[Marxism] Australian Uranium for India?

[Sukla Sen <suklasenp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la
liberté
Liga Internacional de Mujeres por la Paz y la Libertad
Internationale Frauenliga für Frieden und Freiheit
Consultative Status with United Nations ECOSOC, UNCTAD
and UNESCO
Special Consultative Relations with FAO, ILO and
UNICEF
International Headquarters, Geneva Switzerland
Australian Section Office, Adelaide
PO Box 345 Rundle Mall, 5000
(08) 8232 6334       Email:
wilpfaustralia@xxxxxxxxxxxx


26 July 2007

Hon Alexander Downer
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
CANBERRA   ACT   2600

Dear Minister,

We write as a matter of urgency since it appears that
the Howard Government may approve the export of
Australian uranium to India. We are dismayed at
today's media reports of your own advocacy for the
sale of Australian uranium to India on the spurious
grounds that "nuclear energy can contribute to
reduction of carbon dioxide emissions" - or words to
that effect.

In our letter of 21 April 2006, we outlined our
organisation's concerns about the undertaking by the
United States of America for the transfer of civilian
nuclear technology to India. We note in passing that
that deal has yet to be ratified by the US Congress.

In our letter of April 2006, we expressed concern that
the US/India deal would have the effect of undermining
the NPT since India is not a signatory to the NPT.
India remains outside the NPT and we draw to your
attention the 1998 United Nations Security Council
Resolution that "encourages all States to prevent the
export of equipment, materials or technology that
could in any way assist programs in India or Pakistan
for nuclear weapons".

India has very limited supplies of indigenous uranium.
If Australia were to proceed to export Australian
uranium to India, the potential exists for an
increased supply of uranium (uranium that would then
be supplied by Australia) thus allowing India to
allocate its own limited indigenous supply exclusively
to their nuclear weapons program. If this situation
were to eventuate, Australia would be undermining the
SC Resolution referred to above; Australia would
indeed be "assist[ing] programs in India S? for
nuclear weapons", a program that we emphasise remains
outside the NPT.

Incidentally, we note that the Federal Opposition as
well as the Australian Democrats and the Australian
Greens share the widespread community concerns about
this move since India has not signed the NPT.

Precisely because India stands outside the NPT, there
can be no nuclear safeguard agreement between
Australia and India that could allay the fears of many
other States Parties to the NPT. These fears were
given clear expression during the NPT PrepCom in
Vienna in May this year in the wake of the US/India
deal.

If the Howard Government were now to proceed to
approve Australian uranium exports to India, non-NWS
signatories to the NPT are likely to react to such
exports with alarm. They may well be justified in
asking why they should continue to observe their
Treaty obligations when a non-signatory such as India
is being given privileged access to potential nuclear
materials. Thus any export of Australian uranium to
India would serve to further erode the NPT at a time
when the Treaty is already under great pressure.  In
this context, it is pointless to speak of seeking to
ensure a stringent nuclear safeguards agreement.
Indeed, there could be no safeguards agreement
whatsoever (with a state such as India that is
non-signatory to the NPT) that would be capable of
preventing Australian uranium exports from
contributing to the erosion of the non-proliferation
machinery.

Perhaps most importantly, since India is located in
South Asia, a part of the world where nuclear weapons
tensions with Pakistan are often very volatile, sale
of Australian uranium could well add fuel to a nuclear
arms race in the region and would in any case
contribute to increased nuclear tensions. Indeed
Pakistan earlier expressed fears precisely along these
lines in response to the US/India deal and warned at
that time of increasing its stockpile of nuclear
weapons because of the advantages it saw India as
achieving.

Rather than selling Australian uranium to India, the
Australian Government should use its good offices with
the Government of India to persuade India to stop
producing fissile material and to ensure that India
should quickly join the NPT as a non-NWS. This would
be welcomed almost universally as an important
contribution to nuclear non-proliferation. Finally, we
urge the Australian Government to work through
international forums to ensure that India should sign
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and accept
full-scope safeguards and inspections in all of its
nuclear facilities.

We thank you for your kind attention and look forward
to your response.

Yours sincerely,



Cathy Picone and Ruth Russell
Joint National Coordinators



CC.: Mr Robert McClelland MP, Shadow Minister for
Foreign Affairs
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Australian Democrats
Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
Senator Bob Brown, Australian Greens Leader and
Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs


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