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