Best no-nukes vote yet

Press, 2 December 1987, Page 8

Best no-nukes vote yet

By TOM BRIDGMAN NZPA Washington

New Zealand gained unprecedented support for a comprehensive nuclear test ban resolution at the United Nations yesterday. The 143 countries which supported the New Zealand-promoted measure in the General Assembly was six more than last year. Two nuclear powers voted against, the United States and France, while nuclear powers, Britain and China, together with near-nuclear countries such as India and Brazil, were among the eight countries abstaining. "We’re pleased by the very high vote which was the highest recorded," said the New Zealand permanent representative at the United Nations, Mr David McDowell. “But that enthusiasm is tempered by the knowledge that the United States voted against it “Hopefully this does not indicate that the United States, while pressing ahead on the bilateral front with the Soviet Union on nuclear arms reduction is setting aside the equally important task of a multilateral nuclear test ban.” Mr McDowell said the international community was concerned that the United States appeared to be turning its back “to a degree” on negotiations for a comprehensive test ban in talks at Geneva.

The United Nations vote showed the strength of international feeling on the issue. Moves toward a multi-national comprehensive test ban and bilateral nuclear reduction talks involving the same object should be complementary, he said.

In Wellington, the Government yesterday greeted the U.N. majority endorsement of the New Zealand and Australian resolution calling for a comprehensive test ban as “most gratifying.” The Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, Mr Russell Marshall, said New Zealand and Australia had been taking major responsibility each year for guiding a resolution through at the U.N. General Assembly for an end to nuclear testing. “This year it was New Zealand’s turn to lead the call for a comprehensive test ban and I am naturally very pleased at the strong support •we received,” he said.

“We are disappointed that the United States and France chose to vote against the resolution. We had hoped that the U.S., at the least, would abstain.”

New Zealand believed the goal of bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union should be elimination of all nuclear testing at an early date, Mr Marshall said.