Fukushima : putting the catastrophe under citizen control

We, citizens of the world

Are extremely concerned by the terrifically poor handling of the Fukushima catastrophe by TEPCO.

Did the company wish to privilege its own interests, aiming at a hypothetical re-start of the power plant? In any case, it acted covertly and used only a part of the appropriate means to protect the people of neighboring areas, the Japanese people in its whole, and all peoples and ecosystems of the planet. TEPCO did not apply the principle of precaution for maximal prevention of nuclear disaster and contamination of the environment.

Despite some protests, the Japanese State has merely forwarded the information provided by the company, which acts in an opaque fashion. Experts from various countries have been called in without having any effect on decisions taken. The demands of the NGOs present on site, particularly Greenpeace and CRIIRAD, for an increased protection of the population and greater transparency of information, did not get more answers than those of the Japanese people.

We believe urgent that TEPCO’s actions are placed under international civic control on behalf of human and environmental rights, concerning in particular the ocean.

We call on civic associations, scientists, States, inter-governmental agencies for a major rise in awareness and action to demand an international and civic authority in response to the Fukushima catastrophe, and beyond, of all high-risk sites in the world.

State authorities are too closely tied to the nuclear industry to be efficient barriers against their action. Local technicians cannot be left alone to cope with all difficulties, without any higher authority and any communication with external world, which is moreover faced with a growing number of incidents remaining veiled untill now.

The Earth as a whole is our common concern; the general interest should prevail over managerial and State forms of reasoning and power. It is high time that citizens play a role at the international level in the technical evaluations which legitimize installations that compromise our living conditions.

The United Nations must reorganize the control over the Fukushima catastrophe and involve all forms of technical and political cooperation, including from NGOs. Only in this way can we work towards new procedures and pathways uniting scientists, technicians and citizens in the prevention of major risks in industrial and energetic decisions.

First signatories :
– Jean Marc Adolphe, journaliste, directeur de Mouvement, Paris
– Liliane Alazraki, bibliothécaire, Marseille
– Denis Baupin, adjoint au Maire de Paris
– Jean-Paul Besset, député européen
– Thomas Berns, philosophe, université Libre de Bruxelles
– François Boué, physicien, CNRS, Paris
– Frédéric Brun, inspecteur général de l’Agriculture, Paris
– Carolina Cano, sociologue, Paris
– Dany Cohn-Bendit, député européen
– Michèle Collin, chercheur CNRS, Paris
– Antonella Corsani, Enseignant-Chercheur en Economie, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
– Emmanuelle Cosse, journaliste, conseillère régionale, Paris
– Monique Crinon, philosophe, Cedetim, Paris
– Pascale Criton, musicienne, Paris.
– Jean-Paul Deléage, physicien et historien de l’écologie, Paris
– Nicolas-Louis Duclos, PAST à l’université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC)
– Patrick Dubreil, médecin, Paris
– Yann Fiévet, professeur de Sciences économiques, Arnouville
– Geneviève Fraisse, philosophe, CNRS, Paris
– Hélène Gassin, vice-présidente en charge de l’environnement, Région IDF
– Laurence Gavarini, sociologue et clinicienne, université Paris VIII
– Jérome Gleize, économiste, Paris XIII
– Barbara Glowczewski, anthropologue, CNRS/Collège de France, Paris
– Éric Guichard, directeur de programme au CIPh, Paris
– Pascal Houba, physicien, enseignant, Liège
– Yoshihiko Ichida, philosophe, Université de Kobe, Japon
– Rada Ivekovic, philosophe, Paris
– Ariel Kyrou, journaliste et chercheur, Paris
– Alvaro Luna Porras, étudiant, Antony
– Alain Mana’h, retraité militant de l’éducation populaire
– Valérie Marange, philosophe Paris VIII, Psychanalyste
– Mickael Marie, conseiller régional de Basse-Normandie
– Jean-Clet Martin, philosophe, Collège international de philosophie, Paris
– Georges Menahem, économiste, sociologue, CNRS MSH, Paris
– Didier Ménard, médecin, Saint Denis
– Pascale Molinier, psychologue, CNAM, Paris
– Ariane Mnouchkine, Théâtre du Soleil, Paris
– Frédéric Neyrat, philosophe, Paris
– Yann Moulier Boutang, professeur de sciences économiques, Compiègne
– Véronique Nahoum-Grappe, anthropologue, EHESS, Paris
– Peter Pal Pelbart, philosophe, université de Sao Paolo, Brazil
– Fred Périé, plasticien et Ingénieur, Arcueil
– Vincenza Perilli, philosophe, Italie
– Jean-Claude Polack, psychiatre, psychanalyste, Paris
– Beatriz Preciado, philosophe, université Paris VIII
– Anne Querrien, philosophe, urbaniste, Paris
– Dominique Quessada, philosophe, Paris
– Patric Rochedy, conteur, Saint Didier sur Doulon
– Sophie Roux, enseignant-chercheur, université de Grenoble
– Isabelle Saint-Saens, ingénieure, Lyon
– Anne Sauvagnargues, philosophe, PU université Paris Ouest
– René Schérer, philosophe, Paris
– Monique Selim, anthropologue, IRD Paris I, Paris
– Danielle Sivadon, psychanalyste, Paris
– Isabelle Stengers, philosophe, Bruxelles
– Claude Taleb, vice président de la Région Haute Normandie
– Jacques Testart, biologiste, Critique de la science, Paris
– Guy Trastour, psychanalyste, Paris VII
– Nathalie Trussart, université Libre de Bruxelles
– Jérôme Vidal, directeur de La Revue internationale des livres et des idées
– Patrick Viveret, philosophe, Paris
– Jérôme Valluy, sociologue, université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1)
– Dominique Voynet, médecin, maire de Montreuil ancienne Ministre de l’Environnement, France
– Christiane Vollaire, philosophe, Paris
– Pierre-Emmanuel Weck, photographe, Paris
– Charles Wolfe, philosophe, université de Sydney

And the magazines Chimères, Écologie et Politique, Écorev, Mouvement, Multitudes, Vacarme, Pratiques et le Syndicat de la médecine générale.