=== WNII No. 10/1998 ===
WHAT'S NEW IN INES?
=== WNII No. 10/1998 ===
Dateline of this issue: 24 May 1998
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, Am Beckerkamp 12/app 26
D-21031 Hamburg, Germany
phone/fax*: (49-40) 7269 2394 [*for fax messages, call before]
e-mail: < >
INES homepage: http://www.mindspring.com/~us016262/ines.html
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INES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Do not forget to inform us about changes of your email address or your homepage!
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================== International Peace Bureau (IPB) =================
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=== > IPB on Indian nuclear tests
Press Communiqué, May 12, 1998
India's nuclear tests have turned it into a rogue state, according to the International Peace Bureau, the world's oldest international peace federation. "We are bitterly disappointed by India's provocative action", said IPB president Mrs. Maj-Britt Theorin, "and we demand an immediate moratorium on any further tests. India has ruined its reputation as a leader in the Non-Aligned Movement and as a credible voice for disarmament. It has now joined the tiny group of states who threaten weapons of mass destruction and who refuse to open negotiations with the vast majority of countries who abide by international law. These are rogue states."
The International Peace Bureau, along with other members of the 1000-strong global network of anti-nuclear NGOs known as Abolition 2000, has consistently condemned nuclear testing by any state. It argues that if the US, along with the other nuclear weapons states, does not ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and fails to cancel its 'sub-critical' testing and 'stockpile stewardship' programmes, then the threshold states will draw the conclusion that the US is indeed not serious about disarmament. This conclusion was confirmed by attitudes displayed at the NPT PrepComm, which concluded in Geneva on Friday, and India's disastrous decision to test is a predictable consequence of the intransigence of the NWS.
The IPB is extremely anxious about the likely reactions from Pakistan and China, and the overall destabilising effects on the international security environment. The tests bring suddenly closer the nightmare of a regional arms race that could engage all three states in a spiraling programme of nuclear procurement. Moreover, the tests will poison the atmosphere in all disarmament forums and risk unraveling years of work towards nuclear elimination. "We call on all our member organisations, other NGOs and friends of India and Pakistan, to organise vigorous protests against the tests and to urge immediate bilateral talks to de-escalate the tension" said IPB Secretary-General Colin Archer. "At the same time increased pressure must be exerted on decision-makers in the 'official' nuclear states to open negotiations on steps to abolition."
Colin Archer, IPB Secretary-General, 41 rue de Zurich, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland.
Tel: +41-22-731-6429, Fax: 738-9419, Email:
http://www.itu.ch/ipb/
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NUCLEAR WEAPONS
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=== > South-East Asia crisis: Useful web pages (see also WNII No. 9/98)
--- http://www.fas.org/news/india/ [Federation of American Scientists, USA]
--- http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/archives/1998/current.html [Frank von Hipple's analysis of the India blasts]
--- http://www.pgs.ca/pages/sasia94.html [India & Pakistan Project]
--- http://www.healthnet.org/MGS [Medicine & Global Survival"(IP PNW USA) special online report on the Indian nuclear tests]
--- http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/NoNukes.html [South Asians Against Nukes]
About Kashmir:
--- http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/kashmir/index.htm
--- http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/cds/countries/index.html
Pakistani government:
---http://www.pak.gov.pk/
International Atomic Energy Agency:
---http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/inforesource/pressreview/
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=== > NPT PrepCom, Geneva (I): Brief Report by Reiner Braun
For all people who are in favour of nuclear disarmament down to zero, the NPT PrepCom was deeply disappointing. The Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) showed almost no readiness for nuclear disarmament steps, let alone for a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Differing points of view [among the NWS] basically appeared in terms of tactical details only. It remains a guess whether or not this has contributed to India's motivation to conducts nuclear tests. On the other hand, the appearance of the NGOs was much more interesting and impressive, indeed. The Coalition for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons carried out a public vigil at the Opening Day, which took place in front of the Palais des Nations. The event attracted much public attention and was well covered by the Swiss mass media. INESAP for its part showed up with a number of Briefing Papers, which were presented to the NGO Meetings. Again, Josef Rotblat convincingly outlined the arguments favouring nuclear disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Among other things, he again stressed that the ethics of the 21st century are thinkable only without nuclear weapons. A number of other NGO events (for example by Women for Peace, IPPNW, IALANA) showed again the competence of NGOs. At the Annual Meeting of Abolition 2000 the future activities of this network were discussed. Currently well over 1,000 organisations and initiatives have linked up with the network. As an important future step it was agreed to cooperate with the Hague Peace Conference in 1999 and to strengthen the regionalisation of the Network.
