Ambassador Denies Nuclear Allegations; UN to Investigate

Ambassador Denies Nuclear Allegations; UN to Investigate

Burma’s ambassador to Singapore has categorically rejected allegations in a recent media report that the country is developing a nuclear weapons program, even as the chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said that the agency is assessing information in the report.
In answer to a question about charges that Burma is seeking help from North Korea to build a nuclear weapons program, Ambassador Win Myint told the Singapore-based news Web site AsiaOne on Sunday that the allegations were “not true.”
“Some communities and societies … stereotype our country,” he said at the conclusion of the Shangri-La Dialogue security dialogue, held in Singapore on June 4-6. “If [we wanted to] know how to produce nuclear bombs, we need infrastructure and technology,” he added.
According to the report, which was produced by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an exiled Burmese news organization, and broadcast last week by the Al Jazeera news network, the Burmese regime has a clear intent to develop nuclear weapons, although its efforts are still at an early stage.
Burmese Deputy Defense Minister Maj-Gen Aye Myint was scheduled to attend the three-day Shangri- La Dialogue summit over the weekend, but canceled at the last minute, possibly to avoid answering questions about the DVB report. Win Myint was the only Burmese official in attendance.
The latest developments in Burma were reportedly discussed on the sidelines of the summit and in at least one closed-door session, but details of those discussions were not available.
Meanwhile, Yukiya Amano, the head of the Geneva-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Monday that the agency is currently assessing the information in the report.
“If necessary, we will seek clarification from Myanmar[Burma],” Amano said on the first day of a meeting of the IAEA’s 35-member board.
Burma is a member of the IAEA and a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It is also a signatory to the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty.
So far, Burma’s state-run media has not commented on the nuclear allegations, despite widespread interest inside the country.
Last month, Burmese Minister of Science and Technology U Thaung, who is believed to be overseeing the alleged nuclear weapons program, told visiting senior US diplomat Kurt Campbell that Burma agreed to comply with UN Security Council resolutions, but also had “the duty to maintain and protect national sovereignty.”
Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18652 reposted by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)