No Nuke Asia Forum 2012 In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, countries have been reassessing their nuclear policy, calling for an end to the existing nuclear plant construction plan. However, Korea is heading towards the opposite direction. Rather than taking it as a valuable lesson, Korea has deemed the Fukushima accident as an opportunity to export nuclear power plant abroad and is thus promoting it by finalizing Nuclear Energy Promotion Plan. Nuclear Security Summit 2012, in particular, is being promoted as an opportunity to expand nuclear plant exportation. To prevent this from happening, various anti-nuclear activists from all over Asia are preparing an event in Korea that band together the local people acting against the nuclear plants. This will be an event that strongly condemns Korean government’s nuclear policy, voiced not only by the Asian activists but also by anti-nuclear activists from all over the world. ● Schedule (March 19th 〜 24th, 2012) 18th : Disembarkation of foreign guests/ Accommodation in Seoul 19th : Travel / Assembly in Samchuk / Meeting with the local people / 　　　 　　　　Accommodation in Samchuk 20th : Visit to Samchuk (nuclear plant candidate city) / Travel / Accommodation in Yeongduk 21th : Events in Busan / Accommodation in Busan 22nd : Travel / International Conference / Accommodation in Seoul 23rd : Nuclear Industry Summit protesting assembly / General panel discussion/ Adoption of common statement/ Accommodation in Seoul 24th (Sat): Foreign guests back to home country. NNAF2012 ends // Joint assembly held on the 25th is circumscribed to only those who are willing to join 　in Samchuk Joint Declaration of No Nukes Asia Forum 2012 We are peoples from different Asian countries who have witnessed and experienced the risks and dangers of nuclear power. The danger had already been widely known after the disasters of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. And today’s generation is living the continuing nuclear nightmare which is Fukushima. Still the nuclear industry has unabashedly maintained that nuclear power plants are safe, and that more need to be built. The Fukushima disaster epitomized the sheer absurdity of the industry’s reassurances. One year after the accident, the Fukushima nuclear power plants are still releasing a massive amount of radioactive material, and tens of thousands of people, especially children, have been displaced and are still in severe distress. While the government continues to downplay the impacts and conceal information, the risks of exposure to radiation increase by the day. The Japanese government has proposed plans to clean up the surrounding areas to bring back people and let them stay in the polluted areas for covering-up of the accident, but it is simply impossible to eliminate radioactive material. We are appalled and indignant at those who still refuse to abandon nuclear power thereby ultimately abandoning people’s safety and security. We condemn governments participating in the Nuclear Industry and Nuclear Security Summits for putting corporate interests and profits over people’s interest and wellbeing. The Summits held in South Korea, in particular, is actually a venue for promoting nuclear power plant exports in disguise of an international forum on nuclear security. The nuclear industry is trying to make a breakthrough with nuclear power plant exports, since the repeated accidents made it almost impossible to build new plants domestically. We strongly condemn those who ignore the lessons of nuclear power. We have witnessed various forms of discrimination and injustice that stem from nuclear power. Nuclear power plants and nuclear waste disposal site are posing a continuous threat to the survival and health of the indigenous people and other residents in the surrounding areas. The future generation is seriously burdened with the nuclear waste created not by themselves, but by the present generation. Many workers are at risk of exposure while cleaning up the nuclear power plants and the areas contaminated by radiation. The only way to eliminate the injustice surrounding nuclear power and the danger of a nuclear disaster is to put a complete stop to nuclear power. There is no such thing as a safe nuclear power plant, or a non-discriminatory nuclear power plant. Therefore, we send a strong warning message to the countries still obsessed with nuclear power. As long as nuclear power exists, there will be another Fukushima. If they do not want to repeat the tragedy, they must put an end to nuclear power at once. Reflecting on the lessons of Fukushima, we once again call on the governments around the world that they should not be tempted to use nuclear power ever. 1. We urge the Japanese government to put its top priority to immediately evacuating children in danger of radiation exposure, stopping spread of radiation furthermore, needless to say to abandon nuclear fuel cycle policy 2. We urge the Korean government to scrap nuclear-oriented policies and to stop exporting of the nuclear industry. 3. We urge the Taiwanese government to decommission operating NPPs, halt construction of NPP-4, immediately remove nuclear waste out of Lanyu Island and stop dumping nuclear waste in low socio-economic areas. 4. We urge the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to ultimately abandon the nuclear program/policy. We urge all people to reject the deadly nuclear energy and resist all moves to build nuclear power plants in our midst. We must all work together to start the era of nuclear phase outs and decisively make the shift to people-based, renewable, sustainable clean energy. March 23, 2012 No Nukes Asia Forum 2012 [Return]