No more Chernobyl, no Fukushima: No to nuclear energy worldwide!

Reacting to the Fukushima tragedy, more than 35 national and international civil society organisations and individuals have issued the following call to end reliance on nuclear power.

THE tragedy in Japan has aroused worldwide solidarity due to the loss of thousands of human lives and of vast regions and cities caused by the magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated major parts of Japanese territory. The undersigned networks, organisations, and individuals wish to first express our deepest condolences to the Japanese people and make known our shared grief and sympathy for the humanitarian emergency caused by this disaster.

Meanwhile, we find extremely worrying the impact of the natural disaster on the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, causing explosions and leading to serious risks due to the release of radioactive material, a situation that may worsen if the elements of this plant are fused by overheating. Two more nuclear plants are also at risk in Onagawa and Tokai. The Japanese government has been forced to shut down at least 11 nuclear plants in order to prevent further disaster, leaving more than 6 million people without electricity. Some 200,000 people have been evacuated to avoid possible exposure to the harmful effects of a nuclear accident, and public health measures are being taken for the exposed population. The nuclear damage and risk show how unjust this system is;the Fukushima plant is to supply the metropolitan area with electricity but residents near the plant have suffered its risks the most, meanwhile profit-making enterprises promote the exportation of nuclear power-generating plants as 'clean energy'.

This tragic situation alerts us ONCE MORE to the enormous danger nuclear plants pose to the survival and security of the world, and reminds us of the resistance of those Japanese activists who refused to build the plants 40 years ago. Today the world is changing not only because of the threat of natural disasters but also due to climate change, which has produced major flooding, landslides and severe changes in the habitability of the planet, such as recent mudslides in Rio de Janeiro that threatened nuclear plants in the area and caused them to be stopped until the situation stabilises. This global vulnerability requires much reflection, but above all, an awareness of the fact that technology and money will not save lives once tragedies occur.

The climate crisis and the demand for energy have led large corporations and developed countries to discuss nuclear energy as a clean and sustainable alternative energy. The World Bank's own energy programmes consider nuclear power, along with large hydroelectric dams, to be an important possibility. But it is increasingly clear that these are false solutions that only increase danger and the vulnerability of humanity in the face of global changes.

Nuclear energy is being proposed as an alternative, 'clean' source of energy in climate change negotiations, but it has repeatedly proven capable of escaping both technical and human control and affecting millions of people, particularly future generations, with potential adverse effects on life. The same danger is related to the treatment of toxic waste that contaminates our planet. Multilateral forums such as the Rio+20 process, the UN Climate Convention, and forums related to alternative energy should take seriously the dangers of nuclear energy. We urge governments to listen to their peoples and to the voices of civil society around the world that express opposition to the false solutions. We call on governments to focus on ensuring the survival of millions of people around the world and their right to shelter, health, and food sovereignty, instead of weakening conditions on the planet by following the dictates of capital.

We demand a move toward decommissioning nuclear plants throughout the world, and a search for real solutions for the people, and ask that every precaution be taken to avoid regrettable damage. Chernobyl and Fukushima are warnings that should compel governments to stop insisting on continuing to promote these projects. The use of nuclear power for energy supply, and worse, for the purposes of war, must stop.

Business does not interest us, what interests us is the life and safety of the population without increasing their vulnerability.                                   

FUKUSHIMA AND CHERNOBYL ARE ENOUGH! NO MORE NUCLEAR ENERGY!    

*Third World Resurgence No. 248, April 2011, p 30