Document about the situation in Niger, Africa, presented at a Press Conference in Paris on the 12th July, 2008 arranged by Sortir du Nucléaire, France

(email: arevaneferapaslaloi@gmail.com, Site : http://areva.niger.free.fr

http://www.tchinaghen.org)

A plundered region, a sacrificed people!

After 40 years the French company AREVA, a world leader in civil nuclear technology, extracts almost 40% of its uranium from northern Niger, a country which is still today among the 3 poorest countries on the planet. In 2007, Areva lost its monopoly and the State of Niger now receives permit requests from North American, Australian, Asian and South African companies. Although Azelik, the location of a future big exploitation site, was given to the Chinese via the Sino-U company (CNUC), Areva recently obtained the right to exploit the enormous site Imouraren with which Niger should become the second largest world producer.

The 40 years of mining exploitation of Cogema/Areva, in Arlit and Akokan have had the following main consequences:

  • The ruin of the agropastoral lands around the two sites in the Agadez region.
  • Enormous profits obtained by Areva without any spill-over effects for the communities : a genuine winner-loser partnership!
  • The destruction of the fauna and the flora surrounding the mines.
  • The contamination of the air by radioactive dust and gases.
  • The radioactive contamination of the water resources.
  • The drying up of two large fossil ground water districts (Tarat), of up to 2/3 of its reserves, and, in medium term, the irreversible drainage of the second ground water district with the dry-pumping of the western part of the aquifer (sandstone area of Agadez) in 40 years.
  • Innumerable accompanying pollution incidents, mainly because of peripheral activities.

The great increase in energy demand of emerging countries has considerably favoured the new interest in so called "clean" nuclear energy, which has consequently dramatically raised the cost of minerals used. An undesirable outcome: Niger's authorities announce that as of 2007, the production for the coming years will be tripled.

139 research and exploitation permits have been sold in less than a year and numerous demand permits will soon be granted. These permits, which cover the majority of the Agadez territories (over 85,000 km2), are accorded without any transparency or previous discussion.

Until now the authorities of Niger have refused all dialog with the indigenous, populations (mainly Tuareg), despite of the recent emergence of a new rebellion movement which straight out condemns this situation.

Forbidding any act of resistance, Niger – silently supported by the French state, through its "branch" Areva – is organizing a large discrimination campaign with the obvious objective to empty the region of its inhabitants, facilitating in this way its commercial relations.

Full powers are thus given to the army of Niger and a state of emergency is decreed for the Agadez region:

  • Targeted executions and arbitrary arrests;
  • Destruction of the means of subsistence of the nomads (slaughtered livestock, agricultural activities made impossible, restricted provisioning etc.);
  • Displacement of communities;
  • Prohibition of NGOs, muzzling of radios and press.

The notion of sustainable development, which is often emphasized to by the West, has yet to be fulfilled. It would be desirable that big Nordic industrial groups, which incessantly communicate on the justness of "clean" energies, would have the decency to admit that the nuclear energy industry is not as clean as it claims to be.

Sustainable development should be considered in its entire global context and not only in its final output.

It is absolutely hypocritical to sell to us, the Westerners, an energy said to be stainless and without effects and consequences, when far from us communities who are already living under precarious conditions suffer and die from a contaminated environment and destruction of their home lands.

AREVA shall not make the law in NIGER

Conscious of this reported catastrophe, the collective "AREVA shall not make the law in NIGER" is leading a campaign aimed at having the French company Areva, the European Union and the international community face up to their responsibilities.

It is a matter of denouncing the disastrous consequences of our energy choices here and of supporting those who pay the price of it there.

The collective, which is a solidarity and action network, supports through their refugee representatives in France the concerned populations in their struggle for recognition of their rights, their dignity and their fundamental freedoms.

The collective unveils the involvement of the international community, and in particular that of France, which, working together with President Tandja:

  • Keeps silent about the reality and seriousness of the conflict.
  • Condones the irresponsible and disrespectful behavior of the mining companies.
  • Starves and kills in the name of competitiveness and profit.

A whole people are being chased away from their lands, stripped of their traditional activities, and risking losing their water resources due to geostrategic efforts and global politics.

Claims

We demand the French government, the European Union and the international instances:

  • To put pressure on the authorities of Niger so that they would respect the relative norms concerning human rights, particularly the invariable human rights.

We urgently demand the Governments of France and Niger, the European Union and the international instances:

  • To acknowledge the urgency of the humanitarian crisis connected to the mine exploitations.
  • To help, by all possible means, the populations which are victims of the conflict (displaced, refugees, arrested).

We urgently demand the Government of Niger, and Niger's Rights Movement for a ceasefire and a voluntary action in favor of restored, lasting and equally negotiated peace.

We instantly demand all involved parties:

  • To apply and respect, without reserve, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples prior to any mining project.
  • To apply the international rules concerning radiation protection.
  • To apply the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ITIE) which Niger endorsed in March 2005.
  • The cleaning of already exploited sites and an independent expertise. After 40 years of mining, a renewable moratorium of three to five years prior to any new mining project must be guaranteed by the international instances in order to ensure that:
  • The mining waste (residues, sediments and rocks) and contaminated scrap iron have been correctly stockpiled and stored, guaranteeing their confinement on a very long term,
  • The landscape has been restored into its old shape and that there must be no discreet dumping in the way found in France near Saclay or in the Massif Central.
  • All mining workers and ex-workers as well as the populations who have been living in the neighborhood of the exploitation shall have access to complete medical examination, retrospective evaluation of received doses, and inscription into a long term health follow-up program to be executed by competent and independent medical centers.
  • The quality of the ground water is of good ecological and physical-chemical standard, etc.
  • For new permits, advance measures must be taken to prevent potential confusions between the mining company and the company doctor. As in France, taxes are to be paid in advance and entrusted to a specialized and independent administration to be used for restoration of sites after extraction and for a sane, fair and concerted management of water resources.

Le collectif : Attac, Cedetim, Collectif Tchinaghen, LCR, Les Verts, Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire, Sud Energie - Solidaires, Survie, Via Campesina.

email: mailto:arevaneferapaslaloi@gmail.co... Site : http://areva.niger.free.fr

www.tchinaghen.org

(English translation from French made in Finland)

Une région pillée, un peuple sacrifié

Téléchargez le communiqué unitaire du collectif "Areva ne fera pas la loi au Niger" en PDF : recto-verso Pdf