International security to be on agenda of Kazakhstan's OSCE chairmanship
BAKU. June 24. KAZINFORM /Arnur Mukhametkarim / - As earlier reported, June 18 2009 in Semey a many thousand meeting took place on the occasion of the 20th anniversary since the last nuclear test at the Semey Testing site with participation of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev , the founder of the Nevada-Semey anti-nuclear movement Olzhas Suleymenov, diplomatic corps and representatives of international and nongovernmental organizations.
In this connection yesterday at the Novosti press center of Baku, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan, held a press conference. He told the Azerbaijani community about the immense damage caused to the ecology of Kazakhstan by the nuclear testing site, and the political will of Kazakhstan's administration in the hard stages of formation of the independent state.
During the 40 years of its existence 456 nuclear tests had been performed at the testing site, the power of which was 2,5 times more than that of the bomb thrown on Hiroshima. "The lives and health of more than a million Kazakhstani people were the price of the unchecked arms race", Serik Primbetov said addressing the press conference audience.
«The trauma of the ecology of Kazakhstan is serious. It will take 300 years - not less - to restore it. Only the local zone of the ecological disaster around the Semey testing site stretches to more than 300 square kilometers. One ninth part of Kazakhstan's territory equaling Germany was turned into a contaminated barrenland and was mutilated by hundreds of nuclear explosions", - the Ambassador said.
Despite the hardships, the government has always been supporting the people. « KZT 34 billion has been spent to get over the consequences of the nuclear tests in the area», - he added.
He also informed of the President's initiative to set up a radiological cluster to address the problem of oncologic diseases caused by the radiation.
"We are hoping that other regions will follow the example of nuclear-free zone in Central Asia, Latin America, Africa and South-East Asia. Eventually the entire planet must turn into a nuclear-free zone of peace and security, and the problem of international security will one of the priorities of the future chairmanship of Kazakhstan at the OSCE", the Ambassador concluded.