Mordechai Vanunu speaks

[seemslikeadream]

The World Today - Wednesday, 29 September , 2004 12:25:06
Reporter: Jonathan Lucraft
ELEANOR HALL: Mordechai Vanunu made headlines around the world when he blew the whistle on Israel's secret nuclear weapons program in the mid-1980s.

The Israeli nuclear technician was arrested soon after in a Mossad operation, was tried in secret, convicted of treason and spent 18 years in prison, 11 of them in solitary confinement.

In April this year he was released from prison, but his freedom has remained restricted, with Israeli authorities forbidding him from speaking to foreigners.

Despite this, Mr Vanunu this morning gave his first interview to an Australian media outlet, speaking to the community radio station, Radio Adelaide's Jonathan Lucraft.

MORDECHAI VANUNU: The restrictions are not working and unreasonable and not according to the human rights and the democratic system and they will finish them in six months – at least the restriction not to speak to foreigners and not to travel really inter-state.

JONATHAN LUCRAFT: Are you taking a chance by talking to us?

MORDECHAI VANUNU: I'm not taking a chance, I'm making a very good calculation and according to the human rights and freedom of speech that everyone as a human being should have and I'm exercising it and I believe the Israel Government and Israel organisations are realising that what they decided is not good.

They will not do anything wrong with my speaking to you either.

...

JONATHAN LUCRAFT: Do you believe that you're a traitor to Israel?

MORDECHAI VANUNU: Five million Jews are regarding me as a traitor, but six billion people around the world think me as a hero and a good man who bring the message to all the human beings that we should survive and prevent the use of nuclear weapons and to prevent the nuclear preparations and to prevent nuclear war in the future.

JONATHAN LUCRAFT: Now, any knowledge that you had of the Israeli nuclear weapons program is now, it's nearly 20 years old and it's well out of date.

Why do you think the Israeli Government is still, apparently, frightened of you?

MORDECHAI VANUNU: Maybe the real fear is that my free spirit, my free belief to express my views in politics, in everything, not only nuclear secrets, I have many interesting views and I'm telling them without fear and expressing that to anyone in all the world, in all the media, and that is not good for Israel.

They don't like it, and also, the Israel Government and state have teached all the world, especially the west, Europe, United States, Australia, Canada, they teach them to fear and now to be under blackmail by Israel propaganda of Holocaust and all this propaganda.

Now come a man and speaking from inside about their crimes, their mistakes, their stupid policy of nuclear weapons and all the world's watching all this, and that is their real concern.
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http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1209662.htm

[donsu]

1. thank you Mordechai

kick