Olzhas Suleimenov: “Yes, we were the first to stop testing”

Track Kazakhstan today

Sunday, August 29, marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the decree of the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on the official closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear power plant test site. This day later became the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. & Nbsp;

But it was preceded by events in which a Kazakh poet, public figure and politician Olzhas Suleimenov played an important role, in who we asked to talk about the vicissitudes of that time and the struggle that was around the closing polygon.

& mdash; Olzhas Omarovich, Kazakhstan is believed to have become the first state in the world to renounce nuclear weapons. You played a major role in the anti-nuclear movement 30 years ago. How then was the historic decision to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site made, the decision on the denuclearized status of Kazakhstan?

& mdash; You asked the question correctly, it is believed that Kazakhstan was the first to renounce nuclear weapons. But Kazakhstan did not have nuclear weapons, the USSR did, and part of the nuclear arsenal, the main nuclear test site of which, was indeed on the territory of our Republic. And the real struggle to shut down this trial site began on February 28, 1989, when, at the behest of thousands and thousands of ordinary citizens of Kazakhstan, a constituent assembly of the anti-nuclear movement, later called Nevada, came together. 39; is held in the building. of the Union of Writers of the Republic in Alma-Ata. Semipalatinsk & # 39; & # 39 ;. It is they, I emphasize, that ordinary people have delegated authority to this movement, and to me, as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet, to ask the leaders of the USSR to shut down the site of the USSR. Semipalatinsk test. Not civil servants, but ordinary citizens. Thanks to broad popular support in 1989, the movement managed to stop 11 out of 18 planned explosions. 7 tests took place, the last explosion took place on October 19, 1989. And on November 27, the Supreme Soviet of the ; USSR adopted a resolution “ On urgent measures for the ecological improvement of the country '', where in paragraph 5 it was said “ to consider the question of the nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk test place. & # 39; & # 39; So by August 1991 the landfill had been silent for almost two years and was not actually functioning, and the landmark decision was more likely a technical conception of a fait accompli. & Nbsp;

Olzhas Suleimenov . Photo: from personal archives

& mdash; In one of your interviews you said that you regretted “that in 1991 we were unable to secure the signing of a treaty banning nuclear weapons”. And further, in answer to the question of whether you believe that people in the future will be able to give up nuclear weapons, the answer is extremely clear: of course, otherwise humanity has no issue. And what is the current state of the global nuclear renunciation movement? What are its prospects for the foreseeable future?

& mdash; Fight for this deal & mdash; a separate, but very brilliant, chapter in the history of our movement. Nonetheless, in 1992 the Nevada state test site, where products from the United States and England were tested, fell silent. Then a kind of chain reaction followed, which we launched: the two remaining test sites were closed & mdash; French and Chinese. Since 1996, nuclear explosions are no longer officially carried out. So we have a right to be proud of our 'Nevada' movement. mdash; Semipalatinsk '', which upheld Kazakhstan as a young peace-loving state and, presumably, had an impact on the nuclear policies of many countries. However, we have only completed the first part of the task. Today the following is relevant: the rehabilitation of the health of the affected population, the elimination of the disastrous consequences of the arms race. And that work must continue today and beyond. & Nbsp;

The world has changed, but in today's reality, devoid of the ancient clash between the two world systems, there are deep reasons for dangerous new clashes. The interests of the military-industrial circles of different countries are still associated with the arms race, which means that, like thirty years ago, the military-industrial complex of the great powers are still Siamese twin brothers. The existence of just one of them automatically brings the others to life and prosperity. Once again, fabulous money is spent on the arms race, and once again, the lives and health of millions of people in different states are at risk. The barely over Cold War has escalated into a new global enmity, and now, again, from different places alarming messages are being heard about the testing of new lethal weapon systems. Including biological with the use of viruses. The current coronavirus, like me, is & mdash; such an invention. So all these principles that the Nevada movement was based on; Semey is more relevant today than ever. The conclusion of an international treaty banning all types of weapons of mass destruction & mdash; this is the only way out for mankind. & nbsp;

& mdash; Nonetheless, many politicians in different countries still argue that it is nuclear weapons that are the deterrent in large-scale wars. What could you discuss with them today? & Nbsp;

& mdash; The politicians say it, the generals echo them. And if you ask millions of ordinary people, does humanity need nuclear weapons? What do you think they would respond to today? In January 1991, in New York in the UN building, we held a conference of the Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance, which included all the social movements and anti-war and anti-nuclear organizations in the world. that existed at that time. We proposed to hold an interparliamentary referendum, which would raise a question: does humanity need nuclear weapons? We wanted this issue to be raised in every parliament and answered. We were seriously preparing for such a parliamentary vote. But soon the August Putsch broke out, then the well-known events took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the Union collapsed, our project did not take place. At that time, only five states had nuclear weapons: the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, France, and China. Now & mdash; more than a dozen. What if the parliaments of two hundred countries say 'no'? the military atom, and if the USSR and the United States were in that row, then everything else would follow. As a first step, the possibility of reducing stockpiles of lethal weapons to the agreed minimum, depriving them of their national defense status and transferring those remaining warheads to the UN Security Council as a truncheon of police in a possible fight against dictatorial regimes who want to acquire weapons of mass destruction could be discussed. & Nbsp;

It would have been a real way out of the situation that had developed then. By the way, it's not closed yet: you can always go back to such a plan, although today the international situation has become much more complicated and confusing. It is a pity that with the collapse of the Soviet Union the possibility of the guaranteed salvation of mankind has been lost for a long time. Hopefully not forever.

& mdash; And what is happening now at the site of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site? Is there a museum there that clearly reminds mankind of the death of nuclear weapons?

& mdash; Yes, there is a museum located on the territory of the Modern National Nuclear Center in the city of Kurchatov. In this museum you can see a lot and understand how terrible the consequences of nuclear explosions are, even when carried out for the purpose of testing new weapons. When the troops left the territory of the test site, the infrastructure remained destroyed, land contaminated, many dangerous radioactive objects that were not even guarded. In 1992, the National Nuclear Center was established here, whose tasks include the study of the peaceful atom, the conduct of environmental research and the study of the safety of installations on the territory of the site. test. Unique sites have been created here, where experiments are carried out, and above all & mdash; it is investigated to what extent the landfill area itself is contaminated, whether it is suitable for economic activity. And that's almost 20 thousand square kilometers.

'Nevada' Semipalatinsk & # 39; & # 39; today & mdash; these are several dozen veterans in different regions of Kazakhstan, fighting for the ecological improvement of the territories affected by radiation. We have long needed the 'Atomnadzor' state service. We have already taken the lead in the world in mining and selling uranium, which has led to total radioactive contamination of our land. In the United States, nuclear power plants stop working if the meters show, say, five rem at the station premises, and in Kazakhstan, where radiation has accumulated during the 40 years of testing, and now some uranium mine waste rems added. , the constant radiation level is much higher than at which work is stopped America's nuclear power plants. Scientists and Engineers of Nevada Semipalatinsk & # 39; & # 39; have developed methods to fight against this pollution. We hope that the new generations of Kazakhstanis, children and grandchildren of these 2.5 million members of the Nevada movement; Semipalatinsk, whose Semipalatinsk test site was closed, will continue our work to make life in the world safe and environmentally friendly.

Источник aif.ru

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