Date:09/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/09/stories/2007090961091000.htm

National

Deal will push India into U.S. strategic orbit, say experts

Special Correspondent

“Nuclear power accident-prone and generates radioactive waste”

Will aggravate nuclear arms race in South Asia
Nuclear power more expensive than conventional or renewable energy

NEW DELHI: Intellectuals and energy analysts from different countries have criticised the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal on the ground that it is bad for peace, will draw India into Washington’s strategic orbit and promote nuclear power, which is hazardous, accident-prone and costly.

At an international conference here organised by the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, Heinrich Boll Foundation, and Popular Education and Action Centre, experts and activists from the U.S., Germany, Pakistan, Nepal and India analysed the deal’s strategic dimensions and its implications for security and India’s energy future.

Violates U.N. resolutions

In his keynote address, economist Jean Dreze stressed the immorality of nuclear weapons, the irrationality of nuclear deterrence and the dangers of a “nuclearised” South Asia. He said the deal violates various international norms, treaties and United Nations resolutions.

Other speakers warned against the harmful consequences of this collusive strategic arrangement between India and the U.S., which is pursuing global military dominance. Andrew Lichterman (U.S.) said the deal is part of a larger project of integrating the two countries’ elites - at the cost of peace and people’s welfare.

Other panellists, including Achin Vanaik, said the deal is related to the U.S. push towards Empire through building a global alliance system. A lively packed auditorium disagreed with a Pakistani panellist’s (Ejaz Haider) contention that it would not be right for a Pakistani to comment on the deal.

There was unanimity that the deal will aggravate the nuclear arms race in South Asia and the Asian continent and further weaken the already feeble momentum for regional and global disarmament. The present moment poses new, unique dangers in a world that has greatly changed since the end of the Cold War.

Contrary to the claim that the deal will cap India’s nuclear arsenal, it will allow India to greatly increase weapons-grade plutonium production, sufficient for as many as 40 bombs every year, in addition to India’s estimated inventory of 100-150 bombs.

Speakers, including Kanak Mani Dixit (Nepal), A.H. Nayyar (Pakistan), Praful Bidwai (India), and Oliver Meier (Germany), spoke on serious misgivings about the deal in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal and Europe, and the grave dangers of a regional nuclear arms race initiated through it. In response to it, Pakistan is greatly accelerating its fissile material production.

As regards nuclear power, the speakers argued that the deal is being wrongly promoted in the name of energy security. Experience from the world over, especially India, shows that nuclear power cannot be the route to energy security. It is environmentally unsound, highly accident-prone and generates radioactive waste that remain hazardous for tens of thousands of years.

Speakers, including Felix Matthes (Germany), Sudha Mahalingam, Sanghamitra Gadekar and M.V. Ramana (India), said nuclear power is two to three times more expensive than conventional or renewable energy. Its rapid growth is infeasible. It cannot make a significant contribution to tackling climate change and is inappropriate for India’s specific needs. Besides, there are commercially viable, environmentally sustainable, strategies such as increased efficiency and promotion of renewable energy sources.