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Macron: France owes 'debt' to Polynesians over nuclear tests

17 Comments
By DELPHINE BARRAIS

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When the tests were conducted, all the government experts assured us "it's safe, don't worry there are no long term side effects"

All government said that too - including the USSR

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01034-8

"The nuclear sins of the Soviet Union live on in Kazakhstan - Decades after weapons testing stopped, researchers are still struggling to decipher the health impacts of radiation exposure around Semipalatinsk."

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He promised money for cyclone shelters to help the island territory cope with climate change

Or, ya know, you could reduce carbon emissions to reduce climate change directly.

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acknowledged France's “debt” to Polynesians over the underground and atmospheric tests, which ran from 1966-1996

Not the only debt on the French ledger. They own many nations for defending it through two world wars including nations from the Indo-Pacific region.

Recognizing a debt and repaying it are two distinct things.

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I got talking to some indigenous people when I visited New Caledonia. They did not have kind words about France.

The indigenous Austronesian population of Taiwan is similarly disposed towards Han Chinese who dominate them politically and economically. Likewise native Hawaiians towards Haoles.

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The independence movement is driven by the indigenous Kanaks who comprise about 40% of New Caledonia's population and who suffer with the lowest incomes and worst schools.

I got talking to some indigenous people when I visited New Caledonia. They did not have kind words about France. Le parc de la Rivière Bleue was a lot of fun, though.

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Macron should clean up those radioactive substances remained in the Pacific Ocean there!

This is how he should "DO" to pay his debts!

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Hypocrite at his best!

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After more than half a century of injustice Macron's honeyed words of imperialist repentance will ring hollow UNLESS the Empire pays back.

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In 2018, 56% of New Caledonians voted against independence from France, which is surprising.

The independence movement is driven by the indigenous Kanaks who comprise about 40% of New Caledonia's population and who suffer with the lowest incomes and worst schools.

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In 2018, 56% of New Caledonians voted against independence from France, which is surprising.

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I can't help thinking these ex-colonizers are only helping out because they don't want China to out-do them, not because they're doing it out of the goodness of their heart. The French government continues to be up to no good in the Pacific.

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