Trouble in the Hoggar
r"1" HE French nuclear explosion in the Hoggar I has placed those who have worked for a Franco-Algerian rapprochement in a difficult position. It is true that Saharan tests take place about as far from human habitation as any tests ever have taken place. It is true that the test in question was an underground one without fall- out. But the very idea of nuclear testing on the territory of an African State is enough to pro- voke a violently emotional reaction, not only in the country concerned but also in other 'uncom- mitted' nations. The feeling of outrage arising from such an offence against the neutralist ethos of the Afro-Asian bloc is liable to sweep away common sense and to make light of the un- doubted fact that if the granting of Saharan bases to France under the Evian agreement meant anything, it meant the granting of the right to test, since the bases in question were nuclear- testing establishments. The French Government is certainly within its legal rights in carrying out such tests. What is more doubtful is whether its action is politically wise.
Not that the Algerian Government can do very much in the way of reprisals. Algeria receives more than it gives under the Evian agreement, and anything which resulted la the damming of the massive flow of French aid would be disas- trous. The same applies to any spectacular gesture such as cutting off supplies of Saharan oil or natural gas. M. Ben Bella must realise that there is little he can do to bring pressure to bear on President de Gaulle, but he himself will be under attack from his political rivals (and criticised by other African States) if he does not do something. A formal demand for the revision of the military clauses of the Evian agreement would probably be a satisfying enough gesture even if Paris is not impressed. But in the long term France must ask herself whether the advantage to be gained from nuclear testing in the Sahara is worth the complicating of relationships with Algeria and other countries in the Maghreb and Black Africa. There have been suggestions that the main scene of French nuclear activity might be moved, to the Pacific. The difficulty here is the cost. The tension in Franco-Algerian relations may in the end result in an additional burden for finances which are already under severe strain.
Previous page
