ABSTRACT
War will remain for as long as the world consists of sovereign states, each arming against its enemies; and nuclear war will remain a possibility for as long as sovereign states possess nuclear weapons. The growing appreciation of this fact by the peoples of the Pacific, together with their experience of nuclear testing, has produced a nuclear phobia in the region. The origin of the movement for a nuclear free and independent Pacific can be traced to the Against Tests on Moruroa (ATOM) committee which was formed in Fiji in 1970 to protest against French testing. It consisted of individuals from the Pacific Theological College, the University of South Pacific and the Fiji YWCA. Backed by the Pacific Conference of Churches, the ATOM committee helped to organise the first conference for a nuclear free Pacific, held in Fiji in 1975. Organised Christianity has played a significant part in pressing for a nuclear free and independent Pacific.
