CND's Press Round-Up - 8th June 2021
Posted: 8th June 2021
Press Round-Up – 8th June 2021
Dear all,Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
At its quarterly board meeting, the governors of the IAEA have heard about possible nuclear fuel reprocessing in North Korea, and the Director-General has expressed his belief that Iran is concealing some nuclear activity from the organisation.
North Korea Nuclear Monitoring
The International Atomic Energy Agency has said satellite imagery has detected some evidence of plutonium reprocessing in North Korea, according to Reuters. The country expelled IAEA inspectors in 2009, but the agency still uses satellite to watch a number of sites. Rafael Grossi told a meeting of the IAEA board yesterday that steam had been observed rising from a Pyongang reprocessing lab since March.
Iran Nuclear Monitoring
The IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting also heard an expression of ‘deep concern’ that Iran is hiding nuclear material at three sites. The Jerusalem Postreports that the IAEA Director-General said that ‘The lack of progress in clarifying the Agency’s questions concerning the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations seriously affects the ability of the Agency to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program’.
1981 Osirak Nuclear Attack
Thanks very much to Peter Gloyns from Salisbury CND for passing on this interesting BBC radio segment on the 1981 Israeli airstrike on the Osirak nuclear facility in Iraq. The full section can be listened to here.
G7
The continued stability of the Northern Ireland peace process will be a priority for Joe Biden as he meets Boris Johnson ahead of the G7, whilst trade unions and campaigners have pointed to what they say is the neglect of Cornwall.
U.S-UK Relations at the G7
Joe Biden will issue a warning to Boris Johnson at the G7 over respecting the Good Friday Agreement, according to Al Jazeera. Biden is expected to use a one-on-one meeting with Johnson on Thursday to tell him the Northern Ireland Protocol cannot be renegotiated or reneged upon. The achievement of a trade deal with the US, a key UK government objective, will be very difficult if the Protocol is not maintained, Biden will say.
Trade Union Response to G7
The Unite union has condemned the ‘lavish’ G7 as standing in ‘ugly contrast’ to the everyday reality in Cornwall, where the use of foodbanks and homelessness have increased markedly over the past year, the Morning Star reports. The Resist G7 coalition has said that it will boycott the police-designated protest areas. On Sunday, around 80 activists from Extinction Rebellion started out on a six day walk from Plymouth to the venue of the summit to demand meaningful action on climate change.
Anti-War
Poland has signed a major arms deal with Turkey and China-Israel relations come under scrutiny.
EU Arms Trade
The Polish government has come under criticism from its EU allies for purchasing Turkish drones, according to the German press. A €235 million was signed after a meeting between the Turkish and Polish presidents last month. Some commentators have taken the move as a calculated insult to the U.S, after Biden changed policy on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which Poland strongly opposes. Poland will buy 24 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from a company owned by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law. It is the time a NATO government has bought such drones from Turkey.
China-Israel Relations
Al Jazeera carries an analysis piece on relations between China and Israel. As it notes, ‘help explain why Israel has looked past China’s vocal support for Palestine, and why leaders in Beijing are cautious to go beyond rhetoric when addressing Israel’s disproportionate use of force against Palestinians’. Between 2000 and 2019, trade between the two countries grew from c.$1 billion to $11.2 billion. In particular, as part of the Belt and Road initiative, China is keen to invest in the Israeli technology sector. The U.S. objected to plans for the Shanghai International Port Group to take over management of a part of Haifa port later this year.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament