—— WORLD

100-year death for forests
hit by U.S. chemical warfare ©

HO CHI MINH — One of those attending the
ternational Symposium on Chemical Weapons
Tecently was Dr. H. Brunig of the Federal Republic
ofGermany. He is director of the Institute of World
Forestry, Federal Research Centre for Forestry
and Forest Products, and is a professor at Ham-
burg University.
an interview, Dr. Brunig commented on the
fact that 44% of south Vietnam’s total forest area
Was destroyed by poison sprays used by the U.S.
amy. Ten years after this chemical war, Brunig
Says, Consequences vary.
Used from one to four times. Where forests were
Subject to chemical treatment once or twice, and
Which did not suffer from fires as a result of sub-
sequent bombings, one can now see a process of
restoration, although it is not full scale. It is difficult
0 establish the commercial cost of those forests
Which had been previously considered com-
mercial, because the process of regeneration will
take from 60 to 70 years, while full restoration of
forests with all tree varieties is possible only in
100 to 200 years.
Where chemicals were sprayed many times
aa which suffered from bombings, forests have
“graded to a savannah — a grassland with scat-
tered trees,” he said. “Their degradation con-
Unues; this is borne out by soil erosion, loss of
umus, and a change in microclimate.
4 It is very difficult,”’ Brunig said, ‘to cultivate
Bs Sd and trees here. Restoration of forests in
fun, areas demands persistent efforts and huge
nds. But even if everything possible is done, the
Process of regeneration will take from 50 to 60
years, while full restoration is only possible in
about 200 years.”
€ Said that the Vietnamese Government is “‘do-

_ 8 much to eliminate the consequences of the

Chemical war. New trees are being planted, but the

results are so far modest due to the difficulties

©xperienced by the country and the, loss of ex-

Temely vast forest areas.”’

be “unig said he considers any war criminal. *‘I
lieve we have attained a level of cultural

a

In different areas toxic chemical agents were

development when we can solve problems without

using arms.
“Chemical war,” he added, “is as dangerous as

~ nuclear war, because we do not know in full mea-

sure what-consequences it might have. If a shot is
fired at a man, he will simply die, but if the
environment is poisoned, results will be difficult to
predict, as in the case of nuclear war. Survivors
would wish they had died, I am sure. Biological
weapons are even worse. We have at least some
idea of the impact of chemicals, but we don’t know
anything about what will happen if micro-organ-
isms get out of control.

** All people should fight to prevent an outbreak
‘of war,’’ the West German scientist said. ‘‘It is
necessary to stop the insane race for arms, and to
ban nuclear, chemical and bacteriological
weapons. The world spends $500-billion on arms
every year.

“It is criminal,’’ he said, because there are
people on earth who have nothing to eat, who are
dying of hunger and horrible diseases. This money
should be used to wipe out illiteracy and combat
diseases.”” :

Turning to the main task in protection of the
environment, in which he plays an active role,
Brunig declared that, ‘‘Pollution of the environ-
ment is, in fact, an undeclared war against all man-
kind. In West Germany alone, 500,000 hectares of
forests were destroyed due to the contamination of
the air. A similar picture is observed in other coun-
tries as well. I’m especially worried about the de-
stiny of tropical forests where vegetation is very
sensitive to pollution. If trees die there, soil will be
spoiled very quickly.

‘The situation is becoming very serious,’’ he
warned. ‘‘Modern civilization has encountered
new, alarming phenomena related to the destruc-
tion of the environment. To solve this problem,.
scientists of different countries should pool their
efforts. It is always necessary to think about people
and to remember that our activities should bring
them benefits alone.”’

Dr. Brunig was interviewed by Soviet Novosti
correspondent, Igor Sedykh.

Suriname retuming to normal
following thwarted coup bid

ate Tuling military authorities
- the former Dutch South Ameri-
an colony of Suriname has said
es from all walks of life
NOw working together to nor-
Malize the a earion tallowing dis-
COVvery of a planned Christmas
Y coup.
Ina statement to the Caribbean
€ws Agency (CANA), Lt. Col.
“SI Bouterse, the head of the
military governing body, dis-
missed as ‘‘fairy tales”” claims by
big media that more than 30

Uinamers were executed
Ollowing the breaking up of a
to topple by force the
80vernment of this bauxite and
I producing country of

Lt. Col Deysi Bouterse (3rd from left) and Genada Prime Minister
Maurice Bishop (right) reviewing Surinamese troops during a recent
visit by Bishop.

mation which is mainly coming

The Ho Chi Minh Trail near the Vietnam-Laos border. Vegetation bears
traces of U.S. chemical warfare. '

000 people.

he military administration in
the Prince Edward Island sized
Country, which gained its political
dependence from the Nether-
ands in 1977, -said that it was
Orced to move against sections of

country’s rich economic elite

{0 prevent a coup which was.

