[Media-watch] Hiroshima mayor says world moving to war on A-bomb anniversary

[Sigi D]

Der Media watch group
this is an article from MAINICHI Centrist daily of
Tokyo, Japan
I quote:
"The number of people killed directly by the Hiroshima
atomic bomb and those who died after exposure to
radiation has now reached 231,920."
Full text and link enclosed.
Best wishes
S
Link:
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20030806p2a00m0fp022002c.html

Hiroshima mayor says world moving to war on A-bomb
anniversary

HIROSHIMA -- Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba warned
that the world is moving toward war and accused
Washington of "worshipping" nuclear weapons during
Wednesday's ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of
the atomic bombing of the city.

Some 40,000 people, including Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito and British Labour
MP George Galloway, attended the ceremony at
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and observed a minute
of silence from 8:15 a.m., the time a U.S. atomic bomb
devastated the city on Aug. 6, 1945.

In his peace declaration, the Hiroshima mayor blamed
the United States for making the world a more
uncertain place through its policy of undermining the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

"A world without nuclear weapons and war that the
victims of the atomic bomb have long sought for is
slipping into the shadows of growing black clouds that
could turn into mushroom clouds at any moment," Akiba
said. "The chief cause of this is the United States'
nuclear policy which, by openly declaring the
possibility of a pre-emptive nuclear strike and by
starting research into small 'useable' nuclear
weapons, appears to worship nuclear weapons as God."

He also criticized the growing sentiment in Japan and
elsewhere that war is acceptable.

"Nuclear weapons are not the only problem. Some people
are acting as if the United Nations Charter and the
(pacifist) Constitution don't even exist and they are
gaining support for this stance. The world has
suddenly veered sharply away from post-war thinking
toward a pre-war mentality," Akiba warned.

The peace declaration also attacked the recent Iraq
war, saying that the U.S.-led war ignored people's
wishes demanding a peaceful solution and "slaughtered"
innocent women, children, and the elderly while
spreading radioactive contamination through the use of
depleted uranium ammunition.

Emphasizing the Hiroshima A-bomb victims' belief that
peace can only be achieved through reconciliation and
not retaliation, Akiba invited the leaders of the
nuclear powers, including U.S. President George W.
Bush and Kim Jong Il of North Korea, to visit the city
and to "confront the reality" of nuclear war.

Akiba was also critical of the Japanese government,
which has refused to provide support for the majority
of non-Japanese A-bomb victims.

"The Japanese government must fulfill its
responsibilities. It must adopt three new non-nuclear
principles -- allow no production, allow no
possession, and allow no use of nuclear weapons
anywhere in the world -- and work hard to make Asia a
nuclear-free zone. It must also provide full support
to all A-bomb victims everywhere, including those
exposed in areas where 'black (radiated) rain' fell
and those who now live overseas."

Prime Minister Koizumi spoke after Akiba and his
reaction to the mayor's challenge was to reiterate the
government's position that it will lead international
efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.

"As the only nation in human history to experience the
horrible effects of atomic bombing, we have adhered to
the pacifist Constitution and have observed three
non-nuclear principles (of not producing, not
possessing and not allowing other countries to bring
nuclear weapons to Japan)," Koizumi said. "The
government is aware that A-bomb victims are growing
older and is determined to introduce policies to
support them."

After the ceremony, for the second year running
Koizumi left Hiroshima without attending a meeting of
atomic bomb victims or without visiting facilities
treating elderly A-bomb victims. He is the only
post-war prime minister who has refused to do so.

During the ceremony, the names of 5,050 people who
died in the past 12 months were added to the list of
atomic bomb victims. The number of people killed
directly by the Hiroshima atomic bomb and those who
died after exposure to radiation has now reached
231,920. (Mainichi Shimbun, Aug. 6, 2003)



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