Nuclear-free world?
April 4th, 2009
US President Barack Obama pledged Sunday to lead a quest for a world purged of nuclear weapons, denouncing "fatalism" over proliferation and calling for North Korea to be punished for its rocket launch.
Warning the prospect of a nuclear-armed terrorist was the "most immediate and extreme threat to global security," Obama unveiled a plan to cut stockpiles, curtail testing, choke fissile production and secure loose nuclear material.
"As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," Obama said in a keynote speech in Prague before moving on to Turkey Sunday night. "We cannot succeed in this endeavour alone, but we can lead it.
"So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment and desire to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," he said in a warmly received speech to 30,000 people at picturesque Prague Castle.
Obama, in the Czech Republic for an EU-US summit, said he wanted an immediate end to nuclear tests, confirmed he would seek Senate approval of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and would hold a global summit on nuclear security within the next year.
"I am not naive, this goal (of a nuclear free world) will not be reached quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime," he added, branding nuclear weapons stockpiles as the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War.
Doing nothing to stop the spread of nuclear weapons would be to cede to a "deadly adversary" of fatalism, he warned.
"One nuclear weapon exploded in one city -- be it New York or Moscow, Islamabad or Mumbai, Tokyo or Tel Aviv, Paris or Prague -- could kill hundreds of thousands of people," he said.
The euphoric mood in Prague, which saw late-night revellers mingling with young Obama fans, contrasted with the president's sombre tone, a message lent more poignancy by North Korea's rocket launch over Japan.
Obama said Pyongyang must pay a price and called for a strong international response at an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
"Rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something," he said.
"This provocation underscores the need for action -- not just this afternoon at the UN Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons," Obama said.
Source: AFP
