Tuareg and uranium: AREVA’s grip on Niger

“You can’t just fight against nuclear power plants and waste repositories,” he said. “If you want to kill the tree, kill the roots”. He was referring to the uranium mines.

Uranium Mining in Niger ‘Tuareg Activist Takes on French Nuclear Company’ The Blogger: 2 April 2010, “……..A total of 80,000 people live in the two cities Areva created in the desert to service the mines. There are no paved roads, but there is plenty of reddish-brown dust, which penetrates into every crack and pore. Well water is radioactively contaminated, and precious fossil groundwater is used in the uranium ore processing plant. The region’s nomads are finding fewer and fewer pastures for their cattle, and people are affected by fatal illnesses.

Citizens’ organizations critical of Areva claim that the little money the company pays to the Niger state remains in the capital or simply ends up in the pockets of family members of the longstanding president. When Alhacen is asked what the mine has done for people, he says: “Nothing — except radiation, which will be here for thousands of years”.

The mines have also contributed to the uprisings, in which the Tuareg rebels use violence in an attempt to get their share of uranium revenues. Niger is a divided country, with the Tuareg living in the north and the dominant Hausa ethnic group in the south. The capital is in the south, and the south controls the country. Uranium revenues from the north are used to buy weapons in the south, which the government then uses to keep the north in check…..

Areva insists that it has satisfied the highest international standards for maximum radiation doses since 2002. Joseph Brehan, a Paris attorney, says: “The improvements aren’t that significant”. He recently traveled to Arlit to meet with his client, Almoustapha Alhacen. Last year, Areva signed an agreement that authorizes Sherpa to examine the working conditions in the mines. In return, Sherpa must coordinate its activities with Areva. Together they intend to introduce a comprehensive health monitoring system.Physicist Bruno Chareyron and Alhacen believe that Sherpa has made a deal with the devil.Depending on ArevaThis is the problem with a powerful corporation. Criirad, Aghirin Man and Sherpa are small organizations that survive on donations…

The Tuareg, on the other hand, fear a total sellout of their country. The year 2007 marked a high point in the global nuclear renaissance, and the market price of yellowcake shot up. President Tandja awarded more than 100 exploration licenses for uranium regions. The licensed areas cover the land of the Tuareg almost completely.”The Tuareg live from their animals,” says Alhacen. “They can’t go anywhere else. They live from this land, and it belongs to them”. Alhacen intends to continue fighting, so that at least the Tuareg can have a chance.Last year he paid a visit to the opponents of a potential radioactive waste disposal facility near Gorleben in northeast Germany. “It was wonderful, because it’s my lifestyle,” says Alhacen. “There was a lot of open land and a lot of milk”.Alhacen gave a speech in the nearby town of Dannenberg. “You can’t just fight against nuclear power plants and waste repositories,” he said. “If you want to kill the tree, kill the roots”.He was referring to the uranium mines.

The Blogger: Uranium Mining in Niger ‘Tuareg Activist Takes on French Nuclear Company’

April 3, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Niger, politics | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, uranium, wastes