WORLD Va ‘Jamfest’ marked by walkouts, criticism and disillusionment BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Remember that much touted ‘‘Jamfest’’ youth conference held in Jamaica last month? Well, all the details are now in on how it finally petered out amidst criticisms from Anglophone student organ- izations, walkouts and delays following almost non-stop wrangling as delegates tried to stop a clique from ram- ming through such resolutions which supported the Western countries’ buildup of nuclear arms. The fanaticism with which the Jamaican government of Edward Seaga tried to mount an event with only delegates from ‘‘democratic Western’ countries also resulted in the disbandonment of the Jamaican Inter- national Year of Youth ([YY) Committee. The 1,000 delegates who turned up for the Conference are all back home now, many disillusioned at the under- hand and cheap way Jamaican authorities organized the event, with the moral and financial backing of the U.S. State Department. Among those who attended Jamfest were represen- tatives of the three main campuses (Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados) of the University of the West Indies. A joint statement issued by the Student Councils — of- ficially known as Guilds of Undergraduates here — of the campuses said that the Conference ‘‘ran counter to the Re decision (to set up the IYY) and did not provide full participation in the interest of development and world peace’”’. The Guilds, which represent the majority of university students in the Anglophone Caribbean, strongly criticized the exclusion of youth from the socialist coun- tries and certain other nations. ‘“‘We believe that for any Caribbean conference to make a meaningful contribution to world peace and development — and to Caribbean peace and develop- ment in particular — it must embrace as one ofits guiding principles, representation of all youth, regardless of col- or, class or ideological creed,’’ the joint statement ar- gued. The Guild representatives stood to the bitter end, trying to contribute to resolutions so that the final docu- mentation would reflect the mounting desires of regional youth that the Caribbean should be declared a Zone of Peace and for a New International Economic Order. However, other delegations, many from Latin Ameri- ca, walked out in frustration. Additionally, the delibera- tions dragged on for several days beyond the scheduled end as officials tried to find compromises. In aclosely related development, the [YY Committee in Jamaica had to be disbanded just prior to the opening of the Conference when the Jamaican government failed From the Caribbean Norman Faria to provide fund$ and the promised support since the body was set up in 1982. ‘|. the objectives of IYY to reach the majority of youths and to ensure their full participation in the IYY celebrations are not (being) achieved and it appears that what is now being offered is geared towards a small section of our youth population,’ said) Committee spokesperson the Rev. Marjories Lewis-Cooper at a news conference to announce the end of the Committee. The broad-based body included such groups as the guides, scouts and the YMCA and the YWCA. Meanwhile, preparations are well in hand to send strong delegations to the 12th youth Festival in Moscow. The Tribune has learned that the influence of some of the . Preparatory Committees is extensive. In St. Lucia, for example, the Committee regularly brings out hundreds of youths to preparatory events. However, some island committees have a small impact so far because of ad- verse reactions in the big media ard from Government. Among the regional countries sending delegates to Moscow are Martinique and Guadeloupe, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Luciaand Barbados. The 11th World Youth Festival was held in another Caribbean nation state, Cuba, in 1978. : a E | Although it has long been understood that the con- sequences of any nuclear conflict would be disastrous for all life, it has only been during the past few years that scientists have begun to seriously project the actual im- pact of a nuclear exchange upon the global environment and ecology. ~ Recently, the Tribune had the opportunity to speak with a Soviet scientist who is in the forefront of this research in his own country. Professor Yu. M. Svirezhev, Director of the Laboratory of Mathematical Ecology at the Computer Centre of the USSR Academy of Sciences, gave us a summary of the latest findings of the world scientific community on the long-term effects of nuclear war. The overall consequences of any nuclear exchange, Prof Svirezhev notes, will depend upon the total number of weapons used, and their physical distribution. How- ever, even a small or “‘limited”’ nuclear war could have a catastrophic impact. The immediate human casualties of a full-scale nuclear conflict would probably exceed one billion in the Northern Hemisphere. Survivors would be faced with environmental con- sequences of such a drastic and far-reaching nature that Prof. Svirezhev insists that nuclear arms should no longer be classed as military weapons, but rather “‘as ecological weapons, or global biospheric weapons’’. e The first important consequence of long-term im- pact outlined by Prof. Svirezhev is the ‘‘Nuclear Wint- er’ or “Nuclear Night’’. This is the probable aftermath of even a small nuclear war when, ‘‘as a result of nuclear attacks on large cities and the subsequent fires, such a great amount of soot will be discharged into the atmo- sphere that its transparency will be reduced to as little as one-millionth.”’ Sunlight would be unable to’ penetrate the thick clouds of smoke. and soot in the upper atmo- sphere. ‘‘During the first months, the temperature at the land surface will fall by 20-40 degrees Centigrade in the Northern Hemisphere, and by 5-25 degrees Centigrade in the Southern Hemisphere. The sharp drop in temp- erature and the reduction in light during the Nuclear Winter will almost completely stop photosynthesis and . will cause freezing out of vegetation over vast territories. It will also lead to the extinction of many animal popula- tions’’. Many Soviet and U.S. scientists now agree that the detonation of as little as 100 megatons — roughly one per cent of existing nuclear weapons — would be sufficient to trigger a Nuclear Winter. e ‘Radiation Shock’’, or the radioactive contamina- tion of vast areas for long periods of time, will be a second major consequence of any nuclear conflict, says Prof. Svirezhov. Such contamination would be spread not only by the nuclear explosions themselves, but also ‘tas a result of nuclear attacks on atomic power plants, factories of nuclear fuel and ammunition, and rupture of liquid radioactive waste storages’’. Radioactive contamination will be a prolonged con- sequence of any nuclear conflict (at least 30-50 years), and will likely be worst in the population zones of the 10 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 22, 1985 NUCLEAR WINTER: GLOBAL DISASTER Backgrounder |#¢ Se A ee Fred Weir combatant states. However, ‘‘as a result of transporta- tion by wind and water systems, part of the radioactive contamination will be carried to other regions not taking part in the conflict”’. Radiation will gradually spread throughout the global ecosphere, contaiminating soil and water supplies, entering the food chain and creating ‘‘inhibitory effects upon sprouting of seeds and growth of new plants. Any surviving animals will suffer the conditions of long-term chronic radiation exposure’’. e Fires, Prof. Svirezhev-says, will be another critical and long-lasting effect of any nuclear war. ‘‘In the USA, and especially in Canada and the USSR, forests neighbor upon strategic centres, hence after nuclear attacks on the latter and fires in cities, numerous forest fires will appear.’’ Depending upon conditions, as muchas 20 per cent of the forests in the Northern Hemisphere may burn in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war. Such fires will spew vast quantities of smoke and soot into the upper atmosphere, reinforcing the Nuclear Winter ef- fect. NUCLEAR WINTER: NUCLEAR WINTER HAS ITS WINNERS OUTDOOR SKATING ALL YEAR-ROUND. TINY SKATES, SIX BLADES A GLITTER COCKROACH GLIDES ACROSS THE POND. . EG. tC OAS - Fires will also break out in prairie and farmlands adja- cent to nuclear attack zones. ‘‘Directly after the nuclear: war,” says Prof. Svirezhev, ‘‘all the steppes and the agricultural areas will burn out in the region of nuclear ” war . e Drastic increases in ‘‘conventional’’ pollution will — pose another serious post-war hazard, notes Prof.293 Svirezhev. Nuclear strikes on cities and industrial areas —“‘the fires of civilization” —will result in the burning of ; huge quantities of combustible materials and chemicals that are stored there. This will increase by many times the 7 levels of ‘‘ordinary’’ pollution — such as oxides of nitro- — gen and sulphur, heavy metals, various toxic substances such as pesticides and herbicides, plastics, fossil fuels, and industrial chemicals and compounds of all kinds. If oil and gas wells are targeted — and this is assumed to be standard feature of modern war planning — gigan-. tic, uncontrollable fires, serious earth tremors, and the escape of huge quantities of natural gas into the atmo- sphere are all likely consequences. e Another consequence of nuclear war with in- calculable long-term effects concerns the increase in. ultra-violet (U/V) radiation following depletion of the ozone layer by nuclear weapons. Nuclear explosions will create chemical changes in the atmosphere that will cause serious degradation of the ozone,layer, says Prof. Svirezhev. The ozone layer normally filters the Sun’s U/V radiation, keeping it down to levels that are sur- vivable for plant and animal life. At present intensities of } U/V, apersoncan get a good tan from an afternoon inthe summer sun. After significant nuclear weapons use, ~ however, U/V radiation may grow up to four times. ~ After the Nuclear Winter clears (at least one year), any human survivors may find themselves facing 2? epidemic of skin cancer brought on by the heightened U/V levels. 7 The increase in U/V radiation will result in the “total . & or partial inhibition of photosynthesis in plants for 2-3 years’’. It will also cause the suppression of immune system functions in humans and animals — making life more susceptible to the effects of radiation an disease. The ozone layer will require at least 5-8 years to be restored. _ Prof. Svirezhev stresses that all of these after-effects of nuclear war will not be separate disasters, but will a — occur simultaneously, comprising a single interactive global ecological catastrophe. In careful scientific language, he assesses the probabil- ity of human survival in such an event as highly unlikely: ‘‘We cannot state that the nuclear war will destroy thé ‘whole biosphere of the planet, but it will trigger mechan isms of ‘nuclear successions’. The planet biogeography will be altered, and the biosphere will come to a neW state. It is highly problematic whether homo sapiens W! be able to exist as a species, or that its ecological niche will be preserved in this new biosphere.” ;