NOT HERE, NOT THERE, NOT ANYWHERE
Nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs must leave BC

        "Nuclear weapons have never been, and will never be tested at
Nanoose," states Liberal Defence Minister Art Eggleton in a recent editorial
--knocking down a straw target no one had raised. Eggleton and Fisheries
Minister David Anderson are up to their necks in the unprecedented hostile
attempt to expropriate 150 square miles of BC in order to accommodate
nuclear warheads on nuclear powered submarines which many regard as
"floating Chernobyls." Of the 2600 formal objections filed by Churches,
First Nations, Labour, Environmental and community organizations from across
Canada, not one suggests that atomic bombs are being detonated two miles
north of the BC ferry route to Nanaimo.

        What Canadians are asking is why allow nuclear bombs into BC at all? We
have a right to set reasonable conditions on what goes on in our province,
and a responsibility to question policies that put our environment and
economy at risk. We expect open discussion of such policies, and straight
answers.

        Why is there no emergency plan for the nearly three million people who live
downwind of this potentially disastrous technology? Why do insurance
companies exempt nuclear accidents? Who would clean it up? Who would pay?

        Are nuclear bombs at Nanoose necessary --as David Anderson recently
suggested-to train Canadian troops on "humanitarian" missions in Yugoslavia?

        Defending the expropriation in the House of Commons, Mr. Eggleton said on
May 25 that "There has never been any problem and there will not be,"
forgetting the nine reactors and 50 warheads already littering the oceans,
including the USS Thresher which sank with all 129 hands and its nuclear
propulsion reactor in 1963, and hundreds of subsequent accidents, incidents,
collisions, fires, and loss of coolant events. He ignores the $8 million
annual subsidy of Nanoose, and research showing that double the current jobs
could be generated by alternative non-military uses.

        Appallingly, Mr. Eggleton also ignores the 1996 International (World) Court
of Justice ruling that use -or even threat-of nuclear bombs is simply
illegal, while US policy actually advocates "first use" of nuclear bombs.
And Mr. Eggleton simply denies the longstanding land claim of the Nanoose
First Nation who have lived on the area now occupied by the Nanoose
test-range for thousands of years, and have been negotiating the claim with
BC and Canada since 1992. Eggleton told CBC radio on May 18 that "I am told
that there is no claim. Our government lawyers have looked at it, and that
is not an issue." Eggleton repeats the words "Canada" or "Canadian" 17
times, but the US Navy's web-site simply describes Nanoose as a branch-plant
of Keyport, Washington's Underwater Warfare Station; with "Fleet testing and
logistics sites located in Nanoose, British Columbia and Hawthorne, Nevada."

        While attending APEC in 1997, General Suharto didn't want to check his
handguns at the border. The Pentagon doesn't want to part with their nuclear
weapons either, but the "neither confirm nor deny" charade seems aimed more
at civilians than at some undefined "enemy". It's public knowledge which
subs carry nuclear bombs and which ones don't. But in spite of the 1996
World Court ruling and other progress toward nuclear disarmament, weapons
systems on Nanoose visitors like the USS Will Rogers and the USS Ohio are
actually being upgraded to even more powerful and dangerous D-5 missiles
-thereby also increasing the danger of accidental nuclear war.

        Ottawa's expropriation of Nanoose to accommodate nuclear bombs has
effectively derailed the outstanding report of Foreign Affairs Minister
Lloyd Axworthy's all-party nuclear policy review. That 1998 call to
eliminate the "political value" of nuclear weapons is now in the ditch.
Getting back on track may require ministers Eggleton and Anderson to take
the stand as witnesses during the upcoming expropriation "hearings."
Canadians appreciate the opportunity to be heard, but also need some
straight answers.

        Norm Abbey is a director of the Nanoose Conversion Campaign
        <iabbey@alternatives.com>

        -30-
 
 

 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane P. Brett

FIND A WAY TO REMOVE
    NUCLEAR-POWERED, NUCLEAR-ARMED SHIPS
           FROM OUR HARBOURS  &  FIND A WAY TO STOP
                 NUCLEAR SUBMARINE TRAFFIC IN GEORGIA STRAIT
                        (mobile Chernobyls)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

! NANOOSE CONVERSION CAMPAIGN, 2150 Maple Street Vancouver BC V6J 3T3
! www.user.dccnet.com/lagasse/Nuclear_Free_Georgia_Strait/nanoose.html
! Contact: Norman Abbey (604)738-7963 Tel/Fax or (604)351-1416
! Email: iabbey@alternatives.com