Operation Deep Freeze in '98 -

US Navy Out

USAF Arctic
Ski-Hercules

In this issue: page

• US Navy to depart Operation Deep Freeze 2
• Black Birch Ohservatory PTdatr
• Big Expansion at Pine (;ap
• The Growth in New Zealand defence spending 4
• Some significant items of defence expenditure 5
• New rocket launch site in Darwin?
• Australia's Patriot missile plan to fuel arms race I)
• Spy bases in Australia What', happening? 7
• Public outrage over TrustBank sale ABC does its bit 9
• Okinawa - US to close some bases hut struggle continues 10
• Obituary - Arthur Reddish 11
• Waibopai defendants have their day of Grace, IZ
!
!. $ National Peace W ork shops 1996 13
'I • Spy bill passed 14
)
• French military colonialism - the NZ connection 15
• Is China a threat? 16
® Aussie spies get more stick 18
.. CIA File 19
• Spooky Bits 21
'
� Nuclear explosions caused the Chemobyl disaster 22
• Dunean Campbell to visit 24
 US Navy to depart
peration Deep Freeze
According to petty officer David public with the special skills for flying in the harsh
information officer at Deep the US environmell! of the Antarctic will be replaced by AIf
Navy will have d eparture from Force pilots who have UJ<:ir skills in the Arctic.
Chrih'tehurch by of 1998. In the period Air Force pi lots fly the oilier ski-equipped
until then various duties now by the Navy Hercules in the world US radar imttallations in
will be taken over the US Air Force and possibly the Arctic. The DEW line radars in Greenland have
private companies. lost much of their reason to exist since the Soviet Union
lost its focus on US nuclear targets.
So the net "demilitarisation" Freeze
promises to be to ;rA'l"O as we trade one branch of We have been seeing the northern ski-Hercules in
the US military for is a more Christchurch since 1987 Peace Nos.
objectionable braoofj - Air Force. The laller have 17.19,24). They to the New York Air National
long used DOl" as a ronvenieol rover for their rnilitaryl Guard (NYANG) whose and pilots have
intelligence Channel to and from Australia, an periodically Navy VXE6
issue' covered i n detail over the yoars in Peace Hercules In service during the
Researcher. southern summer. By March ilie NYANG unit
will have completely oul the Navy unit
The US Antarctic P[{)gram is funded and am by tbe Presumably that will add theiT ski-Hercules
civilian Nationa! Science (NSF) The NSl" pennanently to the of seven already based
III turn contracts with the and the Air Force to in Christc!mTch three of ilie old VXE6
supply logistics in suppml orthe scientific projects on Hereules may he withdrawn from servicc within a few
the lee. A private cornpany III Colorado, years).
operates the three US hases at McMurdo,
Palmer on the Antarctic a!lcl Amundsen- A tempormy casualty of tile recent budget mess in the
Scott at the South Pole. The comp.any is Antarctic US government is the allJ1Wl.! mid-winter supply drop
Support Associates over McMurdo and the South Pole station. In June of
each recent year, at the height of the pennanent
The driving force behind at Operation Deep blackness Oil the lee, Stllrliftcrs have dropped cargo by
Freeze is budge! cuts. the flight services to parachute into the armsofthe overwintering
and from the Ice and around th e continent currently crews. But this year there will be no fresh eggs and
provided by the Navy wi.!I he taken over hy the Air veges, and no mail from home until the new-season
Force. It is difficult to see how that will save money flights resume in t"');l'>1.
but perhaps they k!loW what they're doing. Navy pilots

Black BirchObservafory Update

Your editors noted recently that th.e Black Birch Observatory has not been demolished as planned. The
buildings are visihle from the vicinity of Seddon on the main road south of Blenheim. We rang Operation
Deep Freeze in Christchllfch to·investigate since they were the outfit that placed tender adverts for the demolition
process. They professed ignorance and suggested we phone the US Embassy in A very belpful
chap in the office ofthe mi.litary attache said the fate ofthe buildings at Black Birch IS in the hands of the New
Zealand government. The question is - does the govermnent want the inlact for some future
use? If not, the site will be returned to something resembling its former subalpme stale. We were unsuccessful
in our attempts to locate someone in the NZ govermnent who had even heard of Black Birch Obsef"llatory.

The US has removed all of its property from the mountain, including the transit-circle telescope itself. All has
been returned to the US, and there appear to be no plans to reinstall the telescope at a new site. Land-based
astrometry is being phased out in favour of satellite technology.

Page2 Peace Researcher

BIG EXPANSION AT PINE GAP
Hannah Middleton
Pine Gap, the CIA-run military base near Alice Springs,
is about to have its workforce increased by ten to fifteen
per cent. At least 70 more people, both American and
Australian, will join the present workforce of 700. Pine
Gap's Deputy Commander admitted this publicly in
mid March after the purchase of a number of properties
m the town sparked rumours.
rhe US and Australian authorities refuse to comment
on why Pine Gap is being expanded, but there are really
onl)':thi:ee possible reasons for it. The first is that Pine
Gap is important in the arms race going on now in
missiles like Cruise and Scud and anti-ballistic missiles
like the Patriots. Extra staff could be needed now for
SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative - Star Wars) which
has been renamed the Ballistic Missile Defence
Program (BMDF).
Pine Gap monitors missile tests, checks their
sophistication and accuracy, and pinpoints launch sites.
Its aim is not just to provide warning and defence. The
system is fundamentally offensive. Its job is to target
launch sites and knock out the missiles before they are
launched. Expansion of Pine Gap could signal a further
escalation of the vicious circle in ballistic and anti­
ballistic missile technology rather than the arms
reduction and disarmament treaties the world really
needs and wants.
The second and third reasons why the staff at Pine Gap
are to be increased may be because of the proliferation
of mobile phones and the explosion in the use of
domestic and international computer networks. Pine
Gap operates like a giant vacuum cleaner, pulling down
data from satellites. It monitors telecommunications
via satellite, radio transmissions, and missile telemetry.
It spies on military, political, diplomatic, trade and
commercial and personal communications.
With the Asia-Pacific region expected to be the focus
of economic development and world trade in the 2 1st
century, access to computer and mobile phone
communications will give the US corportations an edge.
More staff at Pine Gap may mean more commercial
and industrial espionage.
This is more than speculation Margaret Newsham, an
American woman who worked at Menwith Hill, Pine
Gap's sister base in England, from 1977 to 1981,
resigned and reported to the US Congress that she had
been involved in security violations of commercial
Peace Researcher
traffic and had listened in to private telephone calls,
including one made by a US Senator. Documents
"retrieved" from Menwith Hill by protestors make it
clear that intercepted communications were used to give
US companies an advantage when they were trying to
sell FA-18 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia in competition
with British Tornado fighters.
If the United States Government was prepared to spy
on its host nation at Menwith Hill, it is realistic to
assume that Pine Gap is spying on Australia - and that
70 new staff may be needed because the amount of
spying is increasing.
Dr Hannah Middfelon is a spokesperson for the
A ustralian Anti-Bases C;:ampaign Coalition.
Editors' note:
.". Peace Researcher (October 1994) carried a note
from the Alice Springs Peace Group revealing that
at least two new radomes had heen built at Pine Gap.
There may be more since then.
.,. The transcript of the interview with the Deputy
Commander at Pine Gap reveals that staffing levels
were not cut after the demise of the Cold War, so
this new expansion certainly represents a big
increase in spying. As new technology reqUires
fewer people to handle more "output" an increase
of ten to fifteen per cent in staffing means an
increase in SIGINT activity much greater than this.
... Australia's 1994 Defence White Paper Defending
Australia stated "The systems supported by Pine
Gap will evolve to meet the new demands of the
post Cold War era, and we expect that Pine Gap
will remain a central element of our co-operation
with the United States well into the next century"
.,. Peace Researcher (March 1996) printed a short
article on the American Department of Defense' s
interest in tapping into cyhercommunications for
their "intelligence value" and possible use
"offensively as an additional medium in
pysychologicaJ operations campaigns and to help
achieve unconventional warfare objectives"
..,. Other evidence of signals intelligence operations
shows that Britain uses its communications
interception bases to spy on its allies and that
information gained from eavesdropping was used
to give British companies an advantage in arms trade
deals.
Page3
 THE R H IN NEW ZEALAND
DEFEN E SPENDIN
Warren Thomson
fhe recent budget allows fOf $1 ,602 billion to be spent
on this country's defence forces in the 1996/97 financial
vear Another $326 million will go to the Defence
Mimstry hut most of this ($3 1 7m) is for purchases of
equipment which will be onsold to NZ Defence Forces,
Recent budget allocations represent significantly
mcreased spending for the military, but the fact seems
to have have completely bypassed the media, and the
public
'>pending for 1996/97 is slightly higher than for the
previous year. But over the last three budgets the total
voted rumually for defence has been considerably higher
than In the early 1 990s - the lower spending then now
blamed for more recent increases. According to the
notes In this year's budget "The significant increase
In 1994/95 remedies an under-capitalisation of the
l\lZDF at the start of its operations under accrual
accounting, but its primary purpose relates to ANZAC
<;hIP project payments" This year just on $40 million
WIll go towards building new frigates
In the coming New Zealand election, defence spending
" unlikely to become a major issue, with the possible
exception of some sporadic resurgence of questions on
frigate spending, A recent telephone poll that asked
Christchurch Press readers their concorns never even
listed defence issues, But sometime before the end of
next year, whatever government emerges from the first
MMP melee will have to decide whether to commit us
[0 a further huge capital expenditure on more frigates.
Some debate on military funding is then surely
mevitable. The question is whether the weak state of
the peace movement will allow it to resurrect any sort
,)f effective anti�frigate campaign or put military
spending 011 the political agenda.
..��
A�f; YOU
OOlN0 To
Rwuve
Page4
Last year the Australian's foreign affairs commentator.
Greg Sheridan, called this country's defence policy the
"bludger's option" and alleged we dwelt "", in the
dreamland of green fantasy and anti-nuclear madness"
[Christchurch Press 5 October 1995] Ironically, polls
in Australia have worried the defence esdtablishment
there by showing weakening support for high levels of
defence expenditure - in one survey nearly thirty per
cent of respondents wanted to cut defence spending,
In the October election it seems unlikely that any party
will be campaigning on the basis of a bigger defence
budget for New Zealand, But there is virtually no
organisation to monitor and comment on expenditure
for the armed forces - there is a risk that debate on
more frigates or other arcane defence issues could
become a disastrously one-sided affair. Those with
concerns about the nature of our defence forces will
need to regroup and re-energise if the issues are to be
argued.
Some other points of interest from the budget:
"" $30,6 million is earmarked for peace support
operations - down from $44,7 million last year
"'" About $2.2 million goes to the intelligence operations
of the defence forces,
... There has been "a reclassification of the battlefield
role of the Special Air Service from the Intelligence
output to the land combat output" (!)
The budgets for the Security Intelligence Service
and the Govemmenl Communieaions Security
Bureau remain the same as for last year - $9.968
million for the SIS and $18,541 million for the
GCSE.
.�
INV!10er.7 "
WI",", TAKe;;
""�£i OF lA It '
KBT
PeaceReseorcher
 SOME SIGNIFICANT ITEMS OF
DEFENCE EXPENDITURE: i·

