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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No. 7/2002 |
Dateline: March 2, 2002 |
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This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:
WNII is archived at: http://inesglobal.org/archive.htm
INES homepages: http://inesglobal.org http://www.inesglobal.com/
INES International Office
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner [Please note that the first "1" in q18 is the number one, while the last "l" is an "L"]
CONTENTS of WNII No. 7/2002
"INES Newsletter" No. 36 out now
The "INES Newsletter" No. 36/February 2002 carries the following.
The "INES Newsletter" is edited by Armin Tenner: < > [Please note that the first "1" in q18 is the number one, while the last "l" is a "L"] A pure ASCII version is available for distribution by e-mail. Ask the "INES Newsletter" editor to put you on his distribution list.
The "INES Newsletter" is also available at: http://inesglobal.org Previous issues are archived at: http://inesglobal.org/ines2.htm
David Krieger's most recent articles
Dr David Krieger, president of the US-based INES member organisation Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and Vice Chair of INES, has recently disseminated the following articles:
These article can be received either from the author: < > or from the WNII Editor as rtf-formatted email attachments.
Danger of Nuclear Exchange in South Asia Greater Than Ever Before. Press release by the Institute for Environment and Energy Research (IEER)
On 26 February, the IEER, a US-based INES member organisation, has issued a press release on the occasion of a US speaking tour by Admiral L. Ramdas, retired chief of the Indian Navy. Admiral Ramdas is currently the Chairperson of the Indian chapter of the Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy and a member of the National Committee of India's Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. The tour is jointly organized by the IEER and Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND), USA.
"Right now, India and Pakistan are eyeball-to-eyeball with the largest military buildup in their history - a million soldiers confronting each other at the border," said Admiral Ramdas (ret.) "The risks of escalation - from a conventional war over the disputed territory of Kashmir to a nuclear exchange - is greater than it has ever been. The governments of both India and Pakistan must immediately de-escalate the military buildup on the border, revive people-to-people contacts, and come together in the cause of global nuclear disarmament."
"The United States and Russia could help ease tensions between India and Pakistan by advocating a policy of taking all weapons off high-alert that applied first of all to their own weapons," said Arjun Makhijani, president of the IEER. "A program of verified de-alerting between the U.S. and Russia would increase the likelihood of India's acceptance of a similar program, leading to a zero alert status in South Asia that would greatly increase the region's and the world's security."
Admiral Ramdas' statement is available online at: http://www.ieer.org/latest/ramdas2.html
Israeli Missile Defense Systems: The US-Israeli Connection
This is the title of a new book written by Egyptian INESAP member Bahig Nassar. A review of this publication is available either from the author: or from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
USA: Access to scientific documents limited (From: "Secrecy News", FAS Project on Government Secrecy, Volume 2002, Issue No. 12, February 18, 2002)
The Bush Administration has withdrawn from public access over 6,600 technical reports concerning biological and chemical weapons production, the New York Times reported on February 17. "Science has now become the leading edge of the [Bush Administration's] crackdown on public access to government information," according to the New York Times. These declassified or unclassified documents are to be reviewed to determine if they contain proliferation-sensitive details that could assist terrorists or others in development of weapons of mass destruction.
The Bush Administration is also calling upon scientific societies to impose limits on their scientific publications, the New York Times reported. The precise nature of the proposed limits, which are still under development, was not disclosed.
Reaching Critical plans NGO Shadow Report
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's Project Reaching Critical Will intends to produce an NGO Shadow Report for the NPT PrepCom in April, outlining the possible structure of a standardized reporting by listing information available in the public domain on as many countries as possible, but definitely the 44 with nuclear power plants as listed in the CTBT, under the headings below.
If you or your NGO can provide any of this information, please contact: < >
For nuclear weapon states:
1. Amount, location and operational plan regarding both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons stationed or stored anywhere
2. Activities specifically undertaken in accordance with Article VI of the NPT (i.e. amounts and types of weapons dismantled, change in policy on the utility of nuclear weapons, deterrence, etc.)
3. Location and capability of nuclear facilities (i.e. power plants, research reactors, uranium mines, enrichment and reprocessing facilities, etc.)
4. Fissile material holdings.
5. Transfer, acquisition, research and development of equipment, materials and scientific and technical information on nuclear science.
6. National policies, activities and positions taken on universality of the NPT, non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapon free zones, security assurances, safeguards, peaceful (sic) uses of nuclear energy.
7. Activities and positions taken in international for a (i.e. Conference on Disarmament, Disarmament Commission, GA 1st Committee, NPT) on universality of the NPT, non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapon free zones, security assurances, safeguards, peaceful (sic) uses of nuclear energy.
For non-nuclear weapon states:
1. Amount, location and operational plan regarding both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons stationed on or visiting territory
2. Location and capability of nuclear facilities (i.e. power plants, research reactors, uranium mines, enrichment and reprocessing facilities, etc.)
3. Fissile material holdings.
4. Transfer, acquisition, research and development of equipment, materials and scientific and technical information on nuclear science.
