Micronesia

To the Editors of the Crimson:

The two-part article on Micronesia published this week in The Crimson is a model of irresponsible journalism. It is filled with half truths and untruths, which could and should have been checked before publication. The United States did not, as the articles suggest, use "Micronesia" as a test site "for advanced nuclear weaponry." A portion of the northern Marshall Islands, which itself is only a small portion of Micronesia, was indeed used for some years, ending in 1954, for nuclear tests. By today's standards the tests were primitive, not advanced. The article next implies that such tests are going on today, further raising body radiation counts among the effected people. This is a total untruth, since none of the tests involved has anything to do with nuclear explosions. Missiles fired into Kwajalein lagoon are unarmed and are retreived--one of the principal reasons for firing into the lagoon in the first place. Extensive and repeated tests show conclusively that these tests do not raise radiation levels to any measurable degree--and indeed, they show that Kwajalein lagoon has a lower level of radiation than does the lagoon in Majaro, the Marshall's captial, when no such tests have ever taken place.

I do not seek to justify nuclear testing, which can have serious adverse consequences I do suggest thast repeating wild and irresponsible charges about those consequences is bad journalism--and many of the charges which Darlene Keju Johnson and her husband have been peddling for years now to anyone gullible enough to believe them are indeed wild and irresponsible. This includes, specifically, her standard "jelly babies" claim, for which she has yet to produce evidence despite repeated requests from US authorities that she do so. Likewise, the incidence of physical disorders among the children and grandchildren of those effected by radiation is statistically virtually the same as that among similar unaffected Marshallese.

The falsehoods abound. At no time were foreign exchange and investment by non-Americans arbitrarily foreclosed. Where is the footnote which cites the relevant Interior Department secretarial order? Another totally unsupported assertion.

Most important, however, the two articles ignore the remarkable program made by the Marshallese toward self-government, progress which notably fulfills the US obligation under the trusteeship. The Marshallese have written a constitution and last fall carried out their secound national election. They are almost entirely self-governing. Their government negotiated and signed a compact of free association with the United States, which was opposed by 57 percent of the Marshallese voters in a UN-observed plebiscite last summer. This compact makes extensive provisions for nuclear damages, reserving $150 million for this purpose. The compact has been sent by President Reagan to Congress for enactment into law--and I would note that it is being supported vigorously by the Marshallese government. The Chief Secretary of the Marshallese Cabinet, Oscar Debrum, is now in Washington for this purpose, as is the former Attorney General, Carl Ingram, who is a forum peace corps member now married to a Marshallese. You can reach them at (202) 343-9143 if you care to take the trouble to get your facts straight.

In sum, The Crimson printed an article based on a single, highly biased source, without bothering to check its contacts for accuracy. The editors should go back to Journalism 101. Robert H. Kubal