France-Libya Nuclear Deal Faces Criticism

Activist groups and the German government yesterday criticized France’s agreement to build a nuclear reactor in Libya, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 26).

The United States, however, gave a thumbs up to the deal and some proliferation experts said they saw no threat in atomic cooperation with Tripoli.

The French firm Areva would build the plant, which is to desalinate sea water so that it could be used as drinking water.

“Politically this is a problematic affair,” said German Foreign Affairs Minister Gernot Erler.  “Above all the risk of proliferation increases with every country using nuclear energy.”

The French antinuclear umbrella group Sortir du Nucleaire — Get Out of Nuclear — called the rationale for the reactor a “deception.”

“Delivering civilian nuclear energy to Libya would amount to helping the country, sooner or later, to acquire nuclear weapons,” it said.

Libya is “very amply self-sufficient in energy,” specifically oil and gas, according to the group.  “If it wishes to diversify, it should logically give priority to solar energy:  the country enjoys remarkable levels of sunshine all year long.”

Other observers were less worried, AFP reported.

“I expect … that the French government would pay full attention to making sure that any safeguard will be implemented in any sort of deal,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Libya renounced its WMD programs in 2003, and subsequently shipped nuclear equipment and weapon-grade uranium out of the country.  It has had “very good cooperation” with the International Atomic Energy Agency since that point, one diplomat said.

One expert said the agreement should not be considered a proliferation threat, “given the fact that Libya is still cooperating with the IAEA (and) the manner (in which) it turned over and destroyed equipments.”

“It is important for the rest of the world to see that when a country abandons its nuclear weapons programs and weapons of mass destruction, there are tangible benefits.  This cooperation (with France) is a direct result,” said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 26).

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