[sacw] [ACT] South Asians Against Nukes Post (28 Jan 00)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asians Against Nukes Post
28 January 2000
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#1. India: RSS [India's SS] pledges to stop Vajpayee from signing CTBT
#2. U.K.: Nuclear test veterans await verdict
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#1.

Rediff on the Net
27 January 2000
http://www.rediff.com/news/

RSS pledges to stop Vajpayee from signing CTBT

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh may set up an organisation to stop the
National Democratic Alliance government from signing the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty.

"We are totally opposed to signing the CTBT at this juncture and will set
up a special anti-CTBT front, similar to the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, to
ensure that the government does not buckle under pressure," declared
Seshadri Chari, editor of Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece.

The RSS had constituted the Swadeshi Jagran Manch to oppose the
government's plans to further liberalise the economy and allow more foreign
investment. The SJM, which is committed to a nationalist economy, has been
in the forefront of opposing foreign investment.

Since many in the Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest party in the NDA, are
affiliated to the RSS, the opposition will make it extremely difficult for
the government to ratify the CTBT.

The RSS move is in answer to the government's indication in recent times
that it would sign the CTBT provided India's "requirements" were met,
though it is not clear what those are.

Chari welcomed news reports that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has
reservations about signing the CTBT in its present form. The PM was also
reported as saying that all countries whose signature is needed to make the
CTBT effective must sign without conditions.

"We should not sign the CTBT now because we still do not know all the
clauses of the treaty," said Chari. "The issue has not even been discussed
by the experts in the fields of defence, diplomacy, external and internal
security, and international law and treaties."

Chari also said that unless the country was made aware of the implications
of the CTBT, there was no question of doing so.

"The RSS is hellbent on not signing the treaty," he said.

His party was of the view that there must be wide-ranging discussions on
the CTBT, he added.

Chari also said that signing CTBT might lead to India coming under the
Non-Proliferation Treaty, which discriminated against India.

"Why have we spent millions on our nuclear technology if the final purpose
is to sign the CTBT and then be barred from further developing our
technology?" he asked.

In the wake of the United States Senate rejecting the ratification of the
CTBT, the government must on no account sign the treaty, he added.

Asked about the proposed anti-CTBT front, Chari said it would be set up
only if required. He refused to give any timeframe.

"We will set it up the moment we perceive that the government is moving
towards CTBT. As yet we don't perceive the need for it. It will comprise
retired defence officers, scientists, and other experts," he said.

The RSS official also said that if the visit of US President Bill Clinton
was linked to India signing the CTBT, there was no need for the president's
coming.

With the RSS opposing the treaty, a move matched by the Leftist parties,
the government will have a difficult time getting Parliament to ratify it.
However, the Congress, the second largest party in the Lok Sabha, is yet to
make its stand known. The NDA and Congress together would be an unbeatable
majority in Parliament.
____________

#2.
BBC News Online
=46riday, 28 January, 2000, 02:41 GMT

Nuclear test veterans await verdict

Thousands of servicemen witnessed tests on
Christmas Island

Veterans of British nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1950s will find out
on Friday if their human rights were violated by the government of the day.

The European Court of Human Rights threw out a similar claim in June 1998
but the servicemen have returned with fresh evidence.

About 12,000 servicemen witnessed nuclear tests on Christmas Island - in
what is now the Republic of Kiribati - during the 1950s. Around 3,000 are
still alive.

Ken McGinley, a former Royal Engineer from Renfrewshire, is one of two
members of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Associations who has applied
to the European court.

If the judgement goes in favour of the veterans, it could mean they
receive thousands of pounds in compensation. The cost to the government
could be =A32bn.

Ken McGinley has waited 50 years
Mr McGinley says servicemen were given no anti-radiation protection and he
says that he and many of his former comrades-in-arms have suffered a number
of serious illnesses. He has had half of his stomach removed because of
cancer.

Mr McGinley, who began his campaign in 1982, says even if they lose the
case the fight for recognition will continue.

'Little protective clothing'

He was one of thousands of servicemen who witnessed the detonation of
atomic and nuclear devices on Christmas Island.

Many watched from the beach, others cleared the site after the explosions.
=46ew had protective clothing.

Many have since contracted cancers and other serious illnesses.

The tests happened at the height of the Cold War
The Ministry of Defence has granted pensions to ex-servicemen and widows,
but will not admit liability.

Mr McGinley says Britain knew the risks of low-level radiation and its
failure to protect service personnel violated their human rights.

=2E The court may make one of three decisions - either agreeing to look at
the case again, declining to look at it again or ruling outright that their
rights have been violated.

The decision will be published on the court's website on Friday afternoon.