Towards a World without Nuclear Weapons

Essay by Tan Ee King from Mentakab, Pahang

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Josei Toda’s declaration for the abolition of nuclear weapons, the English edition of COSMIC organised an essay contest based on the theme of how we, the citizens of the world, can work constructively towards abolishment of nuclear weapons. The topic given was "Towards a World without Nuclear Weapons".

Honourable ladies and gentlemen, let me take you on the journey towards a world without nuclear weapons. To stay the exact course is not sustainable nor a viable option.

But we still arrive at the same destination - a world at peace. This must be our goal and the rightful inheritance for the future generation. I shall give the reasons and explain the ways we could go about achieving peace. You and I desire this same goal, only taking a different path, sprinkled with a dash of pragmatism, especially knowing the ways of men since the dawning of civilisation on earth.

John Lennon of the Beatles’ fame would imagine a world without nuclear weapons and let there be peace. Not many of the post-Beatles generation realise that in the last 3,000 years, men have fought some 15,000 wars. To win battles quickly weapons have advanced in sophistication. To the extent that about 200,000 people were killed in the world’s first two atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945, ending the Japanese military aggression in Asia. A prolonged war would have caused much misery and death in the occupied lands. This has been the justification for dropping the bombs. So far, they remain the only atomic-based bombs dropped on Earth.

The ultra efficient nuclear bomb of today would ensure the total annihilation of the world population of six billion people in a couple of hours. Its destructive power equals a hundredfold of the Japanese experience. This realisation caused undue magnified fear to the silent majority who now clamour for a world without nuclear weapons.

The United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Russia, France, China, India and Pakistan are the full-fledged seven-nations possessing nuclear weapons. The call for the abolishment of these weapons could only be realised through a tacit agreement from them. The million-dollar question is: would they? Assuming they agree, the next question is: how do they go about it?

To answer the former we need to look at the interactions among themselves. Understanding how they behave and their respective standings in the world order is important because it has a life and death bearing on the rest of the world.

The collapse of the mighty Soviet Union to that of Russia today and the communist East Germany effectively put the Cold War out of business, but not without tense moments such as the Cuban missile crisis in a triparte power struggle among the old Russia, Fidel Castro of Cuba and the then US President, John F. Kennedy. The United States now reigns supreme as the world’s only superpower.

On a "buddy-omatic" scale, we have a tripolar situation - the well-known alliance of the US and the UK as opposed to the loose grouping of Russia, France and China. Standing opposing each other are India and its long-time foe, Pakistan. Simmering underneath are induced sub-set alliances such as the cooperation given by Pakistan in the invasion of Afghanistan.

The psychic of man has always been coloured by greed, hatred and delusion. It is an undeniable fact that men have never stopped killing each other either in peace or in war. The inherent "kiasu" attitude as in afraid-to-lose also serve to contribute to the deep-seated mistrust mentality of every nation. As a result, it would be unthinkable to expect who or which group to nuclearly disarm first. Either all at the same time or none at all.

Assuming miracle happens and they all agreed to dismantle their nuclear facilities, self-detonation would be out of the question. The only way is to dismantle the reactors and nuclear stockpiles. These include the energy-churning nuclear reactors because of their propensity to produce uranium-enriched fuel used in the production of nuclear weapons.

Next to be "eliminated" would be all existing scientist knowledgeable in space-age sciences. They would have to be put under house arrest to prevent leakages of nuclear knowledge. So, what kind of a world would that be? The entire world then loses the moral authority to advocate any inkling of human rights.

The best bet then would be to anchor on a more substantive and pervasive Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) by enlarging beyond the existing 190 signatories while allowing the status quo of the elitist seven nuclear weapons-possessing nations to remain.

NPT is crucial in countering the dangers posed by any organisation bent on terrorist acts when it becomes nuclear-literate and financially-able to produce nuclear weapons. As with any bet, there are some odds stacked against it. In this case the carrot and stick approach has gotten its money’s worth. This is evident in the North Korea debacle, a designated rouge state and a likely source in the proliferation of nuclear weapon technology. This problem has been nipped-in-the-bud.

The six-party talks involving the two Koreas with the US, Russia, China and Japan on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament in exchange for economic aids and political concessions have been successfully concluded recently. Its Yongbyon 5-megawatt nuclear reactor would be dismantled with the monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The 35-nation Board Agency would do well to enlarge its membership with the inclusion of newly emerging developed countries such as Singapore to shore up its growing financial needs for more effective policing.

We have of late, witnessed Iran’s attempts to thwart the US and the European Union’s efforts to negotiate a North Korean type settlement on dismantling of its nuclear facility. Tehran has insisted that their nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes although US and its allies are suspicious of its intention. The UN Security Council though have voted to impose economic sanction hopping to cripple its financial capability to continue support further developments of its nuclear facility.

Indeed, the prohibitive cost of nuclear production means that any nation attempting to do so would impoverished itself. The recent mass protest by the peace-loving Iranian people against their government of high unemployment and crippling inflation clearly highlights the burden in financing nuclear ambitions which cost astronomical sums of money.

Democracy does help to keep in check the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Even dictatorial state like the North Korea case, a multi-party negotiated settlement is still possible.

So, we witnessed here today of the successful workings of the check and balance concept in democracy. The other crucial principle is a regular change of governments through the wills of the people by the ballot box.

The world needs at least one superpower to help keep peace, as ironic as it sounds. The other nations possessing nuclear weapons provide the check and balance. Since the advent of nuclear weapons so many countries have prospered. Mismanagement has never failed in the change of government come election time. Even the sole superpower United States never fails to renew itself in a fresh change of government every now and then. While dictatorial governments are always corrupt and remain impoverished as a nation, they would therefore lack the means to finance huge expenditure nuclear project.

As such the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons may well be the least of our concern as it is, mother earth is beset with other concerns: global-warming; H5Nl avian flu; HIV-aids; seismic and climatic-borne natural disasters; substance-abuse; organised crimes in human trafficking; poverty and war-displaced refugee problem. They are all equally urgent and of equal gravity.

One thing is clear though. If there is peace on earth, a number of these problems would be solved. Peace is really the key to the attainment of socio-economic progress and of scientific discoveries for the betterment of mankind.

Everything man creates begins in the form of a thought. Good man good thoughts, evil man evil thoughts. Our present world state of affair is the sum total of all the thoughts of all men. As it is impossible to weed out all evil men, there would always be the need for self-defence.

Nuclear technology also has benefited mankind, in the fields of advance medical science and space exploration. It is not coincidental that those nations who have launched satellites also possess the base technology from the production of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear energy, if properly harnessed and maintained, would be a great alternative energy source besides the depletive fossil-fuel, climate dependent hydropower, wind farm and solar energy.

Safety knowledge in nuclear reactors has improved tremendously over the years. It is always the fear of the unknown. What we know nowadays would have allayed a lot of our unnecessary fears of yesteryear. Knowledge with experience would enhance our confidence in nuclear technology as weapon deterrence and as a viable alternative energy source.

Throughout the ages, men have proven to be a resourceful breed. Apart from space, men have opened up a new frontier in deep sea exploration. Peace as a concept not only ensures the continuing survival of the human race but also provides a conducive condition and environment for civilisation to flourish.

[ Courtesy December 2007 Cosmic]