Planned to come off on Christmas
y. Lt. Col. Bouterse and his
fellow officers, who came to

Power in a ‘‘soldiers’ revolution”’ -

‘Wo and a half years ago, has ad-
Mitted however that 15 Suri-
Ramers were shot dead on Dec. 9
While trying to escape during a
Prison transfer.

“We are all working together to
Normalize the situation. Prom-

inent people have been offering
their services, like trade union
leaders, clergymen, managers of
companies, the President of the
Union of Policemen, people from
the trade and the business sector,
and many others who want to
co-operate in the normalization
process which has already
started. I expect that in a few
weeks calm will be restored,”’
said Bouterse.

“These rumors (about execu-
tions) can be sent to the realm of
fairy tales. It is resentful that cer-
tain media try to stigmatize us. It
is resentful that they try to put
Cuba and the Soviet Union in an
unfavorable light. We protest
forcefully against all false infor-

from Holland. This false infor-
mation serves the objective of
creating unrest in Suriname and
to isolate us from the rest of the
world, especially from the Carib-
bean,’’ he added.

Over the recent period the
Surinamese government has re-
ceived several messages of soli-
darity from regional political and

labor organizations since the Dec. ,
9 developments. Among them are

the Opposition People’s Progres-
sive Party in neighboring Guyana,
the Barbados Industrial and Gen-
eral Workers’ Union (BIGWU)
and the Workers’ Revolutionary
Movement (WRM) of St. Lucia.

— Norman Faria

wa 7

‘aa World News

Independence of Namibia
must not be blocked

LAGOS — The commission on Security and Disarmament,
chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Olef Palme, has condemned
all efforts to establish a connection between the independence of
Namibia and the presence of Cuban troops in Angola.

In a communique at the end of its two-day meeting in Lagos,
the commission says that world public opinion does not accept
the blocking or prevention of the independence of Namibia due to
meddling in matters which have nothing to do with the issue and
because of the intransigence of the South African regime.

The commission requests and recommends increase: 2d to
Africa, where the disastrous economic situation, aggravat.. sy
the world recession, was an additional threat to peace and se-
curity.

Spanish president backs

nuclear-free zone

Speaking on national Spanish television, President Felipe
Gonzalez expressed firm support for turning the whole of Europe
into a nuclear weapons-free zone and vigorously opposed any
plans for the deployment of nuclear weapons in Spain.

In response to the TV host's question about his attitude to the
saying “‘If you want peace, prepare for war,’’ Gonzalez said, “‘]
would prefer to put this in a different way: If you want peace, fight
for peace.”

Poland and Cuba
Sign new trade accord

WARSAW — Poland and Cuba signed here a 1983 trade and
payment agreements worth almost 100 million rubles.
The documents were signéd by both countries’ foreign trade
deputy ministers, Andreiz Doroez and Jose Dela Fuente, respec-
tively. Cuban ambassador to Poland, Raul Formell Delgado, and
Cuban commercial advisor, Carlos Pereira, were also present

during the meeting.

By means of these agreements Poland will supply Cuba with
cars, planes, spare parts, steel plate and wire, while Cuba will
supply Poland sugar, citrus fruits and nickel, among other things.

Student meet condemns
U.S., Israeli action

ATHENS — The United States and Israel's policy toward the
Middle East is the main obstacle to peace in this strife-torn
region, according to the International Student Conference held
here recently. :

The conference, called by the National Union of Greek Stu-
dents and the International Union of Students (IUS), was at-
tended by 20 delegations from countries around the world.

It turned into a solidarity forum with the Palestinian people and
their right to a sovereign and independent state.

The final declaration of the meeting said that North American
policy constituted a threat to peace in the Middle East and in the
world as a whole.

It also expressed support for the Lebanese people, the victims
of Zionist aggression since last June, and it demanded the with-
drawal of all Israeli troops from that country.

we

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 11, 1983—Page 9