European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday july 27, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3 arms continued from Page 1 Accident free Miles during his nearly seven years behind the wheel said the Drivers received a special briefing before the Convoy started out. But that a not out of the Ordinary he added. Quot there a so Many precautions Quot he said a but its really so simple. Just follow the truck in front of  the Only traffic backup was at an interchange Between the autobahn. One West German police officer said he counted 260 vehicles waiting for the Convoy to pass. Besides the 20 trucks carrying the weapons the Convoy included decontamination Crews firefighters West German and . Soldiers police monitoring teams and medical staff. Hundreds of crack paramilitary West German police troops also lined the Convoy route and stood guard on overpasses. . And West German officials were elated with the results of the first Convoy. A the whole thing went so smoothly it was Boring Quot one army spokesman said. A i in jape they the convoys All  Rudi Ceil the West German minister of the Interior and Brig Gen. Dennis a Benchoff 59th Ord brigade commander heaped Praise on the thousands of people who worked to make the chemical shipment a Success. The first Days Success led officials to announce that the second Convoy would leave Friday morning. Geil also applauded the Miinster court decision which rejected the Green party a second Effort to halt the chemical shipments. A we Are very satisfied with that Quot he said. Though the injunction was officially rejected numerous opponents to the withdrawal program wandered the streets of Clausen on wednesday night Geil said. A there were a lot of people who wanted to cause a disturbance. Any influence from the outside will not be suffered Quot he said. West German authorities said that someone also phoned in a bomb threat against the Convoy. The exact contents of thursday s Convoy were not disclosed by army officials. When pressed for an accounting of which size shells and which nerve agent were in the first shipment Benchoff said a suffice it to say that approximately on thirtieth of the chemicals were shipped today and when we re finished  ail be  More seriously he added a Twenty containers of the agent vex of both sizes 155mm and 8-Inch shells a a were in thursdays shipment a the exact number of each size is not available to me nor available for publication for Security  the shells Are being shipped without their fuses in Vapo proof secondary steel containers and military vans Benchoff noted that the precautions being taken Are More than what is really necessary. A they were shipped to West Germany As conventional weapons with no special precautions Quot he said a none Are needed now Quot Many of the precautions being taken Are to relieve the worries of some West germans. A the danger is in the minds of the local population to whatever extent they feel they re the chemicals dangerous Quot Benchoff said. A the danger is perceived by each individual. In be worked with the weapons for 20 years and while i respect them i done to fear  the West German government is paying $31.2 million of the removal costs with the United states paying $52 million.  to Tot a porn the Moc Toto pro ii m Plauma Watt Vannany residents of Clausen by Mary Neth staff writer Clausen West Germany a the red letter Day had arrived. In less than two hours operation Golden Python would begin. Then the first Convoy would rumble Down the main Street of this Small Rheinland Pfalz Village carrying enough chemical weapons to wipe out the town and Miles of the tranquil surrounding Countryside. Gausen however seemed to be sleeping in. Some housewives were making morning purchases at the bakery. An overalls Clad worker was setting up in preparation of giving a House a coat of paint Here and there a few commuters were revving up their cars for trips to work. That was All. Posed shutters. No signs of excitement. Staff sgt Leonard Roberts was. About to head to his Job in Pir Masens. J a a there a a Laid Back feeling Here about the chemical weapon operation Quot Roberts said. A my neighbors Arentt alarmed. Of course everyone knows what could happen if one of those rockets bust. No one believes one  it took the arrival of two huge buses packed with reporters and politicians to liven up the scene. While reporters and photographers roamed the streets trying to find locals to interview the politicians gathered at the bus Stop breakfast Buffet set up in their Honor. Hans Jurg duppr6, head of local area administration expressed Complete Faith in the operation and said that wednesday evenings failed attempt by the Green party to halt the operation amounted to a boost for the withdrawal Quot now the courts have Given their stamp of approval on its safety Quot he said. Gerta Wagner was out for a stroll with her grandchild on moving Day. A the chemical weapons done to bother me a Wagner said. A they mean  Gausen is a rather conservative town that does no to think much of the likes of the greens she said. They just like to stir things up she said. A i am More afraid of them than of the  the Green party Effort to halt the Convoy also Drew sneers from local Guesthouse owner Klaus Petry. A there Are Only about 10 greens in the town a said Petry who confided that he does no to want their  Petry does want he said is an artillery. Rocket to hang above his Sas Lynda Oil own bar. Wagner a i asked