In general, this year's NPT PrepCom was defined by a major contradiction between the Nuclear Powers (who call themselves "disarmers" although they are in favour of rearmament), the NGO activities, and the attempt by southern countries to restart the dynamics of disarmament.
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=== > NPT PrepCom, Geneva (II): References
Upon request, the WNII editor sends to you a floppy disk containing the following:
A. From the NPT PrepCom:
--- 13 NGO statements presented to the General Debate
--- 10 Briefings by Rebecca Johnson (Acronym Institute, UK) (should also be available at: http://www.gn.apc.org/acronym)
--- the list of content of the BASIC Webpage which carries many of the speeches and working papers delivered by the governmental delegations (available at: http://www.basicint.org)
B. The PrepCom aftermath:
--- Analysis of the PrepCom ...(by former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament Doug Roche; available at: http://watserv1.uwaterloo.ca/~plough/98prepcom.html)
--- Report of the NPT PrepCom by Nigel Chamberlain (CND)
--- Notes from the Abolition 2000 Annual Meeting
--- Minutes from the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Days event
--- On the Citizens Weapons Inspection (by Steven D. Staples, Canada)
--- Cut-off at the NPT PrepCom (proposal by M.Kalinowski, INESAP)
!!! Mail your request to < >
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=== > NPT PrepCom, Geneva (III): INESAP Briefing Papers
Here is a list of the Briefing papers distributed at the NPT Prepcom:
--- No.1: Beyond technical verification. Transparency, verification and preventive control for the Nuclear Weapons Convention (by M. Kalinowski, W. Liebert, J. Scheffran)
--- No. 2: Multilateralising the nuclear disarmament process: some next steps for the nuclear weapons states (by O. Greene)
--- No. 3: Cut-off in the NPT review process. Does a cut-off agreement offer a leverage to overcome the current deadlock between complete nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation? (by M. Kalinowski)
--- No.4: A Faustian Bargain: Why Stockpile Stewardship is incompatible with the process of nuclear disarmament (by A. Lichtermann and J. Cabasso)
--- No.5: Monitoring and Verification for a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (by F.H. Hammad)
--- No.6: New German Research Reactor Using Highly-Enriched Uranium (HEU) Raises Concern (by W. Liebert)
Contact:
!!! mailto Martin Kalinowski <>
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WHISTLEBLOWERS
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=== > USA: Whistle-Blowers May Face Reprisal
(The New York Times, May 21, 1998)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/a/AP-Whistle-blowers.html
Former US Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary admits in a videotaped deposition that workers who expose flaws at nuclear weapons plants and labs are harassed and undermined by their bosses, USA Today reported. The paper said it obtained access to testimony being played in federal court today in which O'Leary says there ``HAS BEEN A PRACTICE OF REPEATED AND LONG-TERM REPRISAL that visits (a whistle-blower) in the place he or she is most vulnerable'' by ``questioning the employee's competence.'' [emphasis added]
[Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company]
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BRIEFINGS
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=== > JUST RELEASED:
"Radiation Exposures by Nuclear Facilities: Evidence of the Impact on Health"
(edited by Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake and Michael Schmidt)
Proceedings of the international workshop in Portsmouth 1996 of the German Society for Radiation Protection
Contributions on:
Epidemiological Studies on Malignancies near Nuclear Facilities
Radiation risks
Dose reconstruction near nuclear facilities
Health Effects near Nuclear Facilities
Radiation Risks of Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure
Radionuclide Source terms and Radioecology
Risk of Low Dose and Dose Rate Exposure
Methods of Dose Reconstruction
Monitoring and Control of Radionuclide Releases
and other topics
Cost DM 98/US$ 55
Please pay either by Eurocheque or ask for bank transfer details.
Order from IPPNW Germany:
!!! mailto < >
or:
< >
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=== end of No. 10/1998 what's new in ines ===
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