Waste-dump racism is destroying our planet

Besides the semi-official alliance treaty he signed with 11 major aboriginal representatives for his campaign on Orchid Island on Sept. 10, 1999, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made quite a number of promises to foster indigenous self-determination and to initiate the development of indigenous groups. One of them was to remove the nuclear waste facility on Orchid Island. To date, nothing has been done.

It is the worst kind of environmental racism to force our tribe to live with the dangers of nuclear waste simply because no one else will. Indigenous advocates are currently lobbying the Legislature for a bill that will state simply, "Nothing is to be manufactured, used, or reproduced in Taiwan that cannot be safely disposed of." Is that too simple a thing for a legislator to understand? Probably it is, but it makes sense, doesn't it?

The government indigenous people for several reasons: their lands are some of the most isolated, they are some of the most impoverished and, consequently, most politically vulnerable.

We indigenous peoples have a sacred obligation to our fellow creatures. For this reason, it is both painful and disturbing that the government and the nuclear power industry seem intent on forever ruining what little land we have left.

As a native person, I am concerned about the survival of our people just as Mother Earth is concerned about the survival of her children. There is legislation, however, that would allow new buildings if arrangements are made for the waste. Is this the legacy that we want to leave for our children and for our Mother Earth? The Iroquois say that "in making any decision one should consider the impact for seven generations to come."

How ironic that, after centuries attempting to avoid and destroy it, the government is suddenly interested in promoting indigenous peoples' sovereignty -- just so it can dump its lethal garbage. All negotiations between the government, whether it is KMT or DPP, and indigenous peoples have been broken. Today's indigenous peoples remember the broken promises. Today's political situation in Taipei is an example of how volatile Taiwan policy decisions can be.

Indigenous peoples' rights have assumed an important place in international human rights law. The UN Sub-Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights approved the draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 1994.

All governments, in furtherance of their Rio earth summit commitments and human rights obligations, must move towards its early adoption by the General Assembly. This is a major political goal within the UN Decade for Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004), and an important activity under Agenda 21, "Strengthening the Role of Indigenous People and their Communities" for World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002. Its achievement will signal a real openness and seriousness by governments to enter into a "New Partnership" with indigenous peoples for sustainable development.

At the sixth Asian-Pacific Non-governmental Organization Conference on the Environment, Chen declared that "Taiwan will firmly anchor itself within the world community by shouldering its share of international responsibility on environmental concerns."

Therefore, for its fulfillment of international obligations, Taiwan government will need to implement and make political reforms toward nuclear abolition.

We should stop generating it. We should keep it where it is generated. Store the material at the plants. This material is too dangerous to be transported on our highways and railways, thereby exposing others to the hazards.

Tsai Chih-wei is an Aboriginal who belongs to the Taruku tribe.