Kazakhstan's Denuclearization
… if we take yet a closer look at the world, we may also see a completely different picture. Since the first use of nuclear weapons the world came to the realization that they should not be used under any circumstances ever again. As a result, since the Cold War there has been a constant, somewhat invisible,but a very diligent effort,not only to limit, but also to reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world.
And it is here, that the example of the Republic of Kazakhstan clearly stands out. This is the county that first came forward with the proposal in 1992 to the international community to denounce its nuclear capability.In the words of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev "Peace is the joy of paternity and maternity, health of parents, and happiness of our children. Peace is stable work, wages and feeling confident about the future. Peace and stability are the achievement of our entire population, which must be protected and reinforced by everyday hard work." If a leader bets all the prosperity and even the very existence of his country, then these pursuits should have a strong ground. It is the international law and treaties, like the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), the Convention on Nuclear Terrorism and alike, are crucial part of it.
By 1995 Kazakhstan gave up all its over 1000 nuclear warheads. Today, it may look as a feverishly unsettling idea that a country like Kazakhstan would give up its nuclear arsenal. Especially, in the face of increasingly revisionist Russia and China. But the country never looked back. To this day Kazakhstan remains strongly committed to what has been achieved by humanity in terms of thenuclear non-proliferation.
South Korea must remain denuclearized. It isn't just a naïve belief. We may say, from the realist point of view, the existence of the whole country is at stake. Yet, it is the only rational and logical conclusion, if we think carefully. Nuclear weapons are not a solution to the current situation. Any weapons, even more powerful ones, if they actually exist, will never resolve the stance between the two Koreas. Moreover, if South Korea acquires nuclear arms then it is natural that it will trigger a nuclear arms race and drag other countries into it. The conventional arms in the region might work as deterrence, and they will with the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and some tactical weapons already present in the region. But it is not really an answer, but a stalemate.Peace will have to come through a diplomatic table, not through escalation.
The commitment to peace is not an easy one. It requires courage and belief. It also requires serious work. The case of Kazakhstan shows it again and again. It remains to be a very much relevant example today.
Source: www.kazakhembus.org