January 1995 An option taken on "stretched" Hercules C130J military transport aircraft. Cost to be
$300-400 million In a deal as of an Australian purchase, with delivery early in the next millenium I

March 1995 A ten-year-old DanIsh roll-on roll-off ferry becomes the navy's new troop support ship
'Charles Upham··. recontigured to deplov armoured personnel carriers, trucks, and other heavy equipment
for the army's two battalions

May 1995 $70-100 million allocated tor new wings and horizontal stabilisers on the RNZAF's six P-3K
Orion maritime surveillance alrcraf\

Late 1995 $14 million spent Oll mght-slglu goggles and remote sensing equipment. This Includes the
gear to detect human body-heat al a distallce of one kilometre, and ground vibrations that can be transmitted
to I istening posts fifteen kilometres away

1995-96 Navy fngates are refitted with the Vulcan-Phalanx close-in weapons system. The guns
are designed to shoot down surface skimming missiles, and cost about $15 million each. Production of
two new frigates continues. Fmal cost estimated at about $600 million apiece.

May - June 1996: D ecision Oil which of two helicopters to buy for the navy. Six machines are to
be purchased at a cost of around million from either GKN Westland Helicopters (Super Lynx) or the
'\merican manufacturer Kaman (:>easpri!e). The British Westland bid is offering local supply and
mainenance contracts to sweeten the deal.

Other projects
*
Navy purchase of an oceall-slll'vmllance ship for hydrographlc and oceanographic tasks. Likely cost
$10 million
*
Proposed surface to air missiles for army defence Cost about $20 million. A plan to buy from the
French has been delayed by the dlsagreements over French nuclear testing in the Pacific
*
A decision on the purchase of two further new ANZAC frigates is due to be made in the next twelve
months
*
Over the next ten years the anllY will probably replace its armoured personnel carriers and the air force
will want to replace the Skyhawks i
------�

NEW R CKET LAUNCH

SITE IN D RWIN?
Hannah Middleton
environmental activists in Darwin have expressed
concern about a proposed Asia-Pacific Space Centre
to be developed at Gunn Point, about 35 kilometres
from the city, by International Resource Corporation
(IRC), a consortium of Asian, US and European
companies.
IRC spokesperson John Wollaston told the Australian
Space Development Conference In Canberra that the
Centre could launch up to 20 satellites in geostationary
or low-earth orbits each year, using Ukranian-built
Zenit rockets to launch communications and scientific
payloads.
Sydney Morning Herald science writer Leigh Dayton
wrote on March 27 "The IRC hopes to complete

PeaceReseorcher PageS
agreements within weeks with companies from the US
and from countries of the former Soviet Union to
transfer the technology needed to market, launch and
manufacture some components of space hardware in
Australia". She also pointed out that " ... the growing
demand for satellite TV. direct radio transmission,
remote sensing and mobile phones, has stretched
capacity. To meet the need. at least three consortiums
are planning to launch networks of dozens of small
satellites".
pollution from ground-based technology and fuel
supply, and the toxicity of the rocket propellants used
are also matters of considerable concern.
Most oflhe 340 plus satellites in orbit around the earth
are not launched for "peaceful purposes". About 80
per cent of all payloads is military. The disasters of the
NASA Space Shuttle revealed to the whole world the
fallibility and the cost, in human and environmental
terms, of this technology.

Enviromnentalists are concerned that up to 1,000 square
kilometres of area (including coastal and ocean surface)
would be taken over, if other facilities are any guide.
Tbere are safety problems regarding the fall-out from
the plume after take-ofT because the proposed site is
close to a population centre. In the case of failed
launches the safety of Darwin residents will also depend
on the trajectory of the rocket launched. However, this
will not protect Aboriginal groups who may be
travelling, hunting, or camping in the vicinity.
The push to nuclearise and arm outer space is
continuing. In the USA. nuclear fuelled space probe
launches are planned and 73 pounds of plutonium will
be on board the Cassini interplanetary probe scheduled
for launch in October J 997. Fall-out of nuclear debris,
However, an industry source has said the idea of a space
port in Australia is a "pipe dream" which gets brought
up about once a year and then dies. A space base
reqnires massive fundiug - one launch alone costs at
least $30 million. However, the government has never
been prepared to make this kind of money available.
and private interests have never put np this level of
funding. Woomera was Australia's ouly real chance to
develop a space base source said. It already has
the necessary infrastructure, but no-one will make the
kind of iuvestment needed to make it work.
The Northern Territory Government has yet to confirm
or deny that it approves this project to build the world's
tirst privately owned and operated launch pad near
Darwin.

AUSTRALIA'S PATRIOT MISSILE

PLAN TO FUEL ARMS RACE
(From a media release made February 23, by Dee Margetts. Greens senator for WA)

Responding to reports that the Australian Department of Defence has approved a study into the acquisition
of a Patriot-style missile defence system, Senator Dee Margetls has said that if Australia goes ahead with
the acquisition of such a system, this will further fuel the arms race in the South East Asia region. Anstralia
will up the ante in the arms race by acquiring a highly expensive missile defence system.

The Senator says the number of countries in the region seeking to upgrade their aircraft power is not a good
sign. Australian policy of upgnading its frigates. submarines, and other equipment, and anning its neighbours
to defray costs, has backfired.

The Senator questioned whether a missile defence system is legal within Australian obligations to the Anti­
Ballistic Missile Treaty which Canberra has signed. The principles of the treaty are that even defensive
posturing regarding a missile defence system can be seen as offensive and this will further the efforts of
competitors to develop more effective attack delivery systems. Australia may spend $250 million on
another strategy which will backfire.

Margetts believes the only people to benefit from an anti-missile project will be multinational companies
bidding for c ontracts. The only successful defensive strategy for Australia will be a preventative one which
reduces the propensity for attack by developing non-military productive economic, social and envirorunental
cooperation.

Page6 Peace Researcher

 Spy BAS-­ IN AUSTRALIA -

WH PPENIN ?
,

A letter from Rober! Ray, Australian for
Defence when the letter wa,s written
Christmas last year, to Senator Dee falSe,
some questions about the cunen! status of S i gna l s
Intelligence (SIGINT) bases in Australia, The letter is
reprinted here,
The Defence Minister llotes the new "'Satell ite
Communications Station" at Geraldton (the big brotber
of Waihopai) and a "small satellite te rm ina l " in
Canberra which is said to have the one at
Watsonia in Victoria. These are Hstc{l as DSD facilities
(Defence S i g n a l s Dir ec t orate ), "Joint Defence
memion ofeavesdropping operations mn out of various
Australian Commissions or Embassies domestically
and overseas, The extraordinary revelations about
spyin g through diplomatic missions revealed last year
suggest s ucb operations wi ll continue [see Peace
Researcher June 1995], The (then) Minister could
avoid reference to these by his interpretation
01 "Defence communications facilities" , This phrase
is used as a cover for spy operations in places like
and Geraldton, b;lt can also be used to
exclllde the more prosaic elements of the SIGlNT
business which a Minister would prefer not to mention,
On of this the operations are usually

Facilities" are the major spy bases at and staffed by empl oyees of AS!S ( ab ro ad) ASIO (in
Pine Gap, and the former WeST lI.s1,',1I j,q'I or military not by DSD employees,
now known as Harold E Holt Slatics',"
The leHer lists a number of m i l ita ry bases with a
"(18](:I'>(;e communications" capability, Again this
description no hint as to the precise
But the Minister's letter does not ;nentio(1 the ,aenltv nature "c'tlviti,)S at th ese bases, "Communications"
at Shoal Bay, near D arwin , or the one at '",amtl ,alL near nnl""J!!im" could be either those narrowly related to
Toowoomba in Queensland, It 111 I Ilt!lfV functio1ls, or they could inlo the wider rubric
has been phased out, but the Shoal was the of communications'" which includes the
most likely place for the relocation SIGlNT spy bases like Pine or Waihopai, The
operations shifted out of power of America's National Agency is vastly
appearance in Ray's list of bases rh0 Brit.ish enhanced by the stations in th e intelligence
and Australian Governments had develi0i',ed network operated by the military, How mucb spying is
sophisticated facilities in !o spy Ol) China, carried out through A ustralian army, llavy or air force
These operations are certain to cOlllinue. [t 13 1'''''''''0 facilities is unanswered the Ray letler.
Shoal Bay has been om itted because sensitive
involvement of the British Government Peace R(:searcher has an on-going interest in the
Communications Headquarters and CaIlbe!Ta'S interest activities ofth e spook agencies in this part of the world,
in keeping good relations with Wc would welcome letters or artides from readers who
bave up -to- date information OIl any of the bases
Have other secret installations been left off this list'? It mentioned, or other significant "defence
may be significant that the letter reads "DSD facilities communications" f a cili ties which have not been
include" rather than "DSD facilities are", There is no referre d to here,

•
Parliament House
Minister for Defence Canberra ACT 2600

" ':�c:f: l'

Tt::lephone: (06) 207&00

Senator the Hon, Robert Ray

Senator Dee Margetts 1 4 DEC 1995
Parliament House
CAl'lBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Senator Margetts

I refer to the recent request from your office for a list of Defence communications
facilities, TIle following outlines those stations operated by the Defence Signals
Directorate (DSD), those operated jointly with the United States (the Joint Defence

Peace Researcher Page 7

 Facilities), and those operated by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) .

DSD facilities include:

the Australian Defence Sat ellite Communications Station which is located
approximately 35 kilometres east of Geraldton in Western Australia and
contributes to Australia's security and defence preparedness; and

a small satellite terminal m the north compound of Russell Offices in Canberra.

The which one located at Watsonia in Victoria, is used to
communicate with Australia'S allies on intelligence matters.

