Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Indian and American Doctors Agree: Nuclear Deal is Bad
On August 17, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Indian Doctors for Peace and Development, respectively U.S. and Indian affiliates of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, issued a Joint Statement on the U.S.-India nuclear deal.
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This is an important joint statement, especially because it comes from physicians in India who are concerned about the dangers of nuclear proliferation poses to human life and health.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Parliament in India does not have the opportunity, as have the US Senate and House of Representatives, to vote for or against the 123 cooperation agreement, opponents of the deal could potentially withdraw their support for the Singh government and cause the government coalition to collapse. Opponents in the Indian Parliament have been particularly vocal in their opposition to the deal recently and have insisted on the creation of a Committee to review the agreement, potentially delaying India’s negotiations with the IAEA.
As for the NSG, one or additional member countries could veto the proposed change to the international guidelines that currently prohibit nuclear trade with India (successful change to the guidelines must be approved by consensus), or could simply delay taking up the issue. In both cases, the US-India nuclear agreement could not be implemented without violating international law.