5. National policies, activities and positions taken on universality of the NPT, non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapon free zones, security assurances, safeguards, peaceful (sic) uses of nuclear energy.
6. Activities and positions taken in international for a (i.e. Conference on Disarmament, Disarmament Commission, GA 1st Committee, NPT) on universality of the NPT, non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapon free zones, security assurances, safeguards, peaceful (sic) uses of nuclear energy.
Resources relevant to the Petition for a Missile Freeze online (see also WNII 5/2002 and 6/2002)
The US-based Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) now has a page of resources relevant to the recently launched missile freeze petition. The page can be found at. http://www.wslfweb.org/space/MCRbrief.htm
It includes links to other relevant sites, to the petition, and to an in-depth background working WSLF/INESAP working paper on the control and eventual elimination of ballistic missiles. The working paper, a pdf file, can be downloaded directly at: http://www.wslfweb.org/docs/missilecontrol.pdf
World Appeal To Set The Planet Free From Any Weapons Of Mass Destruction
The French anti-nuclear NGO Action des Citoyens pour le Désarmement Nucléaire (ACDN) (Citizens' Action for Nuclear Disarmament) has launched this Appeal which, among other things, demands "that the USA, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and France should honour the 'unequivocal undertaking' they signed in New York on May 19th, 2000, 'to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament to which all States parties are committed under Article VI' of the Non Proliferation Treaty", and goes on to urge that " we want the next president of the French Republic and the next French government to instigate real international talks in order to achieve this goal in a progressive, global and strictly controlled way."
The unique point about this Appeal is that it is also in support for one candidate for the upcoming French Presidential election – which is Jean-Marie Matagne, the president of this NGO. I do not recall any other French anti-nuclear organisation which nominated its own president for French Presidency. So, this might be something abolitionists outside of France should also support.
You can get both an English and a French version of the Appeal from: < >
Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament
A Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament (PNND) has been recently established by the Middle Powers Initiative. The PNND will serve as a non-partisan forum for parliamentarians nationally and internationally to share resources and information, develop cooperative strategies and engage in nuclear disarmament issues, initiatives and arenas. Membership is free and open to any parliamentarian of national or international parliaments.
Information on the PNND can be found at: http://www.pnnd.org
Invitations for parliamentarians to join the PNND have been sent to the clerks and speakers of most parliaments. The PNND is also preparing to do targeted mailouts to appropriate parliamentarians in key countries. Please contact us if you would like to assist with this outreach in your country. We currently have outreach brochures in Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Alyn Ware, PNND Coordinator < >
New website: The End of Existence
Bayleaf, a Vancouver, Canada based developer of interactive media, teamed up with Nuclear Age Peace Foundation to create The End of Existence, a narrative interactive website about nuclear weapons. The experience begins with the chronological moments following the tragic 1945 bombing of Hiroshima as told through the personal account of atomic bomb survivor and peace activist Miyoko Matsubara. The narrative is supported by detailed nuclear facts and history.
The project can be viewed at: http://www.endofexistence.org
For more information on The End of Existence, please contact Tony Ke, Bayleaf Software Inc.: < > http://www.bayleaf.com
2002 WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NEWS
GRACE: Help us lobby at WSSD PrepCom III in NY
Leslie Seff from the US INES member organisation Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) writes:
"We are putting out an urgent call for all those who are planning to be in New York City for the NPT PrepCom on April 8-19th and who are able to come a few days earlier, to lobby on anti-nuclear and pro-sustainable energy proposals at PrepCom III for the WSSD PrepCom III which is scheduled in New York [UNHQ] for March 25-April 5th.
Previous experience at the regional prepcom in SE Asia demonstrated that our show of strength in numbers (200 NGO's) had a decidedly emotional impact on the attending ministers. We need to keep the heat up, as much is at stake:
There is a move at the WSSD PrepCom, in prioritizing the agenda for Johannesburg, to remove sustainable energy initiatives from the chair's report. Specifically at risk is that language which exhorts governments to 'investigate the establishment of an international fund for sustainable energy,' the very entity which Abolition 2000 called for in its founding statement at the '95 NPT Conference.
The U.S. and other governments are expected to resist supporting this proposal, especially in its details and definitions. Addressing this issue would necessitate that governments look to re-directing subsidies away from those that support nuclear and other unsustainable forms of energy. Your government should hear that you support inclusion of this language. We urge all members to mobilize and ask them to commit, at a minimum, to not opposing its mention in the current text; it still runs the risk of being deleted during the negotiations which will begin during PrepCom III. "
Leslie Seff < >
Relocation of PrepCom IV
The venue of PrepCom IV, initially scheduled for Indonesia, has been moved to Bali. Whether or not the data - 27 May-7 June 2002 – are also subject to change, is not known yet.
UN Secretary-General's lecture about the Johannesburg Summit
On 25 February, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered a lecture about the Johannesburg Summit at the London School of Economics. This speech is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
Email addresses of new INES member organisations
[+] India: The Rural Development & Youth Training Institute < >
[+] Togo: Peace Corps for African Renaissance (PCAR) < >
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