TAKE YOUR FRENCH TESTING PROTESTS ON HOLIDAY: GREENPEACE ASKS EUROPEAN TOURISTS
Brussels, 28 July 1995 -- Greenpeace activists in Europe will ask tourists travelling to France to take the anti-nuclear testing message with them this weekend, stepping up pressure on France's President Chirac to reverse his decision to resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific.
Activists will be at French borders in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland, distributing leaflets, car stickers and postcards to people crossing the borders.
Greenpeace activists will also be positioned at ferry terminals and airports throughout the UK. The tourists travelling to France will be asked to send postcards to President Chirac, and to display stickers showing their opposition to nuclear testing.
"We are asking Europeans to make their opposition to nuclear testing clear by taking the message directly to President Chirac," said Karen Richardson of Greenpeace. "How can the French President continue to ignore international condemnation of his decision when the people of Europe are bringing the message home to him?"
Government officials from the member countries of the European Union (EU) have already expressed their opposition to President Chirac's decision. Of the 15 EU member countries, all except Portugal, Germany and the UK, have made statements of disapproval.
Added to overwhelming EU opposition, statements of regret and condemnation have been made by government officials from all over the world. The latest government statements have included the Russian State Duma unanimously vote to oppose renewed French nuclear testing.
Last week, the Japanese Prime Minister, Tomiichi Murayama, accused the French government of betrayal and said Japan would sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning the French tests.