Rheinland. Pfalz Interior minister Rudi Geil if he could get one for me. He laughed. A you mean an empty one of course he said. Despite such local optimism there were some protesters on hand when the 79-vehicle Convoy moved slowly Down the Street. Young scrubbed looking West German soldiers Riding in one of the army buses looked up and grinned As three women presented posters protesting the weapons transport to the Johnston atoll in the Pacific. A a in a against experiments on people a to test the burning of chemical weapons Quot one sign read. In an interview protester Gudrun Huismann Hiibel said a no we Arentt from Here. We also Aren t representing any particular group. We Are just three people with similar Points of  though Hulsmann Gubbel said she and her friends found transporting such dangerous cargo through highly populated areas completely vile the main thrust of their 848 Lynda do Vuk on Duppre 848 Lynda Dav Daon Petry protest was against the existence of such weapons at All. A Mankind has t Learned a thing a she said. A and from Here the chemicals will go to that atoll. There the gases released when they Are burned will create an environmental danger for those people in the Pacific Quot the Church Bell rang for the half hour. The Convoy wound out of sight. All in All the Gausen operation had lasted a Mere 15 minutes. A White Clad Catholic nun breathed an audible sigh of Relief As she prepared to Speed across the now empty Street. A my name of no a she said a a it a been such an ordeal. It s not the chemical transportation that a bothering people. Its being constantly followed by the press. A Why for weeks now every time you step out on the Street someone thrusts a microphone or camera in your face. Its been terrible. That s Why the people of Clausen Are staying  express a dumping ground concerns Honolulu apr Pacific Island leaders and environmental groups Are raising concerns about the army s plan to store and destroy chemical weapons at Johnston atoll about 700 Miles Southwest of Hawaii. A i think its a very bad decision based on undue haste Quot skip Spaulding an attorney for the Sierra club Legal defense fund in Hawaii said monday. Quot the army seems More concerned with carrying out its Mission for its commander in chief than thoroughly assessing the  a the Pacific must not become the dumping ground for the worlds chemical agents and munitions,�?T1 Hawaii gov. John Waihee said last week. The . Weapons from West Germany would add 100,000 rounds to the 300,000 rounds of nerve and Mustard Gas stored at the Remote Island since 1971, the transport of the munitions from West Germany began thursday and will continue through september Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said tuesday. Containers holding the weapons will be loaded onto Navy ships for transport to the Pacific. The containers will be put in storage on Johnston atoll until the army finishes testing an incinerator for the munitions. The tests Are to be completed late next year and full scale destruction is not expected to begin until 1992. The army said moving the weapons and destroying them at Johnston atoll would have minimal Public health safety and environmental effects. A safety of people and nations and Protection of the environment is Foremost in our minds Quot said John Fairbank a spokesman for the . Army Western come in Honolulu. A the Good part is we Are in fact destroying a very unpopular weapon Quot Fairbank said. A the end result when we get through is All of the weapons will be destroyed. We think the environmentalists should cheer that  there s been Little cheering a transporting the european stockpile Halfway around the world inescapably increases the risks a said a statement issued by the Federated states of Micronesia a former . Territory. Leaders of the Marshall islands Cook islands new zealand and the . Territory of american Samoa also have expressed reservations about the plan. While most of the leaders have said they support destruction of the weapons they also say they Are concerned about the environmental dangers of transporting the weapons across the Pacific and destroying them at the atoll. The Pacific Council of churches representing 26 protestant and roman Catholic churches in the South Pacific asked the army to cancel the move. The Hawaii legislature and Honolulu City Council also have objected. Spaulding said the Sierra club Legal defense fund was planning Legal action to halt the weapons shipment until officials have fully assessed the dangers. A the problem with Johnston atoll is this is an unproven technology Quot Spaulding said a it Hasni to been tested enough to prove its Safe. Fairbank responded that the army has tested the incineration technology. A this Isnit something that we re just jumping off and doing All of a sudden Quot he said. He agreed that the safest Way to get rid of the weapons is to destroy them in place. However he said a we could not do that in Germany because they Are our munitions on foreign soil and we be agreed to remove them a Fairbank emphasized that the weapons already stored at the atoll combined with the weapons from West Germany represent about 6 percent of the United states chemical weapons. He said the army has no plans to destroy munitions from Mainland storage Sites at the atoll. The $240 million disposal system was built to meet a 1985 congressional requirement to destroy All . Chemical weapons by 1997. The army began testing the incinerator on june 30