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Now Russia Is Helping The Burma Dictatorship Go Nuclear
Confirming the worst fears of the international community that Burma is going the North Korea way, Russia and Burma have signed an intergovernmental agreement to build a nuclear reactor in the military ruled country. This was announced by the Russian atomic energy agency on Tuesday.

The nuclear reactor will include a 10-megawatt light water reactor working on 20 percent enriched Uranium-235, according to a statement by Rosatom, the atomic energy agency.

The agreement signed between the head of Rosatom, Sergey Kiriyenko and the Burmese Minister of Science and Technologies, U Thaung, is expected to "promote mutually beneficial economic and scientific ties between Russia and Myanmar [Burma]," the statement said. The centre will also include an activation analysis laboratory, a medical isotope production laboratory, silicon doping system, nuclear waste treatment and burial facilities, Rosatom said.

The research centre will be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) it added.
And we know all about the vigilance of the IAEA.
Burma has been under military rule in some form or the other since 1962 and has faced relentless criticism by the West for its appalling human rights violations and undemocratic practices. The Burmese military junta has maintained a close relationship with both Russia and China and relied on them for much of its military supplies, since the west imposed sanctions in late 1988.

Earlier this year, Russia and China, the two veto wielding countries at the United Nations Security Council, bailed out Burma by rejecting a US-drafted resolution, which urged the Burmese junta to stop persecution and release political prisoners.

According to a 2004 research paper by the Australian National University, Burma in 2000 had sought Moscow's help to pursue a nuclear civilian programme but Russia had backed off in 2003.

Roland Watson, a researcher from United States based 'Dictator Watch', told Mizzima that evidence revealed that the Burmese military junta has been involved in mining and refining Uranium and bartering it to North Korea in return for missiles and possibly technical assistance from North Korea for its own nuclear weapons programme. Burma recently revived diplomatic relations with North Korea, which were severed in 1983 following a bomb attack, allegedly carried out by North Korean assassins that killed several South Korean ministers visiting Burma.

The west views both countries as "rouge nations" and now that they have re-established diplomatic ties, the criticism will be that they are getting their nuclear act together in tandem.

Besides building the centre, the agreement also includes Russian universities to train about 300 to 350 specialists.
Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-05-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=188435