Saturday, January 16, 2010
The International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation unequivocally condemns India's recent series of nuclear weapons tests. Regardless of the reasons put forward by the Indian Government and others, it is important to note that, through these tests, the Indian government has demonstrated its ability to threaten people in the neighboring countries with nuclear destruction. By publicly declaring itself to be a nuclear weapon state, the Indian government joins the current set of five states that have long made it clear that they are prepared to use this ability. We unequivocally oppose the use or the threat of mass destruction anywhere. This is immoral and unacceptable.
INESAP has consistently opposed and will continue to oppose any and all nuclear weapons related tests, including those that are presently not covered by the comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. There can be no justification for any state to engage in activities that allow it to design, develop, test and maintain nuclear weapons since these are fundamentally weapons of terror and mass destruction. These weapons are repugnant to civilized society.
The five Indian nuclear explosions are a strong escalating step in a nuclear arms race in South Asia. We believe that by its actions, the government of India has knowingly and willfully incited its neighboring state of pakistan, with whom it has fought three wars and has hostile relations, to test this will further increase the possibility that nuclear threats may be made, and unclear weapons deployed and used in South Asia. In a region that is home to one fifth of humanity, this would be a catastrophe so great that it can barely be imagined and must be prevented.
The nuclear explosions in India clearly demonstrate the weakness of the current non-proliferation regime which rests on the continued existence of declared nuclear weapon states and does not sufficiently undermine incentives to acquire unclear weapons. Therefore, the signatories keep up their own unclear arsenals and have not entered a process leading to their elimination. On the other hand, we reject the claim by the government of India that its unclear weapon tests were justified because of the existence of a "nuclear environment" in its neighborhood. This refers to China and Pakistan, as well as to other unclear weapons states some of which deploy nuclear weapons in the international waters close to India. In the same way that murder does not justify more murder, seeking a capability to carry out mass destruction cannot be ju8stified by saying that others already have it.
We believe this argument applies with equal force to the government of Pakistan. What India has done will not justify a unclear test by Pakistan. The only acceptable solution to the threats posed by existing unclear weapons is not more unclear weapons but the abolition of all such weapons.
