nCa Commentary
Ashgabat, 22 Mar—The second Nuclear Summit will be held 26-27 March 2012 in Seoul. The first summit took place in April 2010 in Washington DC.
The Seoul summit where leaders from 53 countries and 4 international organizations are expected to gather will collectively represent the 80% of global population and 90% of world GDP.
The 11-point Seoul Communique will sum up the existing instruments and new initiatives for nuclear security.
There is understandably the need to tackle the emerging threats of nuclear terrorism, protection of nuclear materials and facilities, prevention of illicit trade in nuclear materials and technologies, and othe related issues.
North Korea and Iran will certainly loom large in the summit.
The summit motto describes it all aptly: Beyond Security, Toward Peace.
However, for the summit to be effective there is the need to shed biases.
Denuclearization cannot be selective. We cannot say that Iran and North Korea should stop their nuclear activities but the United States should keep its vast arsenals that are enough to blow up dozens of planets of the size of earth.
The summit needs to borrow the basic blueprint from Central Asia.
Central Asia is the first region that has voluntarily given up nuclear path. This was achieved because of total equality among regional states. No one said that I will keep my nukes but you should dismantle everything.
That is the main barrier. Some countries are adamant on retaining their own arsenals while pressing others for disarmament. There is inherent hypocrisy in this approach and no one gives a damn about it.
Moreover, no one should forget that the only country that has used nuclear option so far is the United States. If there is one candidate for mandatory denuclearization, it is the United States.
The self serving attitude of the United States is actually causing financial and economic hardship to the rest of the world. Korea, where the summit will take place, is feeling the economic pinch of the irrational policies of the United States of mindless confrontation.
Speaking of nuclear terrorism, there is the need to recognize the the United States is one of a handful of countries that are capable of nuclear terrorism and it keeps saying every week to a scared world that “all options are on the table.”
As far as North Korea is concerned, its current intentions cannot be pegged solely on the past experience. A fresh leader presently settling in office will need some time to think everything carefully. Direct conciliatory gestures by Seoul, without any meddling by the USA, could possibly help encourage the atmosphere of trust for both sides.
There is the need to adjust the focus: Are we talking of a safer world or are we actually trying to ensure American supremacy by discouraging everyone else from developing nuclear technology?
If the purpose is to make the world a safer place, the only option is to declare the whole world a nuclear free zone, just like Central Asia has done within its own confines.
It will be extremely unwise to squander this important occasion merely to demonize Iran and North Korea.