Resolution adopted at the seminar Indo US Nuclear ‘Deal’ India, South Asia, NAM and the Global Order
[Press Release - Bombay, 12 March 2007]
The International Seminar on “Indo US Nuclear
‘Deal’ India, South Asia, NAM and the Global
Order” held in Mumbai, on March 10-11, 2007 was organised by a
number of local organisations, as per the attached list
‘A’, and endorsed/participated by the international
organisations, as per the attached list ‘B’.
After due and indepth deliberations in which a number of international
and national experts and activists took part, the Seminar has resolved
as under:
I. What the Deal Is All About?
The content of the ‘Deal’, which is currently being
negotiated between India and the US, was first laid out the joint
statement issued by the Indian Prime minister and the US President on
July 18 2005 from Washington DC and then further reiterated on March 2
2006 in another joint statement by them issued from New Delhi
incorporating the major elements of agreements between the countries
reached till then. The signing of the Henry Hyde Act on December 18
2006, after protracted and nervewracking deliberations in the US
Congress, by the US President towards amending its own Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 to make the ‘Deal’ possible is a major step
forward towards bringing the ‘Deal’ into force.
The ‘Deal’, in its essence, is meant to enable India, a
nonsignatory to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT), henceforth
to have ‘civilian’ nuclear trade - in terms of nuclear
fuel, technology, plants, spares etc., with the US, and also other
nations so desirous, by making a unique exception in case of India.
India in return will have to designate, at its own options, its nuclear
reactors into two categories - ‘civilian’ (for power
production) and ‘strategic’ (for Bomb making), and ensure
separation between the two. The ‘civilian’ reactors/plants
only will be opened up for international inspection by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The nuclear trade will
accordingly be limited to the ‘civilian’ reactors only. In
case of the ‘strategic’ ones, there will be neither any
inspection nor any trade.
II. When and How the ‘Deal’ Comes into Operation?
In order to bring the ‘Deal’ into force, India will have to
further finalise the “123 agreement” with the US, laying
down the specific scope and terms of cooperation and codifying the
modes of separation between the ‘civilian’ and
‘strategic’ plants and perhaps diluting some of the
conditions incorporated in the Henry Hyde Act at the instance of the US
Congress to which India is objecting; and conclude a treaty with the
IAEA on the specific scope and terms of inspection.
Then the proposal will go to the 45member Nuclear Suppliers Group so
that it unanimously amends its rules, which as of now prohibits nuclear
trade with India - being a nonsignatory to the NPT, to accommodate the
above two agreements reached between India, on the one hand, and the US
and the IAEA on the other.
On succeeding in obtaining a green signal from the NSG, the whole
package will go back to the two houses of the US Congress, which stands
reconfigured since, for its final nod.
In the event of obtaining such, the US President would put his
signature and the ‘Deal’ will eventually come into
operation.
The Indian government, unlike its US counterpart, is not obligated to obtain any parliamentary approval.
III. Why the ‘Deal’ Must Be Opposed?
The ‘Deal’ as and when, and if at all, comes through will
grievously undermine the current global regime of nuclear
nonproliferation, as it is meant to make a unique exception in case
India, in gross violation of the underlying principles of the NPT, and
thereby also the prospects of global nuclear disarmament. The fact that
Pakistan has been brusquely refused a similar deal by the US in spite
of persistent clamouring and Iran is being demonstratively coerced to
desist from developing its own nuclear fuel cycle technology, integral
to nuclear power production allowed and encouraged under the Article IV
of the NPT, further brings out graphically the abominable
discriminatory nature of the ‘Deal’. Moreover, the lesson
that one would tend to learn is that if one can weather the initial
storms of international censures after breaking the nonproliferation
taboo, things would normalise in a while. One may even get rewarded in
the process. This is sure to trigger off stepped up vertical and
horizontal proliferations.
Moreover, by enabling India to import fuel, natural or enriched
uranium, from abroad, the ‘Deal’ would make it possible for
India to use the indigenously produced uranium exclusively for
Bombmaking. This possible escalation in its fissile material production
capacity is, in all likelihood, push Pakistan further to nuclearise
even at a great cost, and thereby aggravate tensions and accelerate
arms race in the region with spinechilling consequences.
It’d also further cement the growing (unequal) strategic ties
between the US and India and thereby would add momentum to the US
project for unfettered global dominance and Indian craze to emerge as a
global power basking in the reflected glory of the global headman.
It’d just not only undermine India’s position as a founding
and leading member of the NAM, it’d also pose a very serious
challenge to the NAM and its objectives in terms of radically raised
level of US domination on the global scene.
India’s rather meek submission to highly deplorable and dangerous
threats issued and postures adopted by the Bush regime in relation to
Iran and its nuclear programme instead of trying to find a just and
fair solution in terms of having a Weapons of Mass Destruction free
MiddleEast including Israel is a clear and extremely worrisome pointer.
