ILPS JOINS GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST NUCLEAR REACTOR PLANTS ON APRIL 26

AGAINST NUCLEAR REACTOR PLANTS ON APRIL 26

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison

Chairperson, International League of Peoples' Struggle

April 10, 2011

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, hereby call on all its member-organizations, its allied forces and the broad masses of the people to join the Global Day of Action on April 26 and carry out mass actions against nuclear reactors in order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster, to protest the multiple meltdowns occurring at the Fukushima 1 nuclear complex, to demand immediate measures to protect the Japanese people and to call for the banning of nuclear reactor plants.

The most serious lessons from the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster have not been learned by the monopoly bourgeoisie and governments. Now, we are confronted by a nuclear plant disaster far bigger than that of Chernobyl. At Fukushima 1 nuclear complex of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), there are four nuclear reactors in the process of meltdown. At Chernobyl, only one reactor was involved and exploded after two weeks, thus effectively stopping the meltdown.

In the aforesaid four nuclear reactors, all cooling systems, including the emergency core cooling system have broken down since March 11, as a result of the magnitude 9 earthquake and the big tsunami. Hydrogen explosions have destroyed the buildings housing the reactors. The nuclear fuel rods attached to the pressure vessels of reactors Nos 1, 2 and 3 are melting upon the decrease of water and exposure of the fuel rods. Moreover, there is a hole in the containment vessel of reactor No. 2.

Extremely high levels of radiation, far exceeding that of the Chernobyl meltdown, are coming from the reactors, especially from the damaged mixed oxide fuel rods which have a high amount of uranium and plutonium. They are life threatening and poisonous to the environment over wide areas. Highly-concentrated radioactive material has been spread further by the release of internal gas to the atmosphere. Large amounts of water used to cool down the reactors have seeped down into the water table and and have flowed out to the ocean.

Since more than a week ago, the level of nuclear disaster has risen to the highest, which is level 7 of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). But the officials of the Japanese government and TEPCO have been engaged in disinformation, understating the damage and dangers and giving out false assurances. The Japanese government is more concerned with seeking to maintain and promote the nuclear power development policy in obedience to its US imperialist master. The main technology is provided and controlled by General Electric and Westinghouse.

It is of the highest importance and urgency that internationally coordinated mass actions are started and sustained in order to demand the evacuation, relief and assistance to the latest victims of nuclear disaster, the protection of the people and the environment and the banning of nuclear power plants. In this regard, the International League of Peoples' Struggle have agreed with the International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations and other international formations to cooperate in carrying out the Global Day of Action on April 26.

We demand the following:

1. Evacuate immediately the population threatened by the meltdown in Japan!

2. Bring to safety the children and pregnant women!

3. Publish the whole truth about the Fukushima disaster without any reservation!

4. Mobilize all international relief organizations for conducting extensive evacuations!

5. Supply the population with uncontaminated food and water!

6. Organize continuous airlifts and shipping convoys for this purpose!

7. Appoint immediately an investigative commission of the best qualified scientists and experts in the world!

8. Shut down the nuclear power plants!