The Joint Defence Facilities e.olUprise:

Nurrullgar, near Woomera 111 South Australia, whtch tS a satellite ground station
for the United Defense Support Program. It provides information relating
to bail istic surveiliance and nuclear detonations and would
provide ballistic missile attack;

Pine Gap, near Alice l!l the Northern Territory. which is a satellite
ground statio!] which mtelligence data supporting the national security of
'''llsnraL<l!. and the including data monitoring anus control and
dil;arms,m,em agreements and military developments in many areas of interest to
Austraba, and

(he Naval C ommumcatlons SratlOn Harold E H o lt near Exmouth. .

Westem Australia. whIch pnv,des communrcattons support to AustralIan and US

Harold E Holt will remam a jomt facility until
V!ay I when tr 'rid! become an Australian naval communications facility
The Navy '01111 commue have access to th e Station after the transitIon
F mally. there rS the DeLellct:: Coaunumcations System whIch proVIdes VOIce, message,
data, facslIrule and v;rieD se:rrt<>es between Defence assets Communications services
-::ompnse radiO and mH::rowave links, plus extensive use of satellite or
terrestnai sennce�; leased from Te!,Stra and Gpms The major communicatIons baseSl
statwns are
HMAS Hmman, Canberra
\%iatsoma

Brisbane
RAAF Pemee. Pert"
RAAf

Smaller comnlurm:;atiO[!,s baseSistatwns are at:

HMAS CalXIls
ElvlAS CQ(ma'NuLca Da"fVV1TI
Lavarack Townsville
RA.�F' A,deiaide
'RAA,F \ViUlfu--rlWWTI
The Over the Honzoll Radar (OTHR) sIte a1 AlIce Spnngs

In addmon to these major and mmor communications bases/stations, the indiVIdual

serYlces (Navy, A,nny and Arr Force) operate a range of fixed and mobile tactical
commU1l1cations systems to meet the special requirements of each service. These
systems can be linked 10 the Defence Communications System as reqmred
[ trust that thIS w.ionnanon will be of aSSIstance to you

/IJ
'v 'Jurs smcerel�

t'U1"f'A.
��TRAY
Page 8 Peace Researcher
 PUBLIC OUTRAGE OVER TRUST BANK SALE
ABC DOES I TS BIT
Murray Horton
In April 1996 it was announced that Trust Bank was
going to be sold to Westpac, of Australia, meaning that
every major bank in New Zealand is now foreign
owned. This affects us, as the ABC banks with Trust
Bank (we operate two accounts). An informal coalition
of groups was called togetber by CAFCA (Campaign
Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa) to coordinate
opposition to tbe sale - it included a well attended public
meeting in tbe Christchurch Town Hall; an Alliance
petition outside Christchurch branches of Trus! Bank,
which got 6,000 signatures in two days; and a serious
examination of mounting a legal challenge to the
takeover. Common cause makes strange bedfellows -
at the public meeting, two of tbe speakers opposing
tbe sale were CAFCA's Murray Horton, who in 1973
was a leading organiser of tbat year's militant national
protest at Harewood; and the octogenarian Mick
Connelly, who in 1973 was Labour's Minister of Police
and autborised the unprecedented (up until tben) police
response to tbat protest.
CAFCA suggested, and the meeting loudly supported,
that May lObe a day on which Trust Bank customers
vote witb their wallets and make token withdrawals
from their a c c ounts. The ABC's redoubtable
NZ AT SECRET ANTI -TERRORI SM
CONFERE NCE IN PHI LI PPINES
In February 1996, President Fidel Ramos of the
Philippines hosted a secret International Conference
on Counter Terrorism in Baguio City. General Ramos,
a former Marcos henchman, commander of the Armed
Forces of tbe Pbilippines, and psychological warfare
expert, has been beating tbe drum of "international
terrorism" for over a year. In 1995 several draconian
anti-terrorism bills were proposed, but they were
defeated by massive popular protest tbroughout the
Philippines. Filipinos, who endured a decade and a half
of martial law under Mareos, have no desire to set tbe
stage for tbat sort of thing again.
This conference was Ramos's way to get his agenda
onto the global stage. It was attended by 128 delegates
from 19 countries, including New Zealand. Delegates
were described as being security ministers, high ranking
Peace Researcher
campaigner, W a r r e n Thomson, (the legendary
Waihopai testicle dangler) fronted tbe counter staff and
emerged unscatbed witb $1 0 for the petty cash. AtTrust
Bank's main Christchurch branch a number of
individuals and organisations (such as Philippines
Solidarity, Campaign for Peoples Sovereignty and
GA·/T Watchdog) made their witbdrawals under the
watchful eye of several TV networks. Most were of
the $10 variety but some witbdrawals were decidedly
more than token - Graeme Tapper, a leading figure in
Grey Power, pulled all $10,000 out of his personal
account. Another feHow witbdrew $5,000.
A number of organisations are seriously reviewing
closing their Trust Bank accounts in protest and going
elsewhere. After all, if they're all foreign banks now,
why not shop around for tbe best deal?
Eagle eyed cynics may have noticed that tbe CAFCAI
ABC Organiser Account, which pays Murray Horton's
income, is held at Trust Bank. There is no intention to
move this onc, purely for pragmatic reasons. It would
involve getting several dozen regular pledgers to change
their direct payment arrangements, and would generally
involve more hassle tban what it's worth.
intelligence officials and counter terrorism experts. The
aim of the gathering was to strengthen bilateral and
multilateral efforts to stop international terrorism by
cooperation in the areas of intelligence exchange,
policies and joint counter measures.
The ABC applied to the Department of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet, under the Official Information
Act, for details oUhe New Zealand delegates; copies
of papers presented by the New Zealand delegation;
and the conference report of tbe delegation. It was met
witb a blanket refusal, which has been appealed to tbe
Cbief Ombudsman. This is obviously an aspect of tbe
growing New Zealand/Philippines relationship tbat tbe
New Zealand government is nOlle too happy about
disclosing. PR will keep you informed of any new
developments.
Poge9
 KIN
us TO CLOSE SOME BASES BUT STRUGGLE CONTINUES
PR has been following the immense struggle of the These are big questions for the global economy's two
Okinawan people to get rid of the US bases that have major players, and the last thing they want is a fuss
been there since 1945, and which occupy 20% of the being kicked up by a tiny island at the bottom of the
island. Okinawa is the largest US presence Japanese archipelago, a fuss which has all the potential
outside North America. Noise and are only to rapidly spiral out of their control. For that reason,
part of the story - widespread erupted at the when President Clinton paid a State visit to Japan in
brutal rape of a 12 year old three US April 1996, he and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
serviceman i n J 995 (tlley got seven years gaol, less (the same man revealed as having been spied upon by
than the prosecution wanted). Massive protests US intelligence when he was Japan's Trade Minister),
demanded that the US military leave they both their commitment to the US/Japan
Okinawa (as it was forced to do in the m military agreement and to keeping US forces in Japan
1992); and that the entire 1960 Mutual Treaty at their present level. as a sop to Okinawans, they
between the US and Japan be re-CX,!mline,j announced that the US will reduce or return nine
facilities used by the US there.
It is this latter demand that sets alarm be lls ringing in
both Washington and Tokyo. Japan actually pays most "Shoichi Chiballa owns a piece ofJand smaller than
of the $US7 billion needed per year to keep 47,000 a tennis conrt all Okinawa and he has applied for
American troops there (27,000 on Okinawa), so it's official permission to visit it. His plot lies inside a
cheaper for the US to k"el' its GIB in than at home. US Navy base, but the Japanese
Plus the US is determined la keep its presence government says Chibana may be allowed in to take
in the North Asia/Pacific. to "contain" North Korea a look if he "otto bring any demonstrators
(which succeeded Iraq as Demon and to with him. Like 3,000 other increasingly vocal
project US power into sucil as the landowners Oil the island, what Chibana really
recent flareup between China How Japan wants is his property back and the US military
would react to any US/China war IS very out..'· ibid)
much a moot point, however.
The deal invol v ing the nine facilities is seen as totally
.... Not only does Tokyo Taiwan as part inadequate by the Okinaw,ms. The island's governor,
of China, but the Japanese also no desire to Masahide Ola, is bl o cking moves by the Japanese
provoke Beijing. China is a nuc1ear power and right government to extend the US leases on Okinawa, by
next door. When Japanese omc;al, arc about refusing 10 renew them. He has lobbied Congress for
the mainland's threat to Taiwan they usually say
,
the US military to quit Japan by 2010. So the US is
it is a 'difficult' question and change the subject. A looking at worst case scenarios.
senior official says, 'I doubt that would let
US bases here be used in defense US General Kurulack, quoted in an
of Taiwan. We don't have the will official US defence publication,
to face Ch ina III those Inside Navy, said that Darwin would
circumstances'. Fearing that would be the ideal alternative should the
mean the end of the US alliance, US military be f o r c e d to quit
Tokyo might come around, says Okinawa. "Geographically, Darwin
Taku Yamazaki. a fonner Def"",e is in the right place and our forces
Minister, 'but it would shock the would have easy access to most
nation. and the government would parts of the P a c ific" (Sydney
probably fall'. American on'!Cl.alS Morning Herald, 10/2/96; "US may
try not to talk about it either, bm transfer its bases in Japan to
they doubt that the Japanese would Darwin"). The Australian people are
grant permission" (Time, Ll.14!'Ylt inflicted hy too many US bases
"Unwanted W a rriors: US already; the US militaryneeds to get
agrees to close some out of both countries and go home.
bases"). Now.

Page 70 Peace Researcher

 OBnUARY
ARTHUR REDDISH
Munay Horton (Bc Owen Wilkes)

Arthur Reddish, who died in Wangarmi in May 1996 (aged 75), was a genuine peace movement stalwart. Arthur
was first and foremost a grassroots peace one extremely well respected in Wanganui, and in that capacity
was a longstanding subscriber 10 Peace and he was a donor to the CAFCAJABC Organiser Account,
which provides my income.

I only met him once, during my national speaking tour in 1993. He couldn't come out to my evening meeting but
requested my host, the Sister Makare ta Tawaroa, to bring me over to his place during the day. We
were both delighted to meet each other after all those years of only being names on paper. We passed the time
discussing cnrrent events, plus Arthur back into history to defend the fighting record cf his beloved British
tank regiments (myoid man, a POW from the North Africa campaign, has always been scathing about the protection,
or lack thereof, afforded to NZ British tanks). That one brief meeting made an impression on me
and I was saddened to learn of his death.

