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NO MORE NUCLEAR TESTS
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HITI TAU
National link unit
Member of the Pacific Island Association of Non Governmental Organisations
PIANGO
B.P. 4611 Papeete TAHITI, French Polynesia
Tel : (689)521371 / Fax : (689)572880
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We, the MAOHI people, are happy to have this opportunity to meet our
indigenous sisters and brothers and we thank you for your attention.
In the name of the famous " liberty, equality, fraternity " maxim, the
French state has always refused to acknowledge the existence of the
indigenous peoples under its rule. In the name of equality, the French
state denies the specificity of the indigenous peoples living in its
territory and, in that same logic, has still not ratified the 169
Convention of the ILO. Thus, only the individual are taken into
consideration, being easier to control than a whole group of people strong
of its traditions and solidarity.
France spoils the right for indigenous peoples to dispose of themselves.
France uses the peoples which it has colonised as guinea pigs. After the
nuclear testing in the Sahara, land of the Touareg, these tests are being
undergone on our land. It is now our turn to be the guinea pigs of the
nuclear power for a nation-state which uses terrorist methods without any
hesitation, as it has been observed during the Rainbow Worrior tragedy. Our
most fundamental rights are being violated, a perfect example of which
being the case of Mr. Gabriel Tetiarahi, coordinator of HITI TAU, president
of PIANGO, who's working documents and passports were confiscated by the
French authorities on returning from a conference in New-Zealand against
the resuming of the nuclear testing.
According to the Maohi culture, when a baby is born the placenta of the
mother is buried in the ground so as to link the child to the nourishing
Earth. Over it is planted a fruit tree, most of the time the " URU "
(typical and legendary bread tree of Tahiti). This customary gesture is the
expression of life itself. By this, the child has a close relationship with
the environment from the minute that he is born.
This is the meaning of our struggle, a struggle for life, rather than a race
towards atomic death. By planting a bomb in the stomach of Moruroa, France
could not have hurted us more deeply. It has polluted the nourishing Earth
of our children and grand-children. It is, Therefore, a crime against the
future generations. You must understand that we need no other explanation
to be opposition to this criminal stupidity.
Our demands are to acquire the fundamental rights of speech, thought and
reflection which are denied by France to an indigenous people suffering
nuclear colonialism and barbarism.
We ask your support for our rightful demands which are in accordance to the
right of the Maohi people to self-determination :
- The absolute end to nuclear testing on our Territory.
- The nomination of an international fact finding mission on health issues
in regard of thirty years of nuclear testing in French Polynesia.
- The nomination of an international fact finding mission on environmental
issues linked to the nuclear testing.
- Transparency concerning the contents of the French files on the nuclear
tests, and the right to free information about the risks endured by the
Maohi people, especially for the workers of Moruroa, so as to put an end to
the lies of the French State which is a violation of Human Rights.
In order for these demands to be echoed, we ask for :
- An international boycott of French products.
- A boycott of the Pacific games.
- And we encourage any pacific initiative going in that direction.
Our network of NGOs HITI TAU, which aims at working for the benefit of the
grass root people, has made clear its opposition against the so called "
irrevocable " decision of the French president Jacques Chirac. Our network
does what is in its power to demonstrate its opposition. We organise
demonstrations... but with what results? Yet, HITI TAU very seriously
believes in human and universal justice.
This is why we have build a house of peace in the middle of our capital city
(Papeete), where most of the political powers are concentrated :
Territorial Assembly, Council of ministers, High Court, Palace of Justice.
But again, what use would this be without international support?
Sisters and brothers, in my mind the human rights, peace and life are one.
It is here, in this room, that the house of peace can be found. If we look
around us, we find ourselves so different. But looking closer, are we not
the same?
Together, we will scream so loudly to the entire world against this infamy
that even a deaf man like the French president Jacques Chirac will not be
able to ignore our voices. We are sure that in the house of Peace that we
have build, by holding each other hand in hand, we will manage to find
solutions to save our land, thus saving the entire planet. Our organisation
is called " HITI TAU " which means " time has come to react " in Maohi lang
uage.
We must react together for nuclear weapons to be declared illegal.
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UPDATE FROM THE TA'ATA MAOHI OF FRENCH-OCCUPIED POLYNESIA
From: Pamela Meidell/Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
September 6, 1995 10:30 p.m. Hawaii Time
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Revolt In Tahiti
Dear Abolition Friends,
I spoke this evening with an activist in Tahiti about the
situation there. Yesterday, after it was announced publicly that
the nuclear test had taken place, one of the local unions called
a general strike on the island, that began at 12 midnight last
night. People began to congregate at the Tahiti airport at Faa'a.
By sunrise this morning the airport was entirely blocked. Two
international flights at 9 a.m. were cancelled, and police riot
forces were called in. They used tear gas to push back the crowd,
as well as force. Several people have suffered broken arms and
legs, and some have been hospitalized.
