US ready to stand alone in opposing treaty: Bush

WASHINGTON — A defiant President George Bush declared yesterday that the United States was prepared to stand alone in opposing an Earth Summit treaty and would reject pressure for more spending on environmental projects.

"The day of the open cheque book is over," he said before his departure for Panama and the environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro. He said he was "determined to protect the American taxpayer".

A storm of anti-US criticism has risen for the last week among delegates at the 178-nation Earth Summit in Rio. Mr Bush had hoped to offset the tense reception expected there with a brief stopover in Panama.

He has come under strong International criticism for refusing to sign the bio-diversity treaty preserving wildlife species.

"If the United States has to be the only nation to stand against the bio-diversity treaty as now drawn — so be it," Mr Bush said.

Claiming that "America’s record is second to none" on the environment, he said before his departure from Andrews Air Force Base: "No other nation has done more, more rapidly, to clean up the water, the air or preserve public lands."

Adding that "environmental protection and a growing economy are inseparable", he said that a strong US economy was important not just for Americans, but for the rest of the world and the developing countries which were clamoring for some environmental treaties unacceptable to the US.

He was to arrive in Rio late yesterday.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that during an address at the summit today, Mr Bush would "talk about our environmental record and he’ll stress that we believe in treaties, we believe they should have specific implementation plans that go with them".

He said: "We disagree with many of the nations of the world on signing these treaties, but that disagreement would not necessarily lead to anything other than a warm reception."

Still, Mr Bush will find himself in the unusual position of being the black sheep rather than the leader of the pack at an international gathering.

He will probably try to repair some of the damage in one-on-one meetings with some of the world leaders gathering in Rio.

Despite the public attacks, many delegates have been privately sympathetic to his plight as he faces a difficult re-election bid and criticism from conservatives that he should not have gone to the summit. — AP, Reuter.

• THE head of Eastern Europe’s development bank has warned that 60 Soviet-built nuclear reactors in the region are time-bombs that could explode at any moment.

Mr Jacques Attali, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, urged leaders of the European Community and the Group of Seven to agree to a rescue plan at summits scheduled over the next month.

He said 16 reactors in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania, similar to that which exploded at Chernobyl in 1966, had to be shut down. Another 44, including some in Czechoslovakia and Romania, needed major overhauls. — Reuter.

Security prepared for worst

• THE impending gathering of more heads of state in one place than ever does not seem to worry the man in charge of protecting them.

"We have planned for this event for a year," said Mr Edson Antonio de Oliveira. "We’re prepared to expect the worst and hoping it doesn’t happen."

The presidents, prime ministers, royalty and political strongmen — more than 110 of them — began arriving on Tuesday. All will be in town by tomorrow, when the formal UN Earth Summit group photo will be taken. —AP

‘Serial Kisser’ on the loose

A RIO court has ruled that Brazil’s "Serial Kisser", Mr Jose Alves de Moura, can circulate freely during the Earth Summit.

Mr de Moura asked for the court order as a preventive measure, fearing police would try to restrict his movements after the heads of states arrived.

He has not been seen at the Rio Centre, site of the conference. But he smooched actress Shirley MacLaine last weekend as she walked in a march for Earth Day. —AP.

Source : The Straits Times, June 12, 1992

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