Thursday, 16 August, 2007

by Christine Milne
The Australian Greens

Prime Minister John Howard, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Senator Helen Coonan, representing the Foreign Minister in the Senate, have all today claimed that India has a solid record on nuclear proliferation.

Here are the facts.

* In 1974, India became the first nation outside the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to test a nuclear weapon, opening the doors for others to follow. Tests have continued since that date, despite India being one of only a handful of countries to refuse to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

* The 1974 test was a direct consequence of the deliberate misuse of civilian nuclear technology, provided under a peaceful-use requirement, by the USA and Canada. India secretly shifted materials, provided under those deals, to its weapons program. What is to stop that happening again?

* "Indian nuclear entities and trading companies have procured nuclear dual-use equipment and material overseas without specifying that the end-user is an unsafeguarded uranium enrichment plant. In so doing, India has conducted illicit procurement for its nuclear programs."
[http://www.isis-online.org/publications/southasia/indiacritique.pdf]

* "India's procurement system for its gas centrifuge program leaks sensitive gas centrifuge information through its bidding or "tendering" process."
[http://www.isis-online.org/publications/southasia/indiacritique.pdf]

* "In 2005 two Indian companies were sanctioned by the United States for transferring missile and chemical weapons technology to Iran, and two nuclear scientists who had worked for India's state-run nuclear utility were barred from doing business with the U.S. government after it was discovered that they had secretly aided Iran's nuclear program."
[http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3533]

* "David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, has argued that three factors contribute to a flawed nonproliferation record for India in the nuclear area: a poorly implemented national export control system; an illicit procurement system for its own nuclear weapons program, and a procurement system that may unwittingly transfer sensitive information about uranium enrichment." [http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/76840.pdf]

Senator Milne said, "To claim that India has a clean record on nuclear issues is wrong, disingenuous and dangerous."