The best tribute to Arthur Ke<lC"'1l was written by Owen Wilkes, when he was co-editing the now defunct Peacelink
with May Bass. Owen had the id/,", of profiling the unsung heroes of the peace movement. What follows
'
is that profile, slightly edited 1991; "Arthur Reddish: Tank gunner tnrned peace activist":
Owen Wilkes).

After the US bombed III 1986 without
provocation, a man called Arthur Reddish telephoned
the Wellington US Embassy and to talk to
Ambassador Paul Cleveland to a pre.lesit.
Cleveland came on the line. "Mr , he
"is this a reasoned statement you wish to make?'" lutlmf
spluttered with rage, abandoned I.he reasoned protest
he had intended to make, and shouted down the line
"Wby don't you bloody Yanks Now
it was Cleveland's turn to explode "If ever I cl)me to
Wanganui I'll ram that statemem down your
throat!" "Don't bother", snapped "I'm coming
down to Wellington to ram it down your throat!"
The very same Arthur Reddish has scr,ol,,,.ly uo,,,,,".,,,,t,
with military historians about the
World War 2, is the moving larce hehmd the Wlmg.anui
Peace Research Group, and writes fealure
articles for the Wanganui on war and peace
issues.
...He is a small, sprightly, cheerful mall living alone in
a small house near CastJecliffBeach. He is an example
of thesort of people who keep away y ear after
year on peace issues in the smaller towns and rural
areas, and help to keep our peace movement as strong,
broadbased and effective as it is.
Arthur was born in 1921 in a Lancashire coalmi ning
village during tough times. His Dad died when he was
ten, and he and his Mum got by on a 15
week p.ension.
the Spanish Civil War's International Brigade, but was
told to go home and get ready to fight Hitler
Wben war with Germany looked imminent, Arthur left
his factoryjob and worked as a navvy 10 harden himself,
and took up boxing. He joined the infantry as soon as
he was able, but rapidly got sick of route marching and
shifted to a tank regiment. He was in action for virtnally
the entire war - from the desert campaigns to the
Nonnandy beaches on D Day. His tank got blown up
near Tripoli, one of his mates was killed instsntly while
Arthur suffered multiple bums, and had to walk three
kms with skin hanging off his body to get medical
attention. This led to him coming into contact with the
Quaker fuith - he was looked after by non-combatant
Quakers driving ambulances. He recovered physically
but to tbis day suffers colitis a s a result ofthe explosion,
and is on a war pension ...
Arthur was not politically conscions until the Cold War,
and especially McCarthyism, came along in the late
40s. 111ey (the West) were stuffing his world up for
him. so by gum, he was going to stuff their world up
for them.
In 1949 he immigrated to New Zealand, wandered all
over this new country, worked in Wanganui, then in
Waiouru. Made a small fortune as a contractor, working
60 hours a week, then blew it all in Australia. Then
Chri,tchurch, then Kawerau, where the paper mill was
a under construction, then Auckland, then Rotorna, where
he nearly got married.

Page /I
In !he 60s he returned to Wanganui, settled works about five hours each morning, does half an
and started stirring - wrote letters to the and all hour's TM after lunch, then goes for a walk in the
!hat It was !he Cold War he Iliad "i1emoon. Doesn't go out much in the evenings.
and nuclear weapons were j ust of that Cold WaL
Then !he Vietnarll War started arid he ,vas anlilzed at The Chronicle once called Arthur the pacifist who is
how blatant the US aggression was. A!thllf wen! ready to Arthur denies he is a pacifist. He says
to a public meeting which had been caHed to set up an there are two schools of thought on how to work for
anti-Vietnam War group ill the peace. The first school says one should stay aloof from
meeting he went to to ilet and when he caTHe the establishment, and oppose all military
he found he had been elected spcn''''HV activity. The second school says we have to study the
real world situation and if necessary, beat the military
That gronp kept going until about 1 975. One of its main at their own game. Arthur sees himself in the second
activities was collecting funds for the Vietnam M,,,dica! ScIIOO,!. He says his m i l itary hackgrou.nd is a big
Aid Committee. Its biggest march had about 500 ad" 3.l1ltal!C in a peace campaigner, and one thing the
participants. During the same Arlbur was an him is how 10 orgaBise. Arthur isn 't
active RSA member. In Wauganui this was no pn)[)lem interested in an impact nationally, there is so
another member of !he peace gro up was pnlSl1:lCilt to be done locally. He doesn't go to national or
the jocal branch of the normally RSA. international conferences. He does donate money to
Wanganni, says Artnur, was, and is, a tolerant town. Peace Movement Aotearoa. The Worlq Peace Council
awarded him a bronze peace medal in 1983.
In the early ! 9&Os a Wanganui Peace Forum was set
·
up, with its main goal being a local nuclear free 7nne. how it is possible to do peace research in a
Wanganui became the 35th NFZ, in 1 983. Artrmf set nf()v1:"clal town like Wanganui, Arlbur says he. gets
"I' the Wanganu; Peaee Research to contribute most of the information he needs from the Chronicle,
to this campaign. He started for the i.A5:re" er, NZ international Review, and various World
local Chronicle in 1985. publications. He uses Greenpeace
send him clippings, etc, and he borrows
Because of his war ifiJuries Arthur worked full a lot through the Library lnterloan network ...
time since he was 43. But for many years he was
time cleaner at the local school, where he 10 kllOW It's people like Artlmr Reddish who constitute the
lots ofthe kids, particularly hy as a soccer backbone of the peace movement, and the
coach...Arthur loves soccer, and that the broader progressive movement. H e will be sorely
invention of the hall ranks in with the missed.
invention o f the whee l . He looked after h i s
nonagenarian invalid Mum for fo ur years, and claims And delving into this 1 99 1 issue of Peacelinkreminds
that during this period he was tbe first male to go on me what a pity it is that it no longer exists. And
the DPB in the whole country. an even greater pity that Owen Wilkes is no longer
active in the peace movement, having transferred his
Mhur lives cheaply. He has a beer belore lunch and a invaluable skills and energy back to his [IfS! love of
martini before dinner. He used to smoke roll your owns. archaeology.
He is a great heliever in transcendental meditation. He

WAI H PAl FE DANTS HAVE

THEI R
Warren ThinlT��""n f��P<)rts on the
On June 1 0 , three Waihopai activists for a
hearing at the Blenheim court on chllfg,�s oftr,ospassing
at the spy base on January 27. [See Peace Re.searrcf"ler
8] J udge Grace presided. Although tbere have been
ahouttwenty arrests since the of 994. this
was the first time recently that defendants had been
put !n lhe dock. n", cases against two of the six an"CSited
----.
--- .�---- ------
F RACE
hearing in Blenheim
were dropped because identification or warning could
no! be proved, and one person was given
diversion.
Peace Researcher co-editors Bob Leonard and myself,
with Katherine Stokes, took on our own defence,
to demonstrate (officially) that the GCSB

Page /2 Peace Researcher

acted in contravention of the Bill and under accepted the police case but still insisted on pleading
the Trespass Act we were entitled to he at the base to not gui lty, thus neccessitating a cour! hearing. With
protect ourselves and others from breaches ofthe right this, the non of Bob's final written brief;
to freedom from liIlwarranted s:earc,h Fmd seizure of and the ",,,,,, i,;111111 refusal to aJlow us to examine the
communications. Considerabie work had gon.e Into the wider issues of (lCSB operations in ollr defence, we
defence, and B o b had constmc!ed a which our were not to be pronounced guilty. We were
legal advisor thought very inten::sunjt. rather more surprised to be dismissed without further
penalty. this reflected a state of Grace which
However, Judge Grace waSll ( ' to accept what recognised tbe sincerity ofthe principles we espoused,
he continually labelled a defence. We were (the to defend the democratic fabric of this
prevented from confronting Colin Officer in society'" as we stated in conclusion of our case) or
Charge at W a ihopai, with the that we had perhaps it was thought we had already been sufficiently
planned. I appealed 10 the 011 tile basis of a penalised a night and considerable legal and
previous Appeal court that we had other expenses.
the right for the full defence to be but the
submission was did the to An is considered. Some issues remain (as
perfonn the ritual "Your may I draw yuur well as the of the base). One is
attention to the case of Evans vs BraElfnrd ...., �. but it the to tllll defence, "political" or not Another is
made no impression on the definition of "protection" whic.h is stated in the
trespass as a defence prosecution -
Katherine attempted to show Om' non" 'I;ol",,1 intent, call be limited to immediate matters of
how far we were from the main and physical Can protection from interception of
that we were arrested where many had gone before. personal communications not be admissable? And we
This was given not much more out probably need to hard about the legal position of the GCSB
influenced the final outcome.. The stated we had and the best way to challenge it.
heen cooperative and
went to the witness box to ',,:�Jl, B lenneim was warm and sunny, the polioe were very
describe the basis of ollr base and its relaxed, our opposition to Waihopai spying was
operations. This al least as v i gorously as we were able. Some
we do not accept the spy !la"e. ffllstn,ticms, little real progress, but our day of Grace
could have been worse.
In summing up it was stated

National Peace Workshops 1 996

(and a to Tangimoana tool)
Melanie ThomSOil,
This year the National Peace were held at Ross' Defence A lternatives
Queens Birthday Weekend, hosted an energetic The International Arms Trade (loe Davies)
collective from Palmerstoll North. The aecnmmodation Anti�Bases Campaign - what is it?
was an old YMCA camp ill the midst totara reserve
about 40 minutes out of Paimcfston North. Some workshops on social justice issues: Universal
Basic MMP, and composting.
About 60 people turned up to the weekend,
with several more day trippers ;,;um!11j1 c,utto "xperiem,e Other events/activities included seeing a slideshow on
some of the many and KSllOr'S. And there the Mururoa fleet, h av in g a woman from Wanganui
were quite a rew of those. 1berc were old favourites come to to us about Moutoa GardenslPakaitore,
as well as some new and ml.enJStmc alternatives, and BrllZen Hussies (a Palmerston Nth Band
expanding into a wider de!lniti,m of peace, Some of of women singers) come and give a fantastic
those workshops included: concert.

