Austrian Green Protest against US-India Agreement:
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Ulrike Lunacek, EGP Co-Spokesperson and Austrian Green Party's spokesperson on foreign affairs, took part in a protest in Vienna on Thursday 4th September against the US-India Agreement. This agreement would make nuclear trade with India possible, even though India has not yet signed several important international arms control agreements. |
Ulrike Lunacek's statement :
DON'T GIVE IN TO THE PRO-NUCLEAR LOBBY!!
On September 4 and 5, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will again discuss and perhaps decide on the highly controversial US-India Agreement. In June 2005 the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and US President George W. Bush signed the so-called 123 Agreement. This agreement will make nuclear trade with India possible, even though the country has not yet signed international arms control treaties (such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT, and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, CTBT).
Austria as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand have demanded changes in the draft of the Indian-specific waiver of the NSG at the last meeting in mid-August. Nonetheless, the proposed changes to be discussed today and tomorrow are merely cosmetic. Demanding that India should sign the international arms control treaties did not even enter the NSG debate. Ms Ursula Plassnik, the Austrian Foreign Minister, as well as the governments of the other five countries must not give in to the immense pressure that is being exerted on them to accept the NSG waiver, which does not contain any of the changes they requested. Pakistan and Iran who already called for "same rights for all" because of their own nuclear ambitions, could otherwise rightfully complain about double standards. Green light for the US-India nuclear deal means further weakening the international proliferation regime. It also means weakening future negotiations with the other de-facto or would-be nuclear powers, whether they have signed the NPT (Iran) or not (Pakistan, Israel).
The Greens therefore demand:
- No support for an Indian-specific NSG waiver!
- Indiahas to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NP) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)as well as pro-actively support negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT)!
- No further weakening of the international non-proliferation regime!
MP Ulrike Lunacek
Foreign Affairs Spokesperson of the Austrian Green Party
Co-Spokesperson of the European Green Party
