WORLD : Chemical-Burning Plan Assailed
The head of the 15-nation South Pacific Forum today attacked U.S. plans to burn off chemical weapons at Johnston Atoll, accusing Washington of treating Pacific residents as “coconuts and guava.”
Secretary General Henry Naisali said four ministers from Forum countries, whose governments represent about 25 million people, will travel to Washington Sept. 17-19 for talks with U.S. officials on the issue.
The trip comes shortly before a deadline to transfer U.S.-owned chemical weapon stocks from West Germany to Johnston, a remote atoll 700 miles southwest of Hawaii, for incineration at a specially built facility.
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