Tests must be stopped for our children's sake
AS the determined French have now gone ahead with their nuclear tests in the Pacific, I must express my surprise about some of the reactions to the decision to resume these crimes against nature and civilisation, especially from certain camps that like to claim moral superiority for themselves.
Where are the protests from the Catholic Church, for example? Are the old men in the Vatican really so out of touch with reality as to regard condoms as a greater evil and more perilous to mankind than nuclear weapons or nuclear technology as a whole? Where are the protests from those countries which regard themselves as the last upholders of moral standards on this side of the globe, above all, Singapore and Malaysia? Too obvious is the discrepancy between appearance and substance, between imaginary moral standards and merely self interest.
How can anyone with a sane intellect, who is capable of logical thought, have let these tests be carried out? While our reasonable historical knowledge covers no more than perhaps 2,000 years, the French are creating a deadly legacy for thousands of years to come, in the middle of one of the most precious and vulnerable areas of the world.
Nobody - scientist, military man, or president of France - can rule out the possibility of widespread radioactive and toxic contamination of the Pacific Ocean.
I wonder how people who work everyday to give their children a better future can let this evil deliberately destroy their children's world, for the lowest of motives.
Everyone who supports these tests, or who just doesn't care, must be asked: will they clean up their share of radioactive contaminated soil, water and air? Will they take responsibility for the deadly toxic plutonium originating from these tests? This is a durable heritage to be passed on for hundreds of generations.
Will, in the future, they offer their share of uncontaminated food and water to someone who tried to stop these crimes? Does the French president in Paris have the courage to make such commitments? BERNHARD LASCHINSKY Sai Kung