The PMA strategy workshops and the AGM For those people who were keen to visit the local spy
A forum on Aoteama Youth Network and the Youth base, an expedition was mounted on the Sunday
Movement afternoon. A mini-bus filled with ten people headed

Pecx:;e Researcher Page 13

out to Tangimoana, the site of onc of New Zealand' s
four foreign m i litary bases (this onc intercepts radio
signals). We rolled up to the base on thal lazy Sunday
afternoon to give the GCSB (that ' s Government
Communications Security Bureau) a bit of a reminder
thatwe don '( go away, and to play a bit of anti-baseball.
People hopped out of the van and started to stro H around
the paddocks looking at some of the aerials that
stand in the soggy paddocks. Nobody seemed awake
at the base itself so we wandered over to another set of
aerials, this time setting off a burglar alarm at the base.
Finally some response from the base as we headed back
to have a look at the buildings themselves" Seems like
the GCSB bad got a little paranoid sinee the last time
protesters had been there, because an extra fence had
been put up" People set off on a walk around the
building, followed closely by a camera on the
top of the main building. Poor thing got a hi! confused
when the group split up and went in oPipm;itc dilcectiolas"
py I LL
The Intelligence and Security Agencies Bill was
into law on the 20th of June. New Zealand will now
have a committee of senior MPs who are to
oversee the S I S and the GCSB, and all Im:pe,ctor­
General who can investigate complaints our
spooks" Wbile there have been some amendments to
tbe original Bill, and some improvements, this coantry
is left with only superficial accountability of the spy
agencies, and far too much power in the hands of the
Prime Minister and the execntive heads agencies"
"Subversion" remains a reason for the SIS to act, and
its powers are still to be widened under vague references
to "making a contribution to NeW Zealand ' s
international well-being o r econom ic wc'I, h? ..
While "sensitive i n formation" is redefined,
witbholding of information which could the
national interest" is still part of the with the
head of the GCSB or the SIS the to
decide wbat tbe parliamentary committee can know.
The powers of the Prime Minister to ve to)
committee members are little and he/she
remains the only person who can call a of the
committee.
One improvement is an amendment that provides for
the exclusion of committee inquiries from "day to day
[PLEASE NOTE: Tbis report was written as Peace Researcher went to print" It is based on newspaper accounts
and the amendnlents to the Bill as reported back to Parliament by the select committee" There may have been
additional changes made in the final stages of the Bill's passage. More information will be made available in the
next edition o f PR 1
Page 14
By that time we decided tbat we had had enough of a
look around and that it was time to go back to the camp.
Jnst as we were piling in to the van, three speeding
police cars tore down the road and pulled right in front
of us. Obviously a little put out at not fmding us engaged
in any criminal activity, tbey asked us what we were
doing (out for a Sunday drive), and asking who we were
(just a gronp of fi-icnds) they had no choice but to let
us depart. We didn't even warrant an escort home!
Back at tbe National Peace Workshops everything
continued on" People seemed to really enjoy themselves
being there, the food was fantastic, tbe transport
organised (even when the Massey van didn't start the
morning I had to be at the airport!) and it was really
positive to see so many new faces there being
introduced to the Peace Workshop experience"
Many thanks to the organisers.
EO
operations" to be amended s o that the committee are
now prevented from examining "any matter that is
operationally sensitive"" This should give more scope
to look at activities of the SIS, and particularly, the
GCSE. Another nseful change is that th e Inspector­
General ' s jurisdiction i s now not restricted to
individuals - organisations can now present complaints
to the IQ's office" Also, material in the IG's report,
removed from publication by the Prime Minister, will
now be provided to the Leader of the Opposition.
Submissions that wanted judicial authority for SIS
warrants were ignored" The Prime Minister will
continue to make these decisions, and there is no
provision whatsoever for the GCSB to acqnire Watrdllts
for its commwlications intercepts" Sitnilarly, those who
wanted some form of access to personal files held by
the SIS bave been rebuffed.
We now have new legislation for oversight of our
spooks, but no-one should expect it to safeguard the
public ' s interest. When the Act was passed, Bolger
made a speech committing bimselfand his Government
to the protection of our democratic rights and privileges"
Only those who believe the King Country spud man
ceuld imagine that our spooks are now under control.
Peace Researcher
 FRE NCH M I LITARY COLO N IALISM ...
TH E N Z CON N E CTIO N
Jo Buchanan
Unlike any other military power except the United
States, France has maintained a global network of
military bases, with a matching command structure,
French for c e s are organised under a Strategic
Command, an Atlantic Command (based in Brest), a
Mediterranean Command (Toulon), a Pacific command
(Papeete), and an Indian Ocean Command (HQ afloat),
French bases span the globe; m i l i tary forces are
stationed in Senegal, French Guiana, Martinique, New
Caledonia, and Polynesia, La Mayotte and La Reunion
in the Indian Ocean, Djibouti, Gabon, Cote d'lvoire,
Chad, and the Central African Republic, (This list
excludes UN deployments,)
According to V ice Admiral P h i l lipe Euverte,
Commander in Chief of the French Armed forces in
French Polynesia, "We have places scattered all over
the world where we can maintain forces, UK and
American commanders often envy us for this", [Janes
Defence Weekly, 18 November 1995] This network
protects strategic mineral resources, in Africa and New
Caledonia (Kanaky), and strategic installations such
as communications bases, the European satellite launch
facility in French Guiana, and the nuclear testing site
in French Polynesia,
In Africa, France claims a special status, protecting its
influence in francophone Africa by military cooperation
agreements, extensive stationing of troops in many
countries, and a series of military interventions, After
the French colonial regimes were overthrown in
lndochina and Algeria, France changed tactics,
allowing African conntries to decoJonise but
maintaining their influence through m i litary
agreements and strong economic and diplomatic links,
In the 19605 there was a move away from stationing
large nnmbers of troops overseas in favour of the
deployment of rapid intervention, with the creation of
the Force d 'Intervention under President Giscard
d'Estaing, An expanded rapid intervention force was
created under President Mitterand in 1983, called the
j/orce d Action Rapide, at a time when many western
countries (including New Zealand) were expanding
their oversea s deployment capability,
Outside of Africa, France bas relied less on agreements
between independent states and more on maintaining
its sovereign territories such as New Ca\edonialKanaky
and French PolynesiaITahiti, Interventions in the 1980s
PeaceResearcher
in New Caledonia used elite anti-terrorist and parachute
troops who are among the world's most experienced
counter-insurgency forces, to put down the Kanak
independence movement Paramilitary forces have been
deployed to Tahiti to put down unrest during the recent
series of French nuclear testing, and France bas targeted
Pacific countries with military and development aid,
notably to Fiji after the 1987 coups, (In 1989 Sitiveni
Rabuka was decorated with the Insignia of the
Commander of the Legion of Honour,)
French Pacific forces are quite smaU: 3,800 personnel,
including marines, the Foreign Legion, and the para­
military gendarmes, with a few aircraft and helicopters
in French Po lynesia based at Tahiti, the nuclear testing
site and Hao Atoll (which has the longest runway in
the Pacific), The Pacific Naval Squadron, with three
frigates, five patrol boats, five Guardian aircraft, and
support vessels, are based at Papeete [augmented during
the recent nuclear test series - Bd], In the Western
Pacific 3,900 personnel with transport and marine patrol
craft, helicopters, patrol boats and support vessels, are
based at Noumea,
New Zealand military cooperation with France kicked
offwith the then Prime Minister Michel Rocard's visit
in April 1991, when lim Bolger agreed to bury the
hatchet over the Rainbow Warrior sinking in 1985,
Contacts were low key, with ship visits beginning with
the HMNZS Tui visiting Noumea in early / 991 and
the FNS Jacques Cartier, a Noumea-based amphibious
transport vessel, visiting Auckland in May 1992, French
aircraft began to visit New Zealand, in particular the
Noumea-based marine reconnaissance Guardian
aircraft which regularly visited this country for training,
Cooperation went a step further when the patrol boat
La Moqueuse exercised with the New Zealand Navy
during the fleet training period in February 1994, after
which the frigates Wellington and Canterbury, and the
supply ship Endeavour, sailed to New Caledonial
Kanaky to take part in a two-day naval exercise with
La Moqueuse and the patrol frigate Nivose, before
visiting Nownea from 1&-22 March, Last year Guardian
aircraft visited New Zealand on crew training missions
three times, and three French Navy ships visited New
Zealand ports following the Tasmanex naval exercise
in ApriL
Page 15
According to the NZ Defence Forces annual report for
fhe year ending June 1994:
Over the past year fhe New Zealand Defence Force
has gradually developed regional cooperation with
fhe French Armed Forces based ill the Pacific.
During F e b ruary, French N av y patrol craft
exercised wifh naval vessels en route to Noumea;
further exchanges are planned. An exchange
programme has commenced children of
service personnel in New Zealand and New
Caledonia. F urther development of the South
Pacific fisheries surveillance programme conducted
in cooperation with Australia and France has been
mirrored by improved coordination of disaster
relief. Orlon aircraft have begun stag""g tl1rc,UQh
New during routine surveillance
This military cooperation is seen as evidence o f New
I (j
Warren Thomsol"l
In March the C hinese Government ordered a series of
military exercises designed to intimidate Taiwan.
rhese included rehearsals for amphibious landings -
held only a few miles from Taiwanese held islands -
and test launches of surface to surface missiles aimed
at targets between twenty and fifty kilometres from vital
Taiwan ports.
A seeret Australian Government report warns of fhe
growing friction between the island state, showing
signs of more commitment to democracy, and the
mainland giant [Sydney Morning Herald, 27 January
1 996] . The 1 994 defence white paper Defending
Australia, underlined the rise of China as one of fhe
major fhreats tn regional security. In the second week
of March, U S naval forces were ordered into fhe area
hy Clinton in a major show of concern that featured
two major battle groups with carriers, their strike
aircraft, hundreds of cruise missiles and snpport
forces.
US Congressmen have played on the of China as
fhe new threat to Asia and the Pacific, Clintnn
of failing to act tough enough on issues such as
copyright violations, human and fhe on­
selling ofnuclear technology to ofher Asian countries.
Of even more moment is the leverage imposed
by a China "threat" on fhe push for to go
ahead with deployment of bofh and national
ballistic miss;.!e defence systems. has some
missiles wifh the theoretical cal,ab,ilil:y nfh;";",,
in the United States when launched from Chinese soil.
Page 16
Zealand's "flexible" approach to French militarism. In
an interview in Janes Defence WeekJy last year, Vice
Admiral Euverte said "New Zealand seems more
flexible [than Australia1 and willing to discuss and
cooperate with LIS. Bllt it will lake at least a year before
our relations with Australia and New Zealand have been
normalised·' .
M i litary cooperation was suspended in protest against
the resumption of French nuclear testing. It will be
interesting to watch the New Zealand politicians who,
in their zeal to go one better in damning French nuclear
testing, took on an anti-colonial position. Will fhese
people maintain 11lal position ill fhe wake of nuclear
testing when the government seeks to bury fhe hatchet
once again and "normalise" our relationship wifh
France - that resume our support for colonial m ilitary
forces in the Pacific?
A
Concern has been expressed in Japan about potential
Chinese dominance of the South China Sea and the
Sydney Morning Herald asserts "Most analysts agree
that Beijing' s clear o bjective is to dominate fhe entire
Soufh China Sea, which it claims has historically been
Chinese territory. This brings China into conflict with
Taiwan, fhe Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei,
which also claim all or part ofthe Spratiey Islands chain
in the South China Sea". [27 June 1 995]
On the 8th of Fehruary last year, Filippinos woke up to
find that a Chinese flag had been erected on a reef over
which Manila claimed sovereignty. Eight Chinese ships
were present to back Beijing's claim. In 1 974 the
Paracel l slands were seized from Soufh Vietnam, and
in 1 988, six atolls in fhe Spratley group were captured
from the Vietnamese. According to the Far Eastern
Economic Review [23 February, 1995] the move onto
M ischief Reef was considerably different from the
previous moves against Vietnam - an old enemy.
Both Manila and Taipe! responded by sending patrol
boats into the area, and Ramos pushed through a
military budget to equip fhe Philippines Armed Forces
(PAF) with missile boats and purchase a squadron of
modem fighters. In January of this year "A Philippine
navy gunboat imd a Chinese naval vessel fought a ninety
minute gun battle off the main Philippine island of
Luzon," according to the PAF. [Sydney Morning
Herald, 27 January 1 996]
The Indonesian Government was alarmed when last
Peace Researcher
year its indicated thilt its claims to l au nch in g any sort of offensive against one of its
the South China Sea the Naluna gas Ge ld regi onal neighbours.
- 45 cubic rnetres of a valuabk resource which
is to be Pertamina Company , While Wash ington has lobbyists like Exxon demanding
L» ..Jd)l1. Th.e extended protection its econom ic imperatives, and US policy
area amlOi.mced (;om;crn.ed the other is to South and Taiwan, Beijing
Governments with re" lOmli daHTl6: resources in the mus! tread warily. !t may its claims to the limit,
area. but would have very limited capabi l ity to impose its
will on any sort of combinat ion o f its
In the South China S<:·a it i.s Hot the area of the alld/or the Un ited States
Spratley Islands that is a source of real potential as Clinton partially signalled
prob l em s � in islands and reefs are in March th is year.
claimed live lla1tOfb it!lsarn, Philippines,
Malaysia and palltern which totally A s e nior analyst with t h e Australian Defence
interm ingies litHe ground Intell igence Organisation predicted last year that
for ralinw,lismi,:m China's into the United the World
Trade and other international security
Is Chi na 11 threat'! The N{)V:ino {;ci)!l()m ic power of the Of!sfh'1isa'tiOllS will ease fears. "China has a long
nation, and its wide areas way to becO!ue even a (me superpower... If, in
of land and sea the near term, the process can be advanced
China, make s ft)f serl<')us eonT1untatiml W()["'HV. the threat by the military
immediate nC'!gill')1)1l!'S ,.rveral reasons m,)(Jtml.IS1HH)lI of armed forces w i l l be
for believing that at a heavy appreciahly " [Sydney Herald, 27
hand but not for offensive Jllne
purposes. attitud.e also has
resulted in a more US'h"'rte,d r\;;,l2;.n response
to demands from Hc',i':h' S,,[�or!(HV,. the lhreats agai nst
Taiwan to sornt;; stimulating
NG I NTO THE
nationalist fervour
economic interests
has vital
AN ""0",,,

