Small states worry over nuclear tests

Small states worry over nuclear tests

COLOMBO (Reuters): South Asia's smaller countries said
yesterday that recent nuclear tests by their giant neighbors
India and Pakistan had made nuclear disarmament a prime concern
for the region.

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a speech
inaugurating a three-day summit of the seven-member South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that none of the
group's members had rushed to judgment on the tests.

But she added: "Although these concerns are not on the agenda
of the summit, they cannot be ignored."

"I believe all of us agree that such concerns cannot be
divorced or considered in isolation from the global security
environment, in particular the nuclear environment, and the tardy
progress in nuclear disarmament on a global scale."

The tests in May attracted worldwide condemnation and economic
sanctions against the two countries. The resulting tension
between India and Pakistan, whose leaders are due to meet on the
sidelines of the regional summit, has overshadowed the summit's
agenda.

Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said the tests in
South Asia had brought new regional concerns to the fore.
"In all our previous meetings we have called for nuclear
disarmament. Now the need for vigilance is even greater," Gayoom
said.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in her speech
that the nuclear tests could have been avoided.

"The recent nuclear tests in our region...is a development
that we all wish could have been avoided. Problems, however
complex, can surely be resolved through peaceful means," she
said.

Lyonpo Jigmi Yoeser Thinley, head of the Bhutanese government,
said every nation had the right to protect its national interests
and uphold national dignity, but stressed that they must take
advantage of opportunities for bilateral meetings at the summit
to address common concerns.

Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said statesmanship
and vision were required to counter the fear of an arms race in
the region.

Kumaratunga also expressed regret that the five declared
nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France and
China -- "have so far failed to move significantly towards
nuclear disarmament".