ID :
339295
Thu, 08/28/2014 - 06:50
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Kazakhstan Shares Its Painful History Of Nukes Tests With The World

From Kamarul Ariffin Md Yassin ASTANA (Kazakhstan), Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Kazakhstan, whose population have endured horrible sufferings from 40 years of nuclear weapon activities, has become one of the most active participants of the anti-nuclear movement. Previously, a territory under the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan made the unprecedented move of giving up on nuclear weapons voluntarily, after it gained independence in 1991, setting an example for concrete action around the world. Director-general of the Kazakhstan National Scientific Medical Research Centre, Dr Abay K. Baigenzhin said the country's effort towards a nuclear weapon free world had been accepted by the world community. He said Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev had issued an order to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test polygon on Aug 29, 1991. Following this, the United Nations decided to declare Aug 29 the International Day Against Nuclear Test which was now celebrated annually, he said in his keynote address at the 21st International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) World Congress held at Independent Palace, here, Wednesday. Dr Baigenzhin, who is also the 21st IPPNW World Congress president, said Kazakhstan had for more than a decade relentlessly conducted an active policy of disarmament and non-proliferation, promoting a number of unprecedented, systemic initiatives. "It marked a new stage, a new vision of the world community, built on entirely different principles," he said. Dr Baigenzhin said after the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan's medical scientists and doctors immediately began to study the health effects of the polygon activities. He said the military industrial complex of the USSR at the Semipalatinsk nuclear site conducted atomic weapons tests from 1949 to 1989. During that period, 465 nuclear and thermonuclear explosions were carried out. He said the government undertook measures such as offering financial compensation for the social protection of citizens who suffered from long-term effects of nuclear tests in the country's territory. Dr Baigenzhin said besides somatic diseases connected with radiation exposure among people living in the territory near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test polygon, there were many registered cases of borderline mental disorders associated with the long-term stress radiation factor that led to the formation of fear of radiation. About 500 participants from 44 countries are participating in the congress themed "From a Nuclear Test Ban to a Nuclear Weapon Free World: Disarmament, Peace and Global Health in the 21st Century". It started with a two-day student congress on Monday while the main three-day IPPNW world congress started Wednesday. -- BERNAMA

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