to maintain U�Hj0 ties wi th i t s The New [ I June 1 996] reports that a US

ne i ghbo urs ; K on g to General Acco unting Office st udy says there are
swal l ow and exr,mple that abou t a qnarter of a !!l i ll i on attempts every year to
the long�teml st!'UH,!lV patiently gain unauthorised access to military computers. A

I
pursued pays overt aggression; CongressiOIwl committee has been told that a 1 6
and fifthly, Chin.a n.Ot muscle year old B r i ti sh hacker,. with a n accomplice,
for overseas adverltun;s. accesscd computers al the US Air Force's Rome
Laboratory more than 1 5 0 times in 1 994. They stole
At present Be.ijing' is sparse. Some research data wh ich contained attack instructions
commentators note the rece:n.t confrontation with that wo uld be to US in battle. Hackers
Taiwan " .. , the m 'lSS'Ue; four unarmed Scud-type are reported to have stole n and destroyed sensitive
weapons - to be causing a data and i n sta ll e d "hack doors" into defence
moment of and then [Observer, in systems. The crashing of entire systems and
Christehurch 23 March 1 996 1 rhe missiles were networks has also been attributed to hackers. The
the M9 lype based on Russian Pentagon has initiated its own team to experiment
made Scuds. have a range of ahout 600 kilometres with access to defence They have made
and can carry a nuclear warhead. China has about 1 00 about 3 8,000 attempts to gain access, with a success
missil es with lluc.lear weH over 1 00 rate of about five Few of these
bombers which can Gilrry incursions were detected by the Pentagon ' s
com puter operators, and even fewer were reported
While China has and women to officials. Obviously the military are
in its armoo ,u,;n'�L!! is in land-based reluctant 10 publicise the multi-billion dollar
forces and it is ml)!J('O 1.0 1)f1:)ieei forces overseas. defellce can be rendered useless b y
(,,,,
The intematio",il lnstitute AF <;"" Studies estimates teemag"!'s with the compU l sion to play their own
ithas ahout same number version of war games.
()f fr; ,,"',,', and destroyers - a navy in capable of

