Roland Oldham (1950 — 16 March 2019)[1][2] was a French Polynesian teacher, unionist, and anti-nuclear campaigner. He was president of Mururoa e Tatou from its foundation until his death.[3] He was a grandson of French Polynesian writer Te Arapo.[1]

Oldham was born in Papeete.[1] After working as a teacher in Mo'orea, he moved to New Zealand and then Australia.[1] After returning to French Polynesia in the 1980s he became involved in the trade union movement.[1] In 1995 he joined Greenpeace to protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.[1] In 2001, alongside John Doom, he founded Mururoa e Tatou to campaign for compensation for French nuclear test workers and victims.[3] In 2009 he was threatened with prosecution after calling a court decision against compensating test victims an example of colonial justice.[4][5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Roland Oldham : une vie de combats" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Roland Oldham nous a quittés" (in French). Polynesia1. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Leading Tahiti anti-nuclear advocate Roland Oldham dies". RNZ. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  4. ^ "French Polynesian court warns Oldham about comments". RNZ. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ^ "French Polynesian test veterans dismayed at Tahiti court decision". RNZ. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2024.