Sri Lanka will host next CHOGM despite protests, says Ansari
Vice-President Hamid Ansari arrived here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) even as Foreign Ministers wrapped up their preliminary discussions amid debate and disagreement on how to make the 54-nation grouping relevant in a changing world.
Informal, behind-the-scenes diplomacy is a key part of the CHOGM summits, and India seemed to be using the opportunity to lobby for a change in Australia's uranium exports policy banning sales to India, which is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The issue reportedly came up at Mr. Ansari's meeting with Australian Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott on Thursday. Mr. Abbott heads the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia, which favours allowing Australia — which has the world's largest reserves of uranium — to export the mineral to India.
“If the [Australian] government was serious about reducing global emissions, they would lift the ban on selling uranium to India,” he told Australian broadcaster ABC.
Mr. Ansari is also likely to discuss the issue at his bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard later this week. The ruling Labour party is split on the issue, which is expected to be a subject of hot debate at the party conference this December. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd argued that India's civil nuclear power programme was not dependent on Australian uranium.
“If you hear an argument from an Indian businessperson that the future of the nuclear industry in India depends exclusively on access to uranium, that is simply not sustainable as a proposition. Have a look at the data,” he said at a mining industry breakfast, according to a report by Australian news agency AAP. Both Indian officials and businessmen have been raising the issue on the sidelines of the CHOGM. “There is no problem in terms of global supply, let's just be very, very blunt about this.”
However, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson who supports uranium exports to India, said he was eager to debate the issue at the party conference, which could turn out to be pivotal for India's hopes of accessing Australian uranium.
Mr. Ferguson also told Australian journalists that talks were on for a large Indian investment in the Galilee coal basin in Queensland.
Ahead of Friday's inauguration of the CHOGM by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, there is a strong push among some countries for adoption of a Commonwealth reform recommendation to set up a human rights monitor. The Vice-President is expected to reiterate India's viewpoint that such a move duplicates the work of the U.N. and is especially unnecessary in the light of the group's funding woes.
Sri Lanka's human rights record and alleged war crimes by government forces in its civil war against the LTTE has been the target of attention here. Some countries are lobbying to reconsider the island nation as the host of the next CHOGM summit — Canada has actually vowed to boycott the next meet if the Sri Lankan government does not shape up — but Mr. Ansari indicated that India would hold firm against such pressures.
“As far as we are concerned, the decision to have the next CHOGM in 2013 was taken at the [last] meeting in Port of Spain. That is a decision and that is the end of the matter,” he told journalists on board the special aircraft to Perth.
Food and energy security, the global economic situation and terrorism are likely to be other items on the CHOGM agenda, according to Mr. Ansari.
Keywords: India Australia ties, CHOGM summit, Australia uranium export
Comments:
On the CHOGM summit to be hosted by Sri Lanka in 2013, the threat by Canada is unwarranted here. Will Canada have a look on the Tamils living in its place, who are still indulged in money laundering, drugs and channeling funds to organise civil war in Sri Lanka. Tell me will any natiion allow such activities to happen. Canada is in an illusion created by the Tamils living there.
Race and religion card will not last long. If the peace is to exist at Sri Lanka, Canada and other countries who are blind to facts should wake up and make an effort to profile the anti national acitivites done by LTTE sympathisers/
....and the Australians sell uranium to the chinese - no problem!
India's lobbying for Australia's Uranium is not just for power generation. It desires to hold a control on the Uranium mining industry, desires to control the resource itself. The Australian Foreign Minister is categorical in saying that India's civil unclear programme is not dependent on Australia's Uranium and based on the facts and data he says that there is no problem in terms of global supply.
STILL
India wants to have control over Uranium ore - WHY?
Behind all these talks and programmes of civil neuclear energy the real agenda is to go for NEUCLEAR WEAPONISATION, to retain and expand its hegemony in the South Asia, South East Asia, Africa, Middle East and if possible in other continents too.
SAY NO TO NEUCLEAR ENERGY ATLEAST TILL THE SAFETY IS UNANIMOUSLY CERTIFIED BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND TILL THE GOVERNMENT STOPS RESORTING TO MILITARISATION OF ECONOMY AND NEUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME.
WE ARE FOR PEACE, NOT FOR WAR AND DESTRUCTION.
With regard to Sumathi's comment, I wonder what other option she has given to have power generation which is environment friendly. The kind of comments she has here is anti Indian and shocking. One has to understand here that nuclear power is the best option when compared to fossil fuels for power generation. Accidents do happen mainly of negligence. If people start thinking of fear factor, its risky even to go for a walk, anticipating earth quake or storm may come. The organisations and movements which are against India's economic development and infrastructure should be hanged and they are traitors.
Sumathi is either ignorant of facts or belongs to the anti-nuclear energy group. Also, all the thorium reserves in India is but a dormant resource until there is sufficient enriched uranium that needs to go in - in the first place + the right to re-process spent Uranium fuel rods to have minimum self sufficiency to use the vast reserves of thorium. India+China could become core grid suppliers of infinite power at extremely concessional rates in the long run for the region if the west is serious about carbon emission. God knows and so does MAN that the balance of power between nuclear energy and destruction of forests and earth (mining for fuel) is heavily tilted towards nuclear - notwithstanding the dangers as we have seen in Fukushima and elsewhere. There are far more deaths that have happened and is continuing to happen due to negligence, greed and corruption in world governance today than all the nuclear and chemical disasters in the world put together.