India’s keenness to join the Proliferation Security Initiative
(PSI) initiated by the US to interdict any vessel in international
waters suspected of carrying (unauthorised!) nuclear materials, in
gross violation of all international laws and also the Ballistic
Missile Defence (BMD) programme of the US are another two highly
disturbing indicators.
India’s growing closeness with Israel, the frontline state of the
US in the Middle East, would also pick up further pace in the process.
This ‘Deal’ would obviously distort India’s energy
options by diverting scarce resources to developments of
resourceguzzling, intrinsically hazardous and potentially catastrophic,
nuclear power at the cost of ecologically benign renewable sources of
energy.
This would, furthermore, provide a strong boost to the nuclear industry
worldwide, particularly the potential suppliers from the US. And
that’s precisely why the business lobby in the US is working
overtime to get the ‘Deal’ clinched.
The recent visit by the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India as
the guest of honour at the Republic Day event and his public commitment
to supply additional nuclear reactors to India and work for the safe
passage of the ‘Deal’ through the NSG underscores the
convergence of interests of the nuclear power lobbies worldwide as
regards the ‘Deal’ and the new market that it is promising
to open up.
IV.
We Demand
The government of India, given the grave multifaceted negative
implications of this ongoing deal, must forthwith withdraw from all
further negotiations with the US in this regard.
It must strive to regain its old prestige and influence, both moral and
political, by opting to again play a meaningful leading role in the
NonAligned Movement and other international alliances geared against
imperialism, militarism and oriented towards a nuclear weapons free
South Asia and the world.
The government of India is further urged to make global abolition of
nuclear weapons its diplomatic priority and take up and pursue the
issue vigorously with the NAM, UNGA and other international fora.
V.
The Seminar also decides to send a copy of this Resolution to the Prime
Minister of India, the Chairperson of the ruling UPA - Mrs Sonia
Gandhi, the incumbent chair of the NAM - the Cuban government, and also
the United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Mr Ban Kimoon.
It also urges the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to turn down
the proposal to amend its rule to accommodate the ‘Deal’,
as and when it come sup for discussions.
‘A’
Indian Organisers:
Bombay Urban Industrial League for Development (BUILD)
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS)
Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)
Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)
Documentation & Research Training Centre (DRTC)
Forum for Justice & Peace (FJP)
Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament &
Environmental Protection
Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD)
Initiative India
Institute Community Organization & Research (ICOR)
Labour Education and Research Network (LEARN)
National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
Pakistan India Peoples’ Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD)
Peace Mummbai
People’s Media Initiative (PMI)
Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (VAK)
Wisdom Foundation
Women’s Centre
and others
‘B’
International Organisations Endorsing:
AfroAsian Peoples’ Solidarity Organisation
Friends of the Earth Australia
Mayors for Peace
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD),
and others
Event Details
10.3.2007 (SATURDAY)
10 0011 00: Registration & Inauguration.
Welcome Speech: Admiral (Rtd.) L Ramdas (PIPFPD/CNDP).
11 0014 00: 1st Plenary: ‘IndoUS Nuke Deal: India, NonAligned Movement and the Emerging Global Order’.
Speakers: Achin Vanaik (CNDP), A.A.M Marleen PC
(SecretaryGeneral, AAPSO, Sri Lanka), Ashim Roy (General Secretary,
NTUI), Ms. Hamsa Abd ElHamid (International Secretariat, AAPSO, Cairo).
Chair: Fr. Allwyn D’Silva (FJP/ICOR).
15 0018 00: 2nd Plenary: ‘IndoUS Nuke Deal: Its Impacts on Global and Regional Nuclear Arms Race’.
Speakers: John Hallam (Friends of the Earth, Australia),
E.A.Vidyasekera (AAPSO Secretariat Coordinator), Hari Sharma
(President, SANSAD, Canada) speech read out in absentia, Praful
Bidwai (CNDP).
Chair: Vijay Darp (PIPFPD).
March 11 (SUNDAY)
10 0013 00: 3rd Plenary: ‘IndoUS Nuke Deal: Its Impacts on Global and Regional Energy Options’.
Speakers: Surendra Gadekar (CNDP/Anumukti), V T Padmanabhan (Researcher on radiation effects on human heath), M V Ramana (CNDP).
Chair: Leslie Rodrigues (VAK).
14 0018 00: 4th Plenary:
Documentary film by K P Sasi on effects of radiation (from thorium) on human health.
Strategy Session and Adoption of Resolution.
Speakers: Theodore Orlin (President, International Human Rights
Education Consortium, USA), Sandeep Pandey (NAPM/CNDP), Eric Toussaint
(CADTM, Belgium) and others.
Chair: Sukla Sen (CNDP).
Discussion on Film
Speaker: V T Padmanabhan.
Chair: Sushovan Dhar (VAK).
Thanksgiving
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