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APC-SA Newsletter May 2000
Speech: Year 2000 Non Proliferation Treaty Review ConferenceFrom: Issam Makhoul, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, Member of Knesset, Israel Ladies and Gentlemen, Conference Chair and Participants: The conference you are holding these days in New York could turn into an historical one regarding the Middle East, if it succeeds in ending the questionable chapter of special and lenient treatment of Israel and its nuclear policy, and thus, to bring it into the family of the nations. Ignoring Israel's position as a nuclear super power may lead the region to an insane arms race, and it creates a hazardous situation not only to the Middle East, but to the entire world. There is no doubt that the American auspice of the Israeli nuclear policy hinders the possibility of a safe world, free from weapons of mass destruction. Your conference today would continue to shoot itself in the "foot" if it goes on in covering up the Israeli nuclear policy. This crucial and dangerous issue cannot tolerate the double standards of the international community, nor the dangerous hypocrisy of the US position. The existential interest of the Israeli public, in this issue, is identical to the region's peoples', and it necessitates the participants of this conference to take effective and unequivocal steps needed to sway Israel from its stand, to urgently bring the nuclear and unconventional arms race, which Israel leads in the region, into a halt and to create a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction. Attaining these aims requires taking the following actions: 3) Starting regional negotiation based on the commitment of all parties in
the Middle East to dismantle all sorts of unconventional arsenal in the region,
including the Israeli nuclear weapons, and to refrain from its development. Please accept my best wishes, and those of the committed Anti-nuclear Forces, who are struggling relentlessly in Israel against the Israeli nuclear policy and its dangers, and succeeding in breaking the silence and policy of ambiguity on this issue. The climax of their activities will be in the planned demonstration to be held in front of the nuclear reactor in Dimona, on May 26, calling for its closure. We eagerly anticipate the success of your conference, and your ability to reach the needed decisions. Sincerely yours, Issam Makhoul, MK Democratic Front for Peace & Equality Fax: 972-2-6756497 'Shameful' housing for Indigenous people ( back to top )The Australian Democrats have called on the Government to "act immediately to fix the house and infrastructure problems in Indigenous communities" in the wake of the publication of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Senator Meg Lees said the findings of the report were a sad indictment on the lack of attention paid by the Government to the well being of indigenous communities. Quoting from the report, she said that there were major problems in Indigenous communities surveyed, including: The water supply failing testing in 34% of the communities tested ‘Missile dispute threatens NATO' ( back to top )The Times (UK) May 5, 2000 -- By Michael Evans.
Disagreements between the United States and its European allies on several key issues, particularly Washington's proposal to build a national missile defence system, are threatening the future of NATO, a report said yesterday. Past strains in the alliance had been "manageable" because of the willingness of all members to operate "on the basis of mutual trust", the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said in its annual Strategic Survey. The U.S. proposal for a limited missile defence system to protect against potential attacks from rogue states such as North Korea, however, was neither understood nor welcomed by European nations, the institute said. Europe was also "irritated" by the reluctance of the U.S. to give a clear signal of approval for its plans to develop the European Security and Defence Identity, which would lead to a European rapid reaction force of about 60,000 troops. "Many European members of NATO also expressed anger at what they saw as U.S. arrogance and unilateralism with regard to war with Yugoslavia over Kosovo," the report said. The institute added: "The danger for the coming years is that the bridge of communication seems to have broken down and, unless some way is found to reconstruct it, the loss of trust could have a profound impact on the alliance's cohesion." The biggest illustration that the U.S. and Europe were "marching to different drummers" was the argument over the American project to construct a national missile defence (NMD) system which would mean modifying the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The U.S. has had little success in convincing its European critics that its plans for NMD deployment are needed, sensible or useful .. . [and] many Europeans do not believe the system will ever work as intended," the report said. The report added: "There are few in Europe who believe the so-called
rogue states are led by men so irrational they would threaten the U.S. with
weapons of mass destruction carried on ballistic missiles, even if they were
able to do so.
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