The world may finally bid good bye
to all nuclear test explosions. But
there are a few stumbling blocks to
be crossed before leaders from 93
countries give their final approval
to the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT), by the end of the
current session of the Conference
of Disarmament, on June 28. The
treaty, which seeks to ban nuclear
tests including the smallest laboratory tests, will be opened for signature at the UN General Assembly in September.
This time around, negotiators
will try and hammer out a consensus on the highly contentious terms
of the treaty. The session began on
a note of optimism as one of the
main contenders, China, expressed
its willingness to adopt a flexible
approach on its demand that the
treaty should allow peaceful
nuclear explosions. The Chinese
ambassador to the UN, Sha Zukang
said, "We do not want to see a complete denial of the use (of peaceful
nuclear explosions} to developing
economies". In turn, China has
proposed strict monitoring of
'peaceful blasts' for purposes such
as largescale construction projects,
mining, oil production and geological survey of minerals.
Meanwhile, preparations are
underwayat the Lop Nor test site in
northwest China, to carry out two
explosions sometime in May and
again between September and
October. The environmental
group, Greenpeace said that it will
protest against these tests by sending its peace ship to China.
Opposition to the treaty is also
expected from India which has
always maintained that the CTBT
be linked to a commitment by the
nuclear haves towards total nuclear
disarmament. India's stand is likely
to deter Pakistan from signing the
treaty. India, Pakistan and Israel
are consdidered to be on threshold
of gaining nuclear power status.
Said ambassador Stephen Ledogar,
chief US negotiator, " A treaty without China or India would be a
worst-case scenario".
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