House's plan to pass nuclear bill protested<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of antinuclear activists marched to the
\nHouse of Representatives yesterday demanding that legislators
\ncancel their plan to endorse the government-sponsored bill on
\nnuclear power today.<\/p>\n
The members of the Indonesian Antinuclear Society asked for a
\nmeeting with House Speaker Wahono but were told he was abroad.
\nThey then unfurled banners and waved posters.<\/p>\n
\"People's representatives: Are you ready to carry the sin?\"
\nread one banner. \"Nuclear Power Plant Safe? Why Not in Jakarta?\"
\nanother poster read.<\/p>\n
The activists said they were planning another, bigger
\ndemonstration to coincide with the House's session this morning.<\/p>\n
They said the bill was prepared to justify the government's
\nplan to set up a nuclear power plant. In a statement, they also
\nsaid the drafting of the bill showed that the government had
\nignored existing laws, including the 1982 environmental law and
\nthe 1982 law on the prevention of the spreading of nuclear
\nweapons.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the deputy director general of the National Atomic
\nEnergy Agency, Agar Djaloeis, said he was optimistic the
\ngovernment would approve the construction of a nuclear power
\nstation in Java.<\/p>\n
Political opposition to the nuclear plant was not seen as a
\nserious matter. The strong voices against the nuclear plant
\nbelong to a \"very small minority,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But to a large extent, our people are not educated enough to
\nassess the pros and cons of nuclear power,\" he said, adding that
\namong the silent majority there was practically no significant
\nopposition to nuclear power.<\/p>\n
The nuclear plant, Indonesia's first, is likely to be built in
\nUjung Lemah Abang on the northern part of the Muria Peninsula on
\nthe northern coast of Central Java, he said.<\/p>\n
Djaloeis said the nearby volcanic Muria mountain had been
\ninactive for 320 years and posed no threat. If approved, the
\nplant would require between 120 and 180 tons of uranium a year,
\nand would have the capacity to generate 7,200 megawatts by 2015.<\/p>\n
Westinghouse Electric Co., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and
\nSamsung Corp have started a feasibility study to develop a
\nnuclear power station on a build\/own\/operate basis, Djaloeis
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Yesterday the activists said the bill was drafted without any
\nreference to the International Atomic Energy Association's
\nregulations or the Wina Convention or the France Convention.<\/p>\n
\"It's not clear who would be held responsible for nuclear
\nfallout caused by 'things beyond its operators' responsibility'
\nas stated in the bill's Article 29,\" they said.<\/p>\n
The bill, deliberated for only 37 working days, has also
\nfailed to state clearly the mechanisms through which a
\n\"victimized third party\" could sue if the second or third
\ngenerations after them suffered from genetic diseases caused by
\nnuclear radiation. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/houses-plan-to-pass-nuclear-bill-protested-1447893297",
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