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International community cannot tolerate Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water dumping: Global Times editorial

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Japan is making final preparations for dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea. According to local media reports, Japan’s nuclear regulator finished inspecting a newly completed system to release radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the sea, presenting a posture that everything is ready. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Japan from Tuesday to Friday, and the IAEA’s final assessment report on Japan’s dumping plan will soon be released. Will Grossi’s attitude, or the IAEA’s final assessment, change Japan’s decision to dump wastewater into the sea? It seems unlikely.

In fact, the Japanese side officially approved the dumping plan as early as July 22 last year. Since then, it has been working intensively on implementing the plan. At the same time, it has been spending a lot of effort on public relations, never taking seriously of the strong concerns at home and abroad, and failing to conduct adequate and well-intentioned consultations with stakeholders. And the IAEA is being targeted by the Japanese side as a priority in networking. Although the organization cannot give Japan a “license” and a “talisman” for dumping nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, the Japanese side may make an issue of how the IAEA writes its assessment report and draws its conclusions.

We still urge the IAEA to uphold the principles of objectivity, professionalism and impartiality, develop an assessment report that can stand the test of science and history, and not endorse the Japanese side’s dumping plan. Tokyo’s calculation is to force the international community to accept that what’s done is done. Japan hopes that after resisting the pressure for some time, perhaps the international community’s attention will turn to other areas, and the opposition to dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea will weaken. We cannot let such a scheme succeed.

Now we need to be particularly vigilant that some governments and the Japanese side have reached a political deal over the issue of the wastewater dumping plan, which is a colluded betrayal of the public interest of mankind and marine ecology. Washington was the first to give Tokyo the green light for geopolitical reasons and then persuaded its other allies. The South Korean government has also started to release ambiguous messages frequently despite strong opposition from the public. To dispel the public’s doubts, some lawmakers from the South Korean ruling party even went to the seafood market in groups to drink seawater from the breeding pond, and “even the fish in the pond found it ridiculous.” Some European governments have also relaxed their attitude over the issue.

There have been concerns, objections, and questions about the discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea from ASEAN countries, Pacific Island countries, and others including Japan. Although the US and Japanese governments have tried to marginalize such voices, they have never disappeared. China’s position as a major power is clear and has remained unchanged. The discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea is a matter of common interest for the international community, not a private matter for Japan. So China urges the Japanese side to stop pushing forward with the dumping plan, effectively dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a scientific, safe and transparent manner, and accept strict international supervision. This is a voice from a scientific and all-human perspective, which is justified and couldn’t be alone.

In order to promote the safety of seafood from Fukushima, the Japanese government once attempted to use Fukushima’s seafood in the meals of primary and secondary schools in the prefecture. However, all schools in Fukushima prefecture rejected this proposal. According to reports, content of Cs-137 in fish recently caught in the harbor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is 180 times that of the standard maximum stipulated in Japan’s food safety law, which is extremely alarming.

In this situation, claiming that the contaminated wastewater is safe is nothing but a lie. As officials from Pacific island countries have said, if the so-called “treated water” meets the standards and can be discharged, why doesn’t Japan use this contaminated wastewater in its own country, especially in its agricultural sector?

Japan does have other more appropriate choices. The Japanese government has considered five different treatment options, but it ultimately chose the cheapest and easiest one, which is to discharge the contaminated wastewater into the ocean. From a technical standpoint, this is the solution with the lowest economic cost to Japan, but it releases the highest amount of radioactive substances into the global environment. Japan is unwilling to spend money on safely treating the contaminated wastewater but is willing to invest in public relations. According to recent reports from South Korean media, Japanese officials made political donations worth over EUR 1 million to the staff of the IAEA Secretariat and there has been no response to this matter so far.

According to a German marine scientific research institute, with the world’s strongest currents along the coast of Fukushima, radioactive materials could spread to most of the Pacific Ocean within 57 days from the date of discharge. However, Japan has failed to provide a comprehensive and systematic monitoring plan for the disposal of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea. The current monitoring scope is small, with few sampling points and low frequency, making it difficult to timely detect abnormal situations such as discharging pollutants in levels that exceed the stipulated standards. In short, Japan’s forceful disposal of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is illegal and violates a series of international legal obligations, constituting a crime against all of humanity. China and the international community’s forces of justice stand together against such behavior and will never compromise or tolerate it.

Source(s): Global Times

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Israel truce team leaves Doha, official blames Hamas for ‘dead end’

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Israel has recalled its negotiators from Doha after deeming mediated talks on a Gaza truce “at a dead end” due to demands by Hamas, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday.

The official, who is close to the Mossad spymaster heading up the talks, accused Hamas’ Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar of sabotaging the diplomacy “as part of a wider effort to inflame this war over Ramadan”.

The warring sides had stepped up negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, on a six-week suspension of Israel’s offensive in return for the proposed release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.

Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled this out, saying it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.

Hamas also wants hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza City and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the almost six-month-old war to be allowed back north.

The Israeli official said that Israel had agreed to double the number of Palestinians it would release in exchange for the hostages to 700-800 prisoners and allow some displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that Hamas had made “delusional” demands, which it said showed the Palestinians were not interested in a deal.

In Tel Aviv, a crowd of around 300 family members of hostages and their supporters gathered outside the Israeli defense headquarters demanding a deal be done to release the captives. Some locked themselves inside cages in protest, holding placards with photos of their loved ones. “No price is too high,” one of the signs said.

