” to defend the legal rights of employees and former employees the workers and promote study and about their experiences. Unsurpris- debate on the impact of testing. One ingly, 75 percent said they went to can see in their report the clash high- work for the Centre d’Expérimen- lighted in After Moruroa, between tation “for the money,” but more French discourses of science and uni- 09-CP 12-1 (br pp.256-293) 6/5/03 11:11 AM Page 287 book reviews 287 versalism and indigenous notions of turbance in the Pacific since the Sec- cultural identity and sovereignty. The ond World War. (“Stakeholder” is Europe Pacific Solidarity findings reportedly a popular term in Austra- reveal that ultimately, many Ma‘ohi lian discussions of public management regard the nuclear tests as “a breach issues.

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