Former U.S. President Carter: U.S. Is Principal Non-Proliferation Treaty Offender

“We could fall victim to the enormous destructive power of the 10,300 nuclear warheads possessed by the U.S.”

A total of 100 people, including the U.S. businessmen, citizens, and students, put a full-page advertisement titled “We might drop them (nuclear warheads) on our schools” in the May 1 edition of New York Times. The advertisement was aimed at an evaluation meeting for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which begun on May 2.

In addition, massive anti-nuclear and anti-war protests took place in New York on May 1, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter harshly criticized President George W. Bush’s nuclear policy.

Strong Anti-Nuclear Movements-

The sponsors of the full-page advertisement in the New York Times emphasized that “if the number of nuclear warheads decreased by 10 percent, it would lead to an annual savings of $1 billion, resulting in an improvement in U.S. schools, and that it would also contribute to hiring hundreds of thousands of new teachers, leading to the enhancement of quality in education.

Also, about 40,000 people, including anti-nuclear campaigners around the world, and protesters, marched from U.N. headquarters on the east side of Manhattan, New York, to Central Park, shouting anti-nuclear and anti-war slogans.

A total of 35 survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War participated in the protests.

The protest sponsor blamed the U.S. government, saying, “the U.S. is pouring $40 billion (about 40 trillion won) in order to maintain and improve nuclear warheads this year alone, and that “all countries, including the U.S., have to immediately start negotiations to entirely prohibit the possession of nuclear weapons.

Carter Urges Observance of NPT-

Former President Carter criticized the U.S. for being the main culprit in the collapse of the NPT in his article in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) on May 2. In it, he wrote, “although U.S. leaders assert that they would protect the world from nuclear threats posed by Iraq, Libya, Iran, and North Korea, they not only don’t observe the NPT, but also insist on the testing and development of new weapons.”

Carter also pointed out that considering the fact that Iran and North Korea possess or plan to have nuclear weapons programs, it is amazing that the U.S. and other nuclear-equipped countries are showing indifference to the NPT.

The minister of foreign affairs from the New Agenda Coalition, consisting of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of South Africa, and Sweden, formed to promote the observance of the NPT, also complained about the progress situation of the NPT in an article in the IHT, saying, “countries with nuclear weapons have to perform the duty of gradually abolishing nuclear arms.”

The seven countries also insisted that the countries that don’t belong to the NPT, such as India, Pakistan, and Israel, join the ranks of “nuclear-free countries,” and they demanded nuclear-armed countries solidify the NPT’s structure, which should be a foundation of international security.

Kwon-Heui Hong Young-Sik Kim konihong@donga.com spear@donga.com