Two weeks ago, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov held private talks on the proposed plants with his Namibian counterpart Nahas Angula and President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Fradkov said his country was considering the construction of floating uranium-operated nuclear power plants in Namibia.
This week, the NSHR said it was opposed to the proposed Russian nuke technology both from the environmental rights and human security viewpoints.
“As a human rights body, we are even gravely concerned about the proliferation of uranium by products, which go along with intensive uranium mining in our country as well as the handling of nuclear fuel to operate nuclear reactors. Moreover, when the Russians are involved in these matters, then, what immediately comes to our minds are their nuclear catastrophes, such as the one at Chernobyl in 1986 and the several fire fiasco's on board of nuclear submarines, such as the Komsolets (in 1989), the Kurst (in 2000) and St. Daniil Moskovsky (in 2006),” said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh.
In 2005 Russia’s Federal Nuclear Energy Agency (FNEA) announced that it would build a low capacity floating nuclear power plant (FNPP), the first project of its kind in the world. The sea-borne mini-station would be located in the White Sea off the coast of the town of the town of Severodvinsk in northern Russia. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2006.