Hamas has accused Israel of stalling at the talks while it carries out its military offensive.

The discussions in Doha are continuing as Palestinians in Gaza face severe shortages of food, medicine and hospital care, and concerns grow that famine will take hold.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The vote was abstained by the U.S., prompting Netanyahu to cancel a planned visit by a government delegation to Washington.

Source(s): CGTN

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UN Security Council passes resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan

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The Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution that demands an immediate cease-fire in Gaza for the holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution, winning 14 votes in favor among the 15 members of the council, was the first Security Council resolution that demands or calls for a ceasefire in Gaza after the flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza on October 7, 2023.

The United States, which had previously vetoed three draft resolutions that would have called for or demanded a ceasefire in Gaza, abstained on Monday, allowing the draft to pass.

Hamas welcomed the adoption of the resolution. In a statement, it called on the Security Council to pressure Israel to commit to a ceasefire and to stop “the war of extermination” against the Palestinian people.

It also highlighted its readiness to engage in a prisoner exchange process immediately, emphasized the need to reach a permanent ceasefire and demanded the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip,

After the United States’ abstention, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the cancellation of a planned visit to Washington by a delegation comprising senior Israeli officials.

Netanyahu accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the ceasefire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.

China calls for implementation of the resolution

A Chinese envoy on Monday called for the implementation of the just-adopted Security Council resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan.

“Nearly six months after the outbreak of the conflict, over 32,000 Palestinian civilians have lost their lives. For those, Monday’s resolution comes too late. But for the millions of people in Gaza who remain mired in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, this resolution, if fully and effectively implemented, could still bring long-awaited hope,” said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

“Security Council resolutions are binding. We call on the parties concerned to fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter and to take due action as required by the resolution,” he said. “We expect the states with significant influence to play a positive role on the parties concerned, including by using all necessary and effective means at their disposal to support the implementation of the resolution.”

A ceasefire for Ramadan is only the first step, it must serve as a basis for a permanent and sustainable cessation of hostilities, said the Chinese ambassador in an explanation of vote.

Differences between two drafts

“We did not agree with everything with the resolution,” the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said.

In her explanation of vote, Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution was “nonbinding.” She also said, “It was important for the Council to speak out and make clear that any ceasefire must come with the release of all hostages.”

China, together with Algeria and Russia, voted against a draft resolution tabled by the United States on Friday. “A comparison of the two drafts shows the differences,” said Zhang Jun in an explanation of vote.

Monday’s draft is unequivocal and correct in its direction, demanding an immediate ceasefire, while the U.S. draft was evasive and ambiguous. Monday’s draft demands an unconditional ceasefire, while the U.S. draft set preconditions for a ceasefire. Monday’s draft reflects the general expectations of the international community and enjoys the collective support of the Arab states, while the U.S. draft was rejected by the Arab states, Zhang said.

“The differences between the two drafts boil down to nothing but whether there should be an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and whether the collective punishment of the people in Gaza should be allowed to continue,” Zhang said. “On this issue, China, like most members of the international community, has been very clear from the very outset. Whether we voted against last Friday, or in favor of today, our vote has been based on our consistent position and proposition.”

Before the vote on the draft resolution tabled by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, Russia proposed an oral amendment but failed to obtain enough support in the council.

The Russian proposal would have restored the word “permanent” contained in the original draft to demand a Ramadan ceasefire that would lead to a permanent and sustainable ceasefire.

The United States voted against the Russian amendment. Eleven members abstained. Three voted in favor.

Countries react resolution on ceasefire

In a joint statement, the 10 elected members of the Security Council expressed the hope that Resolution 2728 will be implemented in good faith, by all parties, and will help ease the suffering of the population in Gaza.

Immediately after the adoption of the resolution, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for its implementation.

“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” Guterres said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry welcomed the UN decision and called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law and to expand humanitarian aid to civilians in the entire Gaza Strip.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also welcomed the adoption of the resolution, saying the decision “constitutes the first step towards halting Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.”

Source(s): CGTN

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Egypt, UN warn against Israeli operation in Gaza’s Rafah

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CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and visiting United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday voiced complete rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from their territories and any Israeli military operation in the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah.

During their talks in Cairo, the two leaders warned against any Israeli operation in Rafah to unleash catastrophic consequences on the already dire situation in the city, said the Egyptian presidency in a statement.

They also discussed the intensified efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and deliver sufficient humanitarian aid to people in the besieged enclave, the statement added.

The president and the UN chief called for favorable conditions for implementing the two-state solution, calling it “the only path to achieve justice, security, and stability in the region.”

Israel has been announcing plans to launch a large-scale ground operation in Rafah, where about 1.5 million internally displaced Palestinians reside, a move widely rejected by the international community.

Later in the day, at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the UN chief reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has imposed a strict siege and launched continued heavy strikes against Hamas for over five months.

“The time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire is now,” he said.

Israel’s ongoing strikes in Gaza have so far killed 32,226 Palestinians and injured 74,518 others, the Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry updated in a statement on Sunday. The Israeli escalation came in retaliation for the attack launched by Gaza-ruling Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, on adjacent Israeli towns, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

“Nothing justifies the horrific attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, and nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres told a press conference on Saturday at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, where he renewed the peace call.

Source(s): Xinhua

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