In this issue:
Ukrainian nuclear gravy train set to continue
Fire protection violations at U.S. nuclear power plants
Yucca's day in court
U.K. parliament considers industry restructuring
Libya seeks respectability
In brief
25 Years ago
What happened 25 years ago? We go back to news from our 1979 WISE Bulletin, comparing anti-nuclear news "then" and "now".
Then
In issue 4 of WISE Bulletin, we wrote about plans for a reactor in Libya: "The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has called on the Soviet Union to halt the planned sale of a 400 MW nuclear power reactor to Libya. The FAS opposed the sale because Libya, despite the fact that it has ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, has openly declared its intention to acquire nuclear weapons." (WISE Bulletin 4, March 1979)
Now
Since Colonel Gaddafi came to power in 1969, Libya tried to obtain or develop a nuclear weapon. It had cooperation agreements with countries such as Egypt, China, Pakistan and India. (The Nuclear Fix: A guide to nuclear activities in the Third World, WISE, 1982)
In 1983 a research complex was opened at Tadjoura, near Tripoli, a 10 MW research reactor was supplied by the former Soviet Union. (www.globalsecurity.org, 21 December 2003)
Attempts to obtain a nuclear power plant were made in the 1970s and 1980s. A deal for two Soviet-designed 440 MW reactors, worth US$ 4 billion, was suspended by Libya in 1986. Contract negotiations worth US$ 1 billion with the Belgian firm Belgonucleaire were cancelled in 1984 after pressure from the U.S. (www.globalsecurity.org, 21 December 2003)
Last December, Libya officially admitted to developing a nuclear, chemical and biological weapons' program and decided to open up its facilities for inspections. Since March 2003, secret negotiations had taken place with U.S. and British intelligence officials.
For more information and backgrounds see the article "Libya seeks respectability" in this issue.
WISE-Amsterdam/NIRS
ISSN: 1570-4629
Reproduction of this material is encouraged. Please give credit when reprinting.
Editorial team: Robert Jan van den Berg and Tinu Otoki(WISE Amsterdam), Michael Mariotte (NIRS). With contributions from Friends of the Earth Europe and Anthony Froggatt.
The next issue (602) will be mailed out January 30, 2004.
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