Fires were started at the airport. No one claims the
responsibility for starting them, but the people of the island
say that the French army started them to blame the people, and
the army of course says the people started them. At least twenty
cars have been burned and turned over. At 6 p.m. tonight, a large
building with a thatched roof close to the main terminal was
burning. The international flights scheduled for this afternoon
and tonight have been cancelled. The only way off the island is
by ferry to the neighboring island of Moorea, which has a very
small airport for interisland hoppers.
At dusk, 2,000 people were packed in front of the bridge that
fronts the airport. The people have occupied the airport and were
calling via Radio Tefana for reinforcements to make their way to
the airport. The main coastal road from Papeete to Punaviaa and
beyond is closed, and public transportation is not operating. One
of the two groups occupying the airport is Vahine To'a (literally
"warrior women to protect the land"), a newly formed group of
women who stormed the Hall of Justice last Wednesday. They
demanded that the High Commissioner of the Territory sign a
statement calling for the end of the tests. (He didn't.)
Oscar Temaru, mayor of Faa'a and leader of the Tavini Huiraatira
(the Tahitian Indenpendence Party), has called for a local
referendum of the people to end the testing. He has been in
negotiations since early this morning with representatives of the
territorial government, along with other local groups. The unions
will only talk with French Territorial President Gaston Flosse,
and not any other lower governmental representatives. The other
groups, including Tavini, are willing to negotiate with other
officials. As of 6 p.m., the negotiations were stalled.
The people are unwilling to put up with French decisions that
threaten their lives. The activist I spoke with said, "it's not
done yet," and believes that the time is ripe for the people of
French-occupied Polynesia to demand their independence.
Please fax statements of support to Radio Tefana at +689/82-54-93
or to the Faa'a City Hall at +689/83 48 90, and keep all of them
in your hearts and prayers.
Pacifically yours (yuck - ats), Pamela Meidell
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Interview With Gabriel Tetiarahi, coordinator of the Polynesian NGO
network Hiti-Tau, concerning the recent disturbances in Tahiti from the
German daily 'taz' with the head of the Polynesian NGO group Hiti-Tau.
- ATS, September 13/95;
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"Gabi, We're Burning The City..."
Interview With Gabriel Tetiarahi, coordinator of the Polynesian NGO
network Hiti-Tau, concerning the recent disturbances in Tahiti.
Who demonstrated at the airport?
Young people. Most of them were from the poor districts. Of
course, there were also anti-nuclear activists and union members who came to
Tahiti's airport, but they had wanted a non-violent protest.
But then buildings were set on fire and shops were looted...
Some militant union members may have been involved, but only
very few. Most of those involved, however, were the people who suffer the
most from the economic and social problems on the island. Most were
between 15 and 25 years of age, unemployed, and without any useful
education. These people cannot be controlled.
What did all of this have to do with the nuclear tests?
The environmentalists, union members, and church people felt very
insulted by Chirac's decision.
And what about Oscar Temaru's Independence Party?
I think that Temaru was surprised by the turn of events. Local
workers, who are organized in the unions and who took part in Wednesday's
general strike, did not ask permission, they simply took the heavy machinery
and blockaded the runways at the airport.
Has Tahiti ever seen such scenes of civil war?
Oh sure, during the workers' struggles of 1987 in the harbor and
in the city, there was even more destruction. But this time, the events were
characterized by the extreme disappointment and anger of the youth.
These people seem to link everything together: protests against the
nuclear tests, the demand for independence, and the social problems as well.
The demonstrators, who are the catalysts for the anti-nuclear
protests, are just the expression of the problems which my people face. But
the
people's anger at this first test is tied to the fact that for the last
few months all they have been hearing are statements from the French
government and from Greenpeace. The social problems and the suffering of
the Polynesian people are never mentioned. This feeling of inferiority, of
not even existing in other people's minds, manifested itself in violence.
For one thing, I noticed at the airport that camera teams were attacked
and
journalists' cars were set on fire - for this reason, I'm sure.
That sounds like a critique of Greenpeace.
Sure, Greenpeace brought global attention to Mururoa - to its own
activities at Mururoa.
"Blood will flow in the streets" was what one high-ranking official from
the Evangelical Church said before the revolt broke out.
When a few Hiti-Tau activists came to me and said, "Gabi, we're
burning the city", I felt as if I had no right to stop them. The true
violence is being done by the French and their bombs. The Polynesians are
merely reacting to the violence being done to them. We had already done
so many non-violent protests and demonstrations, signed petitions and
mailed them in, but the governments in Paris - from de Gaulle to Chirac -
never once paid us any attention.
Could these emotions lead to Tahiti's independence?
No. This outbreak of violence was only partly connected to the
movement for independence. The independence movement, like the
anti-nuclear movement, are making use of the present time because they
feel like they have the support of international public opinion. But
these emotions will eventually subside. We need to try to find a place
for these youths within our society, that's what we should be fighting
for. But, there could be a repeat of these protests, if the sense of
frustration persists.
(Interview by Nicola Liebert)
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