Nukes no more

THE South Pacific region will now be out
of bounds for countries wanting to
conduct nuclear tests. At long last
France, the UK and the us (with Russia
and China) finally affixed their signatures, on March 25, to the I I -year old
Treaty of Rarotongo, which seeks to ban
nuclear weapons from the region, at the
Fijian capital of Suva.

The treaty covers 30 million sq km
of ocean and several tiny islands which
are home to nearly 26 million people. It
bans the testing, storage and deployment of nuclear weapons in the zone.
Considered for long a 'nuclear playground' by nations wanting to display
their supremacy, the region will now be
peaceful. The South Pacific Forum,
which represents the region's 16
nations, has approved of France's agreement on the ban. France had recently
raised the ire of these and other nations
by conducting six nuclear tests in the
South Pacific. Said Julius Chan, Prime
Minister of Papua New Guinea and
Forum chairperson, that the accord
"marks the end of a tense and uncertain
period when the region was a testing
ground, and in certain respects, a battle
ground for nuclear testing by the
nuclear powers".