Peace Researcher Page 17

AUSSI E SPI ES GET MORE STICK
Recent Australi an news reports say that Australian
Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) intercepts picked
up child porngraphy in diplomatic mail during the
1 980s, but the material sat in security files for ten years
before anything was done about it. The compromising
photographs of Asian children were found while ASIS
was spying o n diplomats and investigating their
backgrounds, and passed to the police last year. The
incident reflects the extremely problematic grey area
between intelligence roles and police responsibilities
and how much cooperation there should be between
them.
ASIO - the Austral ian Security Inte l l igence
Organisation w hich does Canberra's domestic spying
- was criticised in an Australian 60 Minutes television
programme in May this year when a Brisbane sales
assistant revealed she had married a man who turned
out to be a Syrian defector. ASIO had smuggled the
Syrian ex-fighter pilot into the country and set him up
in a job with a new identity. When she found out the
truth her marriage broke up and she was living in fear
of her life, with possible retribution from her ex­
husband, Syria, Israel and ASIO itself. Kcis Monza (the
name given to the husband) had deserted from the
Syrian Air Force and given valuable information 10 the
Israelis. ASIO took him into Australia and set him up
as a Lebanese pilot flying with a jet air freight company
controlled by Qantas. The best man at thc wedding
turned out to be an ASIO agent assigned to "Monza".
The bridegroom couldn '( understand why he was
always around, and asked so many questions!
ASIO leaned on the 60 Minutes team to stop
transmission of the programme, but the producers
denied they were revealing anything that overseas
governments did not already know, and that the
programme put the defector's family at risk. The Syrian
himself has now disappeared, leaving one frightened
ex-wife behind, and some interesting questions about
Australian Intelligence ' s on-going links with the
Israelis and Middle East politics.
At the end of last year, while the Labor Government
was stating its intention to put the screws on the
publication of material concerning the intelligence
agencies, the Deputy Director-General ofASIO, Gerard
Walsh, claimed that three people had been assassinated
since 1 990 after leaks led to the real or mistaken belief
that those killed were spooks. Walsh had made a speech
berating former intelligence agents and the media for
"arrogant and adventurous" leaks that could and had
Page 18
caused deaths. [The Age, 3 November 1 995]. The
Government was forced to deny the claims of Walsh,
one of its most senior spooks, and the Attorney-General
made an embarrassing retraction of Walsh's claims.
Later the Director-General of ASIO, David Sadlier,
confirmed Walsh' s statements were incorrect. He also
said that Australia has had "only" four major terrorist
attacks since 1 980 and about 26 serious incidents of
"politically motivated violence". The key targets
iuAustralia had been the property ofthe US and Israel.
[Sydney Morning Herald, 1 9 March 1 996] The Herald
also reminds us that in recent years ASIO has mounted
a major investigation ofallegations that a Russian mole
had penetrated the service, and was considerably
embarrassed when charges against one of their
translaters collapsed through lack of evidence.
Finally, Vanguard, the Communist Party newspaper
in Australia, ran a story in March which criticised the
intentions of ASIO to become more involved in
industrial matters. The article is short on facts, but does
point to the problems that could emerge for workers
and workers' organisations from spook activities that
claim to be protecting the country from industrial
espionage. ASIO's history casts doubt on its ability to
carry out such a role without using the opportunity to
pursue vendettas against leftist unions and their
leadership.
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 CIA FILE
lOCKERBIE -
WH E N WilL TH E TRUTH B E TOLD?
.. A senior CIA official has said that Iran, not Libya,
was behind the December 1 988 bombing of a us
[passengerJ j et over Lockerbie, the German weekly
Focus reports," [Christchurch Press, 1 May 1 996J The
bomb attack that killed 259 people on the Pan American
plane, and another l I on the ground, is now being said
to have been organised by Iran and carried out by
Palestinian extremists, The report attributed the latest
statement to a CIA official interviewed in Potomac,
Maryland, on condition of anonymity. In spite of
Western efforts to put Libyans on trial there have
always been pl enty of alternative suspects, Some
evidence points to the work of Syrian drug dealers
targeting passengers on the plane who were intelligence
agents working for the CIA. Another story, told by
, disgraced' US intelligence officer Lester Coleman says
the bomb was able to be placed on the aircraft because
of an arrangement between US intelligence agents and
Lebanese terrorists - the agents were providing a
loophole through baggage security arrangements to
allow a route for dmgs in return for information on
Western hostages, Intelligence reports shortly before
the bombing warned the US State Department that a
Palestinian group planned to attack Pan American
Airlines, Several different stories implicate the CIA in
deals, rogue or otherwise, involving drugs and hostages,
and in dodgy activities on the crash site remarkably
soon after the event. The latest comment may be
"gnificant, or just another attempt to portray Iran as
the current bogeyman. When will the tmth be told?
THE C I A AND TH E MIDDLE EAST
I.angley's current attitude is that Iran is a "major
sponsor of terrorism throughout the world" according
to Director John Deutsch [Christchurch Press, 24
February 1 996J in a session with US Senators, But
Clinton' s official policy ofisolating Iran as a supporter
ofterrorism was put aside to allow shipments oflranian
arms to Bosnia, American newspaper reports in April
said the CIA blew the whistle on shipments of Iranian
arms to Bosnian fighters in 1994. An investigation was
launched after the agency di scovered the arms
shipments by satellite monitoring, The CIA had not
been told that C linton had given the okay for supplying
Bosnians with Iranian arms (even though there was a
United Nations embargo). Deutsch told the Senators
the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent are the
most unstable areas in the world and that instability in
the former centred on Iraq. Meanwhile Washington
continues to target Libya, The CIA has said it is not
Peace Researcher
able to stop the building of what it describes as a
massive underground chemical weapons plant near
Tarhunah, 60km south-east of Tripoli. According to
some reports the US is considering military action, [NZ
Herald 6 April 1 996J The CIA has operations in place
designed to slow down construction of the plant.
CIA'S SU PPORT fOR TERRORISM
"'As US President Clinton was denouncing Hamas at
the anti-terrorist summit in Egypt two weeks ago, the
United States was supporting an equally violent
organisation in Northern Iraq which carries out bomb
attacks in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities," according
to the Sydney Morning Herald. [27 March 1 996] "The
group is described by an Iraqi opposition leader as
'heavily sponsored by the US and under the influence
of the CIA', The CIA was given $US 1 5 million by the
US Congress last year for covert operations against the
Iraqi Government." Information about the terrorist
activities, which involved planting car bombs and other
explosive devices in Iraqi cities, was confirmed by one
of the bombers, who was angry because he hadn't
received promised payment for the operations,
COLBY'S IGNOMI NIOUS DEMISE
After considerable speculation on the disappearance
of former CIA director William Colby, it appears he
went out with a whimper rather than dying in some
dramatic spy story incident. Colby, who ran the agency
between 1 973 and 1 976, died in the Wiconico river.
about 50 km from Washington, at the end of April. It
was nine days before his body was found, The most
likely explanation is that he drowned after a heart attack
or stroke, while canoeing, Colby became Director at
Langley in the midst of a storm of Congressional and
public criticisms over CIA deceit and interventions in
Chile and other countries, He was condemned by some
of his associates for turning over to Congress records
detailing CIA abuses in a large number of clandestine
operations, This was small recompense for his close
involvement in Operation Phoenix - one of the nastiest
strategies in the Vietnam War, where thousands of
Vietnamese suspected of h av i n g Communist
sympathies were assassinated, The man would have
had plenty of enemies, but his demise was probably
accidental. In 1 978 John Paisley, a former Deputy
Director of the CIA Office of Strategic Research, was
found dead about 25km from where Colby was found.
His body was weighed down in the water with diving
belts and he had a gunshot wound to the head. Whether
this was murder or suicide was never made clear.
Page 19
 A N D THE RISE Of THE
C U RRENT INCUMBENT
Current CIA boss John Deutch, according to Time
M agazine [20 May], is " . . . in the midst of one of the
most impressive power grabs ever seen in Washington".
His goal is to consolidate control over the nation ' s
sprawling intelligence community, 28 separate and
often feuding organisations. Time says upon h i s
appointment, Deutch immediately cleaned out the
entire CIA top management and replaced it with a team
of ex-Pentagon and congressional staff mambers.He
enraged some of the spooks by saying they were not as
competent as the military people he had previously
worked with, and has upset others with his strong
emphasis on m i l itary intelligence at the expense of
politicaL diplomatic and economic collection. Currently
the CIA is struggling against critics who charge that it
is costly and ineffective. and a number of different
plans are being promoted for the total reorganisation
of the United States spy agencies. One put forward by
the I ntel l i g e n c e C o m m ittee o f the H o u s e o f
Representatives involves creating a new organisation
tor covert action and espionage and making the Central
Intelligence Agency responsible only for intelligence
analysis. erhe C I A is almost alone amongst spook
organisations in being responsible for secret operations,
spying, and the assessment of intelligence materiaL)
This plan would also dispose of the National Security
Agency (communications intercepts) and the National
Reconnaissance Office (which operates satellite spying)
and combine the t.wo in a new ()fganisation. Ot.her
changes would give more responsibility for covert
operahms to the m i l itary. Dcutch himself is proposing
" reor1\anisatio!l of the involved in satellite
surveillance where at present several d i fferent
organisations are i n v o lv e d in operating satellite
surveillance systems and analysing the data they
produce. Recent moves by Clinton to Deutch a
virtual veto overthe appointments of intelligence chiefs
in the Pentagon and other government agencies, and
by the Senate Intelligence Comm ittee to him more
control over the $US28 billion intelligence budget,
indicate that Langley may turn out to be even more
powerful in future. Deutch himself seems to have
greatl y increased his own c10uL But the bureaucracy
of state and military is sure to fight back. And the
problems of the C I A in the nineties give its critics plenty
of ammunition to continue to attack its existence, and
its budget.
CIA WANTS QUIETER CAll ON CASTRO
Publicly the C I A is now proposing a less militant
response to Castro. According to the Observer "despite
the legions of hardcore fonner CIA and FBI agents
washing around the Cuhan exile crowd, the modern
agencies are now opposed to a bloody conflict on the
Page20
island. 'The last thing we want i s the Caribbean
destabilised' says one agent. Operatives are advising
anybody who will lislen to back off and let their agents
work against Castro from within." [from Christchurch
Press 9 March 1 996] The C I A may have given up on
exploding cigars and chemicals to denude Fidel's chin,
but letting their agents work from within still echoes
the clandestine activities of the bad old days.
WOMEN I N T H E CIA
Clinton's promotion of women in the US administration
means that for the first time a woman holds one ofthe
top three j o b s at the C I A , regarded as o n e of
Washington's great bastions of male chauvinism. Nora
Slatkin is Dentch' s executive director, and according
to some sources, he leaves much of the day to day
running of the agency to her while he oversees the rest
of the intelligence community. This may not change
much for the female spooks however, as the number of
sex-discrimination complaints has risen in the last three
years and there have b"en a number o f lawsuits
"exposing rampant sexism within its ranks". [Time 20
May 1 996]
NEW I NSI GHTS ON THE CIA
Former Cl A chief Robert Gates has published a new
book which another perspective to some of the
CrA history of the lasr twenty years. According to a
review ill Time Magazine r 3 May] Gates is critical of
N ixon and gives praise to Cuter. The reasons
IlK this ironically reflect Gates's own rightist views:
N ixon is castigated lor begimling a detente that blunted
competition with Moscow, and Carter is given credit
lor early covert action in Afghanistan and trying to oust
a Marxist leader ill Gnmada (as well as establishing
joint intelligence bases in China). In Gate's view Reagan
brought about the demise of the Soviet Union through
the pressure of his hardline approach - particularly the
Star Wars initiative. Onc part of the book tells us that
Zbigniew Brzezinski" Carter's National Security Ad­
viser, received a report at 3am one morning that a full
scale launch of Soviet missiles was on its way to the
US. He ordered the Strategic Air Command to respond
before being told the m istaken alert was due to an ex­
ercise computer tape mistakenly fed into the air
defence computer system. Brzezinski hadn't bothered
to wake his wife because he expected everyone to be
dead within the next 30 minutes. It is hardlY credible
that Gates call relate this tale and then proceed to pro­
mote the idea that hardlin" militarism led to a safer
world. (Gates' book is entitled: From the ,'i"hadows ' The
Ultimate insider's Story of Five Presidents and How
They won the Cold War. Simon and Schuster).
Peace Researcher
 BRITS STIll ACTIVE I N MOSCOW
I{ecent Russian threats to expel nme BritIsh diplomats
'vloscow has accused of running a spy nng suggest little
has changed m the spy world smce the end of the Cold
War rhe RussIan domestIc security agency. the Federal
,ecunty ServIce. arrested a RussIan cIlJzen making
contact with his (British) controller He IS said to have
had espIonage equipment in his possessIOn and to have
ddmltted working for British Intelligence. Subsequent
Ilewspaper reports say the British diplomats accused
,I' spying were Investigating the possibility that Russian
, adioactive material m ight have been acquired by the
I RA (lne " unidentified colonel" in the FSS was quoted
If) the British Mail On Sunday as confirm ing the IRA
had heen s u p p lied wIth arms and offered stolen
radIOactIve matenal According to tillS source. MI6
agents had offered large amounts of mone} to the
k.rem lm to find out if the IRA was Involved with the
I{ usslan mafia [Christchurch Press 1 3 Mav I Such
,toncs may have some truth but are Just as likely to be
,pread by Bntish Intelligence · they convemently make
V1 16 look useful and the IRA a threat at the same time'
\ , It1 the past. who knows what goes on In the murky
." orld of spookdom q
OTH E R E U ROPEAN ESPIONAGE
In March of thIS year Italy and the Netherlands recalled
Ihelr mil itaf) attaches to Greece after Athens accused
Ihem ot pOSSible spymg rChristchurch Prescl 4 March
t}()6
CLASSIC DISINFORMATION
\ slllry that Yasser Arafat said tn Januaf) the PLO
Intended III e l i minate Israel and establish a purely
Palestinian state turns out to have been a claSSIC
propaganda coup. The Economist reports that the stOf).
which appeared m I srael! media. the Wall Sireel
Journal. and London ' s Dailv Telegraph, amongst
" thers. originated from the Norwegian paper the Dagen.
"'rafat was reported to have told Arab diplomats of the
mtention to eliminate Israel. The Dagen turns out to be
a newspaper in Bergin with a circulatIOn of 1 2.0001
'vloreover it IS the only Norwegian newspaper that does
not support the Middle East peace process. and has a
fundamental ist Chnstlan orientation The Economist
made considerable efforts to trace the origins of the
report and came up with a complete blank. In all, a
rather alarming illustration of how planted intormation
can potentially impact on world politics.
Peace Researcher
MORE SECRET MATERiAL
AVAILABLE IN BRITAIN
Tapes used for training soldiers for servICe m Northern
Ireland. which contained sensitive mformation about
military training, were sold at a garage sale The tapes.
boughl by a video magazine Journalist, detailed antI,
terrorism tactics used by the British army In another
incident The Times reponed that potentially sensitive
information about security facilities in Northern Irelend
had been posted on the Internet Included were details
011 British army installations and the address of what
was said to be an M I 5 hase
GERMAN SPY C H I E f RESIGNS
In March Konrad Porzner. head of the fore ign
intelligence service m Germany, quit his Job after some
of his officers were Involved in a secrets for cash
scanda l . Porzner was also taking responsibility for the
fall-out over an operation to catch plutonium smugglers
The latter raised questions about the breaking of various
security and safety procedures, and a subsequent
attempted cover-up
GUNG-HO N EW ISRAELI PRESIDENT?
Benjamm Netanyahu. now the Prime Minister of Israel.
stayed on in the military after hIS national servIce and
became head of the Sayere1 MatkaL a JeWish
Commando force equivalent to the SpeCIal AIf Service
or the American Green Berets. He had a brother whl<
served as deputy Commander In the same Unit and was
killed during the rescue of hostages at Entebbe
[Christchurch Press 1 9 March 1 9961
FOOTNOTE TO SIS H ISTORY
In the 1 9505 some people 10s1 their Jobs because oJ
pressure from New Zealand ' s Security [!ltelligence
Service ( as it is nllw known). A commentator who was
involved III clfc u l ating reprinted matenal from
mainstream American newspapers said that thIS was
regarded as subversive and visits to employers of two
of his associates resulted in their dismissals. [Nallonal
Radio, 4 April 1 996 J
NSA MOLE ARRESTED
The FBI has arrested Robert Ltpka. for passing out
information from the National Security Agency where
he worked in the nineteen sixties, Lipka is said to have
spied for the Russians for ten years, but details are
sketchy about his position in the organisation, and how
long he was there.
Page 2 7
 Nuclear expl osions caused the
Chernobyl d isaster
Bob Leonard
The severe Iludear reactor accident at Chemobyl in findings as follows:
Ukraine in 1 986 involved two explosions in rapid
succession that destroyed the reactor core and released I . Chemobyl was primarily a nuclear explosion.
radioactive i s(lmpes to the atmosphere in large 2. No containment could have withstood such a
quantities. The radioactive contamination ofvast areas powerful explosion.
has been stud i ed and since, But a 3 . The 100se- fitting 2000 tonne RBMK pile-cap acted
detailed of the has heen essentiaUy in effect as a valve" by prematurely
i n the of terminating the cbnill Thi, reduced the
up to energy of the and hence fission product
the pee"ent. release. It also to 4, sparing
three reactors and two radioactive
The public has been fed an exclusive diet of media spcnt fuel stores.
stories the reaClOr expl osion as a steam 4. A internal - as in all British
explosion. In the 20 issue of New Scientist,' the thermal reactors - would hnve increased violence
steam scenario was again put forth as fact, of the exp,losiion.
but this time in the context of a novel hypothesis that 5. At least one scenario lor a nuclear explosion
the core was i 4 metres above the reactor ill British Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR),
building before Pn,sslui:;ed Watur Dounreay
manner The [';'1'0 explosions, F as! Reactor

