THE discourse on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) became the centre of international debate recently.
Iran and North Korea, accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, have become the subjects of serious debate in the West to ensure that these two countries discontinue their programme.
The invasion of Iraq by the US-led coalition has failed to prove the existence of WMD in Iraq. The presumption that WMD are possessed by members outside the “elite circle” of Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must be prevented at whatever cost and reason.
The so-called elite circle dictates who can or cannot possess such weapons. The basic reason for this, they claim, is to maintain global security/stability through preventing a proliferation of nuclear weapons on the basis of the NPT executed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and empowered by the nuclear states through the vehicle of the United Nations.
The IAEA, which has been empowered to monitor and report the “illegal” proliferation of WMD to its superior, seems to have eroded the confidence and acceptance of many countries. It is understood that the IAEA has been placed under critical pressure by the super powers to monitor and suggest lists of potential developers or possessors of WMD. At the same time, however, its role in monitoring the spread of components and materials of WMD from the nuclear states to those with ambitions of possessing WMD is largely ignored.
The IAEA has become the appeasement tool in the superpowers’ foreign policy towards maintaining their global hegemony.
The recent invasion of Iraq by the coalition powers contributes to the whole picture of how the “elite circle” works. In this context, the IAEA is impotent because its role to protect the fate of the innocent non-elite member states is meaningless.
The coalition powers justify the war on Iraq citing Iraq’s WMD programme. It was later disclosed that the claims were unfounded and that the role of the IAEA had been ignored.
Perhaps the false international claims with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme is another step aimed at manipulating and influencing the opinion of international community to view Islam as a religion that propagates aggression.
It seems that all claims directed towards Muslim owned-nuclear technology states reflect that the Muslims are fool, barbaric, unprincipled, and undignified and as such are not privileged to possess such knowledge and capability.
The West blames Muslim countries for supplying WMD to terrorists. They even accuse the Muslims of plotting to misuse nuclear technology for inhuman acts. But as a matter of fact most WMD are supplied by the West.
It is important to get the right facts about each intended nuclear programme and the role of the international community in preventing nuclear war.
It is important to note that nuclear technology has contributed to the vast development of modern knowledge in medicine, scientific and technological inventions.
Any country claiming to employ nuclear programmes for peaceful purposes is also capable of developing nuclear weapons.
Thermal nuclear reactors that are in operation in many countries around the world, which subscribe to IAEA’s nuclear requirements, are capable of producing WMD.
Therefore it is possible for Malaysia to develop nuclear technology, but the Government does not consider it as necessary.
However our Government views it as a meaningful advancement in term of knowledge for scientific and technological research purposes.
Therefore we abide by the accepted standards and norms of the IAEA according to the rules and regulations stipulated in the NPT.
The world cannot avoid nuclear technology. The competition among members of the “elite circle” to develop and maintain their nuclear arsenal remains aggressive.
Suffice to say the only way to prevent a WMD race among countries is to end the culture of fear that has been created by the superpowers through the vehicle of their elite circle.
Perhaps the spirit of the 1971 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (Zopfan) needs to be expanded to include a WMD disarmament initiative on a global scale.
It is imperative that today’s world community, in relation to a country’s self determination and independence, voices out opinions in peace rather than being dictated to by the army of the world which constitutes the minority in terms of world population.