The nuclear club consists of nine nations out of which 5 (USA, Russia, UK, France and China) are internationally recognized nuclear weapons states conferred by nuclear non proliferation treaty. India, Pakistan and Israel have declined to sign the treaty and have tested their nuclear weapons. North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003. The global nuclear disarmament campaigns are gaining momentum with many NGOs actively involved in creating a global awareness. Nuclear disarmament is not just a wish, it is a legal commitment agreed upon and signed by the five official nuclear states under the nuclear non- Proliferation treaty (NPT).
Mordechai Vanunu
Article VI of the NPT constitutes a formal and specific obligation of the five countries (USA, Russia, UK, France and China) to completely disarm their nuclear weapons. Those who argue for nuclear disarmament are simply asking the nuclear countries to fulfill their legal obligations. These countries have totally disrespected their legal obligations that they have agreed and signed and are demanding India, Pakistan, North Korea to sign the NPT.
Russia has about 13,000 nuclear stockpiles, USA with 9400, UK has about 185, France has 300 and China has 240. All these countries are supposed to disarm completely as per the NPT and they have completely ignored it. India, Pakistan, Israel and North korea have 80, 90, 90, 10 war heads. The two countries USA and Russia that have thousands of nuclear war heads should first reduce them to two digits followed by complete disarming of all the nine nations. Non proliferation and disarmament are inextricably linked. Without credible disarmament moves non proliferation treaty could not be strengthened. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention collective punishments are a war crime. The signatories of Geneva conventions are bound by convention to protect the civilians. The population should not be terrorized and collective punishments are prohibited. Deliberate killing of non combatants is of course terrorism.
Nuclear disarmament campaigns in India are not new. C. Rajagopalachari known as Rajaji, a freedom fighter, politician and ex-chief minister of Madras presidency was a well known proponent of world peace. His comment on nuclear weaponry is worth remembering. The international community needs more such politicians.
We do not wish to be poisoned, and we do not want our progeny to be the victims of genetic damage just because the Powers cannot trust one another and settle their problems. Whether it be one big blast or one hundred smaller blasts, the nuclear programme is a delusion and a snare for everybody. Once the game starts the frustrated party has no escape from using its power to strike effectively, and that means the last, or last but one step to annihilation.
– C. RAJAGOPALACHARI, 1957
The speech given by Indian Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the conference ”Towards a world free of nuclear weapons” should be appreciated. http://www.gsinstitute.org/archives/000334.html
India is ready to add its own weight and voice to the global debate on nuclear disarmament with a view to crafting…a consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation. We need a collective approach anchored in a universal partnership that is supported by non- governmental communities and public opinion. We hope that other states will agree to a dialogue on these proposals, and will join us in committing to nuclear disarmament.That is the critical first step – a commitment, preferably a binding legal commitment through an international instrument, to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework.
The nuclear disarmament talks have been recklessly neglected by the super powers. Possession of nuclear weapons is being justified as a necessity for national security. Similar to all the 9 nuclear nations, every single nation in this globe has a right to defend its territories and maintain its sovereignity. Each and every nation can claim that “national security” is their priority and hence could start building nuclear reactors. Had there been nuclear bombs with Palestine, Israel wouldnt have been as aggressive to Palestine as it is today; had there been nuclear bombs with Iraq and afghanistan, Western imperialistic war on these two countries could have be averted. So its always the small countries that are attacked by mighty forces and hence they are the ones who require nuclear weapons. Every nation will try to acquire nuclear weapons in order to protect its boundary and citizens, especially the smaller and oil rich nations which are vulnerable to imperialistic attacks. The present nuclear policy will undoubtedly lead to nuclear proliferation. Nuclear disarmament move by the super powers will certainly change the dynamics of global security.
