RI Continues to Encourage Disarmament of Nuclear Weapons

Yogyakarta (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government is encouraging the comprehensive disarmament of nuclear weapons in all parts of the world, International Security and Disarmament Director of the Foreign Ministry Andy Rachmianto said.

"Indonesia has shown the stand since it proclaimed its independence by making a national political decision not to have nuclear weapons as part of effort to maintain global peace," he said after attending a seminar "Indonesian Humanitarian Action Forum 2014" here on Thursday.

Since 20 years ago, Indonesia, along with other Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members had encouraged the comprehensive disarmament of nuclear weapons, he said.

"Besides preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons, (Indonesia is also opposed to) the use of chemical weapons and certain deadly weapons such as cluster bombs and land mines," he said.

He said the disarmament of nuclear weapons remained a big challenge for the global community since there were still thousands of nuclear warheads in the world.

"To date, there are still 16-17 thousand nuclear warheads in the world, yet the disarmament effort has made progress," he said.

The number of nuclear warheads in the world fell significantly as compared to the 1970s, he said.

"We must admit the success though it has not yet been optimal since there are still thousands of nuclear warheads," he said.

Indonesia had also shown its anti-nuclear weapon commitment by ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and joining the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, he said. (WDY)