NGOs call for delay of nuclear bill
NGOs call for delay of nuclear bill
JAKARTA (JP): Critics of the nuclear bill called for its
postponement yesterday to allow the public to contribute ideas on
its complex aspects.
Fourteen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on environment
and legal matters proposed in a joint statement that politicians
in charge of finalizing the bill learn more about the dangers of
nuclear energy.
Big names among the statement's signatories include the
Indonesian Forum for Environment, Indonesian Anti-Nuclear
Society, Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute and
International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development.
They listed 23 problems that have reportedly impeded the
deliberation of the highly controversial bill, which the
government expects to be passed into law by Dec. 12.
Critics have charged that the bill is a government ploy to
provide a legal basis for its controversial plan to build nuclear
power plants in densely populated Central Java.
They have openly expressed their objection to the plan, saying
they doubted Indonesian experts would be able to handle nuclear
accidents and that the scheme was the ambition of the powerful
few.
Among other things, the organization requested that more time
be provided to review the bill's basic aspects and to allow a
larger segment of the public to provide input to reflect the
people's aspirations, not only the representation of interests by
the few people in power.
The government and the House need more time to consider the
complexities related to nuclear energy, they said.
The organizations said they were particularly concerned about
the possibility that the government, represented by the office of
the State Ministry of Research and Technology, would dominate the
deliberations of the bill in the final stages.
"We are also worried that the government will insist on
completing the bill by Dec. 12 regardless of the problems and
dangers of nuclear energy," they said in their statement.
They demanded that the government and the House review Article
9 of the bill, which grants the government and private sector
full authority to build a commercial nuclear reactor. (01)