The threat that the nuclear weapons of mass destruction pose to the entire human civilizations and the whole of humanity is serious. There are different sorts of people who worry about the lack of patriotic, linguistic, religious, ethnic importance/values in the society. But not much people worry about the real threat to the entire mankind including that of the religious, ethnic, cultural values through the nuclear weapons.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMvawO51PiM]
Mordechai Vanunu is a man of conscience. When Israel was secretly building the nuclear reactors, Vanunu was working as a
technician and when he realized that Israel was building the nuclear reactor he exposed the nuclear secrets to the media “British Sunday Times”. Israel accused him as traitor and he was in Israeli prison for 18 years, part of the term under cruel solitary confinement. Even though Vanunu did not expose the nuclear secrets to enemy countries or to any foreign security organizations Israeli’s still consider him as a traitor and the Arab – Israeli’s are afraid to befriend him. Israel still refuses to allow him to leave the country and start a new life.
After 23 years of suffering, let Mordechai Vanunu become a free man. War should cease to be an admissible social act. Under international law war is still legal, and indiscriminate killing of women, children and non-combatants are illegal. Rather than taking “false” nationalistic pride in nuclear weapons, let us nurture the sense of belonging to the mankind and unequivocally oppose the nuclear weapons of mass destruction which is a threat to the age old human civilization.
The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him… The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself… All progress depends on the unreasonable man. – George Bernard Shah
- Ram Prasad is a researcher by profession, a citizen journalist and a human rights activist working towards peace and to create global awareness on gender based violence.
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4 Comments
Ram, I appreciate the general slant of your article, but it is a profound distortion to claim that Vanunu “did not expose the nuclear secrets to enemy countries or to any foreign security organizations,” when in fact, he revealed exactly that to the entire world.
Well the writer has exaggerated the whole situation. Even though both US and Russia have 1000′s of Nuclear weapons all are not in a position to be launched at a go, very few are setup, by the time they do setup it will be destroyed by enemy attack. Out of the thousands of weapons only 6-10 will go blasting and thus bringing down the planning structure and rest of weapons, so no question of earth being threatened by 1000′s of weapons. Well if that is considered, any moment from now a rogue asteroid can hit earth and destroy everything at a blink, this is more of a threat than a full fledged war where 1000′s of nuclear bombs are exploded. BE REALISTIC.
If at all US and RUSSIA go to war the main suffers will be UK, FRANCE, US may be italy and germany on one side RUSSIA, CHINA on other side, not other nations.
Certainly it will not end the world, well the world may be credited with new life without these filthy nations bringing new era.
Well writing above sentences i do not support any weaponisation, all i want to say is its not that dangerous to completely eradicate Humans.
NPT or CTBT will never succeed until both US and Russia completely destroy all their weapons. Also Uranium should be made illegal and newer methods like THORIUM should be used to produce energy.
David, Till now Israel has not accepted to the world community that it possess nuclear weapons. Israel was building the reactor illegally and Vanunu exposed that to the media. Neither Israel was legally “right” to build the reactor nor the British Sunday Times belonged to Binladen. I stand by my statement.
Well if that is considered, any moment from now a rogue asteroid can hit earth and destroy everything at a blink, this is more of a threat than a full fledged war where 1000’s of nuclear bombs are exploded. BE REALISTIC.
- Lohit,
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Nobody pays any tax for the “rogue” asteroid nor we invite them to bombard the Mother Earth. Many sinhala chauvenists argued in the same line that Sri Lankan detention camps were better than Tsunami affected camps. The supporters of mumbai attack can argue that the damage caused by the “rogue” earthquake in 2001 in Gujarath is much more severe than 26/11.
Natural disasters are beyond our control. A mild earthquake in Bombay or California can take hundreds of thousands of life in a second. We have not found a solution to tackle such natural disasters nor we will be able to avoid asteroid attack, earthquake or hurricane. In Rajaji’s words, if powers cannot trust one another and settle their problems why should our younger generations be affected.
The current nuclear policy will lead to proliferation. The war might not happen today or tomorrow. Everynation might gain nuclear weapons in the next 30 or 40 or 100 years. What will be the result if there is an alliance between powercentres like that happened in world war I and 2. We cannot say that we dont care about the future. Otherwise there wouldnt have been any talks about global warming, CO2 emission etc.,
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