Conferences and Meetings

The Resolution International Conference The Indo-US Nuclear Deal 10-11 March, 2007 Mumbai

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Dear Friends,

Please find attached herewith the Resolution adopted, along with a short report on, at an “International Seminar” held in Mumbai, India on 10-11 March on the Indo-US nuclear deal, which is self explanatory.
The seminar was held at the initiative of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization headquartered in Cairo in collaboration with the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), India and a number of other local/international organizations (the list is included in the short report). Friends of the Earth Australia is a prominent international organization participating. The international organizations endorsing the seminar include, amongst others, the Mayors for Peace.

The demands raised are as under:
Quote:
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 Non-Aligned Movement and other international alliances geared against 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.
Unquote:
A copy of the resolution and report in plain text is also reproduced below.
Hope, given the highly informed inputs from a number of Indian and international experts and activists of great acclaim, you will give your kind consideration to the points made in the Resolution .


N.B. If you would like to endorse the list of NGOs, simply reply to this e-mail with Name of Organization, and country before April 25, 2007
 

Thanking you.
Yours sincerely


Sukla Sen                                               Nouri Abdul Razzak Hussain
CNDP, Mumbai                                    Secretary-General
 

Resolution

The International Seminar on “Indo-US Nuclear 'Deal' - India, South Asia, NAM and the Global Order” held in Mumbai, on March 10-11 was organized by a number of local organizations, as per
the attached list ‘A’, and endorsed/participated by the international organizations, as per the attached list ‘B’.
After due and in-depth 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 nerve-wracking 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 non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation 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 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group so that it unanimously amends its rules, which as of now prohibits nuclear trade with India – being a non-signatory 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 non-proliferation, 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 non-proliferation 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 Bomb-making. 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 spine-chilling 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 Middle-East 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 resource-guzzling, 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 Non-Aligned 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 Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon.
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:
Akshara
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
Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action(YUVA))
 

'B'
International Organisations Endorsing:
Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation
Friends of the Earth Australia
Mayors for Peace
South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Canada

Event Details
10.3.2007 (SATURDAY)
10 00-11 00: Registration & Inauguration.
Welcome Speech: Admiral (Rtd.) L Ramdas (PIPFPD/CNDP).

11 00-14 00: 1st Plenary: 'Indo-US Nuke Deal: India, Non-Aligned Movement and the Emerging Global Order'.
Speakers: Achin Vanaik (CNDP), A.A.M Marleen PC (Secretary-General, AAPSO, Sri Lanka), Ashim Roy (General Secretary, NTUI), Ms. Hamsa Abd El-Hamid (International Secretariat, AAPSO, Cairo).
Chair: Fr. Allwyn D'Silva (FJP/ICOR).

15 00-18 00: 2nd Plenary: 'Indo-US 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 00-13 00: 3rd Plenary: 'Indo-US 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 00-18 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
March 12 (Monday)
03 30 – 04 30:
Press Conference