A nuc.lear power rea{;i.or cannot a nuclear The scientific basis for and conclusions
explosion to the the nuclear navies , is an obscure paper in J une 1 990 by five
IlIld other of nuclear power. Would the nuclear physicists at a IB Spain.4
p ub lic have nudear pnwer iHhere had been The journal is the long-established Nuclear
evidence that, reactor could explode massively Technology. The article was called to the
due to an chain reaction? No. The solution attention of Amott and Green by Rnssian scientist
to the problem was to create the myth Ihnt such an Zhores Medvedev, It is a highly technical article.
explosion is impossible - and it worked for over 40 difficnlt to without considerable background in
years, The NZ government's Special Committee on phys ics. The best s u m m ary of the e xp l o s i on
Nuclear Propulsion listed as �Myth One: A nuclear mechanisms to be found in vario!!S papers provided to
reactor can become a bomb'" This is the Somers ABC by Rob Green was written by ProfR.V. Hesketh,
eommil1ee that gave the green light to visits by nuclear emeritus pn)iess{)f
powered to N Z h"rhours. They gave a quote in
suppOrt of the " .. i t is a b s o l ut e l y and The quote helow is from a briefing paper prepared by
unequivocally scientifically impossible for a reac/or Prof Hesketh:
to blow up like an atomic bomb", That would seem to
squelch any before it B u! in faet, the
use of the term �bomb" muddies the waters of debate. were
And this confusion is delibcfflte; it mllkes it difficult to The Emergency Protection :>ysre,m far from
argue that an cou ld be nuclear withont being protecting the renctOl'_ its destruction: the
a !rue "atomic bomb" in the multi-kiloton range, neutron power rose, with doubling time of
abon! one second and then some tun times faster.
But the nuclear argument has heen made forcefully and the reaclor Wenl OH}m,ol and tour seconds
convincingly in a paper by D.G. Amott and R.D. Green after the of the EPS bntton the lirst
entitled "Chemobyl: unique safety valve for a reactor nuclear some 200
nuclear explosion", ' Commander Roh Green will be gigajoules [GJ] o f nuclear energy, of which up to
well known to followers of the World Court Project. -50 GJ, and perhaps as as 0.4 GJ, was used in
He is the UK of WCI' and a frequent visitor to expelling the cooling water from the reactor. The
Aotearoa. Amott and Green summarised their main larger part of the energy from this first explosion

Page22 Peace Researcher

 remained in the reactor core, as heat in the fueL power in the west
This energy broke up the reactor corc . . .
Fuel quenched the first explosion, Sir John Hill, a former chairman ofthe British Atomic
but the collapse caused a sec"",l, Energy Authority (AEA), ack!!owledged in a 1992
IlU'lEcf, "ude,,,' pt{i,sie,!:I 30me two seconds after article that a nuclear explosion did occur at ChernobyL'
th e first. TIlls secol1eJ supercritical burst'
apprl)X1:!n;s,ely i 000 GJ of nuclear energy Amott and Green conclude1 "It is dear from this [Hill's
' hot and dry' reacwr," admission] that British scientists have also known about
the possibility reaclor nuclear explosions from the
"",pw,,, "'la Yet even was not enough to jolt
Just hey" is 1 000 GJ of energy release? the AEA into to the vested
H
ikcnrrl'lw to and Green it is the equivalent of interests of the nucIear pO\Ner
lust under a of a kiloton, or roughly the same
yield as the W54 warhead deployed in a variety of US Don Arnott is a retired British medical physicist
battlefield !:Iuclear weapons in the 1 9603. specialising in medical uses ojradiOisotopes.

Wheth.er or not a reactor eim " hke a nuclear Rob Green is a retired Commander with 20 years
bomb" is a red herring in this debate. A reactor is not service in His last appointment was
de s i gn ed l i ke a nuc l e ar bomb. i . e . , to explode officer in ojintelligence support/or the Polaris
efficiently. But, a runaway uuclear nuclear subn,arm,,/ieet
reaction will cause a massive compared to a
chemical or steam eXpklSll)!I. References
explosion.
L Mullins, J. 1996. The case of the missing core. New
t\rnott and (:§re+;�n argue that ne containment could ever .','c,en/is/, No. 2026:4()-43 .
survive a m.i.dear 01)o)in,.mr hm.'d" ,,'[ inefficient the 2. Sir et al. 1992. The safety of
·'bom.b" beo '''Could a nuclear nuclear Report of the S pecial
exp losion !HijJPCll in 1:1 British reactor'!" , or indeed any Committee on Nuclear Department of
western-tv,)" reactor, is that c, , . a
, the Prime Government of New Zealand.
i111IJp<:n in all AGR PWR and 3 D,G, and. R,D� Green. 1 992. Chernobyl:
it would be far valve for a reactor nuclear explosion .

worse than western reactors now Proc. a national conference: "The legac y of
m are of those types. The has long Chemtobyl - LeSSOllS for the UK".
been reassured that. \VeSienl reactors have czmtaitunents 4. J.M. et at. 1 990. An analysis of the
that would an) chemical or steam oilvSlcal causes of the accident. Nuclear
0xplosion preve.m serious of radiation into ecfmolo2y· 90,3 7 1 ,.388.
the environment 'Thi;;. consequences for the nucl.ear 5. S" John. 1 992 . Book re v iew on the 1 95 7
.

mclustrv "Lac!rmJwledlglltlg that nuclear are mosca,,' alfc;,ient A TOM (house journal of the
reactors crndd be the demise of rmdear cited in Amolt and Green)

About Peace Researcher

Peace Researcher is quarterly by the Anti-Bases campaign , The editors are
W arren Thomson :and Bob _Leonani covers a range of peace issues with emphasis on foreign
rn , "';,", bases and Contributed articles will be considered ror publication based on
subject maller and space requirements. We are particularly interested in of original research on
peace topics ill Aotearoa and the wider region of Australasia and the Pacific. Our address iS1

Peace Researcher
1'.0. Box 2258
Christchurch
Aotearoa! New Zealand

Peace Researcher page23

 DUNCAN CAM PBELL TO VISIT
ABC will be organising a visit 10 New Zealand al the end of the year for Duncan Campbell. Campbell is
a leading left wing journalist, who has written a number of ground-breaking articles for the New Statesman
and other journals, and produced major television documentaries on a number of subjects. One of his
most notable works was tbe documentary The Hill, which revealed a buge amount of infOrmation about
the activities of tbe Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and its American c ounterpart,
the National Security Agency. Duncan Campbell has been a leading commentator on inteHigence
organisations and their operations. ARC would like to hear from anyone interested in hosting him, and!
or contributing to the costs of his tour.

BASE D E E PTI O N :
The US Military at Christchurch Airport
A new ASC video now available

Christchurch ABC has produced a 1 5 minute video which shows why the United States m ilitary presence
at Harewood· A irport must be eliminated. The video dispells the myth that the military serves only as
logistic support for Operation Deepfreeze, and explains that the majority of flights service US
mtelligence-gathering facilities at N urrungar and Pine Gap in Australia. The documentary also looks
briel1y at some of the protests which have taken place at the base over its 40 years of operation.

Copies of "Rase Deception" can be purchased from ABC for $15 including postage.
Send cheques to ARC, Box 2258, Christdmi"ch.

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SUBSCRIBE TO PEACE RESEARCHER
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ABC, fill in the Junn below. All ARC members receive Peace Researcher. Membership/subscription $ 1 5 per
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