Take Your Hands off the North Pole
2010.11.18
My concern in tackling this new challenge is world peace and the security of peoples-just as I was concerned with the same objective when I tackled other international problems: to contribute as much as possible to the maintenance of international peace and security, and to alert the major players, peoples and thinkers of the world to the gravity of these questions.
Now, it is the North Pole. Peace advocates in the world were distraught and the peoples were disturbed by the significant statements that the cold war had resurfaced in the North Pole, the coldest place in the world, and, more seriously, that it could turn into a hot war. This is a reasonable possibility, as this is a different problem from all the previous problems that precipitated the cold war, since those problems were ideological and political not geographical. During the cold war days, the only problem that was serious and almost led to a hot war was the “Bay of Pigs” problem, because it was geographical rather than ideological and political.
The North Pole is a geographical problem, not an ideological or political problem. Hence, it could potentially, if it materialized, lead to a hot war. There are so far four states that may compete, and have begun to express that which are America, Russia, Canada and Denmark, each of which claims a share of the North Pole and seeks to appropriate it.
The ideas promoted by Arctic coastal states are truly terrifying. They are talking of an economic partnership in the economic field in the North Pole, about a clash between the said states, a conflict among the political, geographical and economic interests, the use of smart technology, the establishment of notional protectorates, the reclamation of land in the North Pole, the presence of oil, diamonds and a wealth of resources in the North Pole, of contemplating the opening of marine routes across the North Pole, of coveting the wealth of the North Pole, which is still a mere notion so far, harnessing modern technology and intensifying human activity in the North Pole. These are extremely grave indications that presage a clash or an inevitable global catastrophe.
Scientists affirm that human activity was the cause for green-house gas emissions that led to the melting of ice in the North Pole. Imagine then what would happen if human activity moved to the North Pole itself, to the heart of the Arctic. This would aggravate the situation by increasing the green-house effect and accelerating the recession of ice, which would cause a climate change in the North Pole, thus increasing the frequency of storms and hurricanes.
The sea level and the ocean level will rise by several meters, entailing a change in the marine environment, and grave disruption in the atmosphere of the North Pole, melting of its ice on account of human activity, flooding of all the low lying areas and coastal cities of the world and the release of the Methane gas found in the ice of the North Pole.
The states of the world, including the four claimant states, should understand that the North Pole is the pole of the entire globe and is not just another place in the world. They must think a thousand times before attempting any action that would affect our North Pole; it belongs to us, the inhabitants of the earth , and does not belong to America, Russia, Canada or Denmark. Don’t they realize that seeking gains, that may be illusory, for four states may lead to a global disaster??!!
Let everyone understand that the North Pole does not belong to anyone; it is the property of all the peoples of the earth and all the continents. Tampering with the nature of the North Pole because of the said designs will entail a catastrophe that will affect the whole earth, and if this program continues and yields the terrifying results predicted by scientists, it might even impact the balance of the Globe.
But designs, the expansionist tendency and colonialism blind the states to this. The Arctic Circle must be inviolable for all, and no one has any rights in it. As for the Arctic coastal, they may exploit their exclusive economic zones up to a two hundred mile limit, provided these two hundred miles are outside the Arctic Circle. Any thinking beyond these limits must be stopped with all the power at the disposal of the world, because tampering with the Arctic Circle will lead to a global disaster.
Gentlemen, think a thousand times before engaging in rivalry of even conflict over rights claimed in the North Pole, which is the only such place for this sole Globe. The Arctic Circle is a universal commons and must be kept untouched forever. It is imperative that it be considered a universal preserve and that any thinking or attempts to tamper with it economically, politically or in terms of security be thwarted.
