25 September, 2009

Algeria delievered a formal request to the International Atomic Energy Agency to sign the Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, allowing the IAEA inspectors to conduct unannounced inspections in the two nuclear centers in Algeria in both Algiers and Djelfa, south of Algeria, Chakib Khlil, Minister of Energy and Mines says.

" The law on the peaceful uses of the nuclear energy, which also provides for the development of legal measures, which help Algeria take actions that make it a country which comply with the international obligations, and could exploit the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. Government will consider, before the end of this year, the bill to be ready at the beginning of next year, which allows the establishment of an Agency for safety and security of nuclear and other for research and production. The Additional Protocol which was approved by the IAEA in 1997 is the main international instrument to control the spread of the nuclear weapons, said Khalil.

" The Algerian nuclear centres will be subjected to continuous control with high level of transparency. The protocol allows the inspection of institutions that are not mentioned in the convention such as the reactors that are out of work and research centres, and also ensures the entry of the IAEA inspectors to the nuclear sites at a short time between two and 24 hours, in order to ensure the absence of nuclear activities and equipment that have not been announced".

The U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna, Gregory Schulte, visited Algeria last year officially and signed the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

However, Khalil confirmed that Algeria had nothing to hide from the eyes of the IAEA adding that Algeria is working to develop its peaceful nuclear program which is fully transparent. " All the simple equipments are controlled by the IAEA inspectors at any moment". It is the first time Algeria responded on the doubts that had been promoted a week ago in Paris on the Algerian peaceful nuclear program, as Khalil stressed that Algeria has nothing to hide.

The Algerian nuclear program returned to the surface again in the recent days on the occasion of publishing a book titled "The black market for the bomb", published in Paris and written by Bruno Tartri, a research professo rat the French Strategic Research and an expert in the nuclear issues. In his book he devoted an entire chapter to what he called "The Algerian Nuclear ambitions".

Khalil criticized those who promote this non innocent discussions, saying that there are countries which have nuclear programs for military purposes and atomic bombs, but they did not bother to sign any agreements on the prevention of the the nuclear proliferation and even more, they have not been subjected to pressure in order to force them to sign the main or additional protcols of the AEIA.

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