Nagasaki, Hiroshima Criticize U.S. on 57th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing
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With the landmark Atomic Bomb Dome in the backdrop, the survivors and officials from central and local governments take part in the 57th anniversary of the Atomic Bombing |
TOKYO,
Aug 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Japanese port city of
Nagasaki condemned the United States for running counter to global
disarmament efforts Friday, August 9, as it commemorated the 57th
anniversary of the its U.S.-dropped atomic bomb, two days after
Hiroshima’s mayor blasted the U.S. for trying to determine the fate
of the world.
Some
5,500 people, including A-bomb survivors, families of those who died
and government officials led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
attended the annual ceremony at Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park in
western Japan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Under
a scorching sun, they stood for one minute's silent prayer at 11:02 am
(0202 GMT), the time the United States dropped the bomb 57 years ago,
which effectively brought about Japan's surrender in World War II.
Citizens
on the street stopped walking and pressed their hands together in
prayer while the Peace Bell rang and ships' sirens echoed throughout
the city, said AFP.
During
the ceremony, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito singled out the United States
for criticism for stepping up nuclear missile defense programs
following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"The
government of the United States has unilaterally withdrawn from the
Anti-Ballistic Missile [ABM] Treaty with Russia in the name of
terrorist counter measures," Ito said in a speech.
"The
United States has also rejected ratification of the Comprehensive
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty [CTBT], and has suggested the possibilities of
restarting the production of plutonium triggers," the mayor said.
"We
are appalled by this series of unilateral actions taken by the
government of the United States, actions which are also being
condemned by people of sound judgment throughout the world," he
added.
The
mayor's remarks came as tension between the United States and Iraq
reached new heights amid growing fears that Washington could shortly
unleash military strikes on Baghdad.
In
the speech, Ito called on the Japanese government to propose a
regional nuclear weapon-free zone in an effort to lead global
anti-nuclear moves as the sole country to suffer nuclear attack.
"The
Japanese government should embark on the creation of a Northeast Asian
nuclear weapon-free zone, and should clearly present to international
society a posture of non-reliance on the nuclear umbrella," Ito
said.
Koizumi
underscored his government's intention of fighting against nuclear
armament and calling on other countries to ratify CTBT, a key nuclear
test ban treaty, AFP said.
"We
should never repeat the disaster of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,"
Koizumi said.
"We
have maintained the Three Non-Nuclear Principles" a national
policy forbidding the production and possession of nuclear weapons in
Japan, Koizumi said. "And our stance towards the policy will not
change."
"We
will continue urging other countries to join moves for the
ratification of the CTBT," Koizumi said. "We will continue
doing our utmost to abolish nuclear arms."
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Indian activists burn an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush |
An
estimated 74,000 people were killed when a plutonium-239 bomb named
"Fat Man" flattened Nagasaki August 9, 1945, two days after
another bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world's first nuclear
target.
The
number of dead has since risen to 129,193 according to the city's
estimate, as others have succumbed to illnesses ultimately caused by
their exposure to radiation.
Earlier
in Hiroshima, Koizumi reiterated Tuesday, August 6, that Japan would
not allow nuclear arms on its soil.
"This
position will not change," Koizumi said at a ceremony in
Hiroshima, referring to the policy forbidding the production and
possession of nuclear weapons in Japan.
He
was among some 45,000 people who gathered in Hiroshima, about 700
kilometers (440 miles) southwest of Tokyo, for the annual ceremony to
mark the nuclear bombing of the city by the U.S. at the end of World
War II.
"As
the only nation to suffer nuclear bombing in human history, we resolve
not to repeat the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to strictly
abide by our peace constitution," Koizumi said.
The
Hiroshima city government puts the total number of people who have
died after being exposed to radiation from the U.S. bombing at
226,870, including 4,977 in the past year.
Of
those, an estimated 140,000 people died as a direct result of the
first atomic bombing in history.
As
the clock clicked onto 8:15 am (2315 GMT Monday), the time the United
States dropped the bomb 57 years ago, those at the ceremony bowed
their heads for a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the
raid.
In
an address which singled out U.S. President George W Bush, Hiroshima's
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said the risk of a repeat of a nuclear attack
was increasing.
He
urged Bush to be aware of the effects of nuclear weapons and not
engage in further wars.
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Palestinian children, victims of Israeli occupation, hold paper lanterns during a floating lantern ceremony commemorating victims of the atomic bombs |
"Just
like the phrase 'history repeats itself', the threat and possibility
of nuclear wars and the use of nuclear weapons are growing as the
memory of Hiroshima starts to fade," Akiba said at the ceremony
held in the Peace Memorial Park.
This
had become more so since the September 11 attacks in the United
States, after which the international community had focused on
retaliation and boasts of military strength, he said.
"I
strongly urge President Bush to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki ... to
see for himself what nuclear arms do to mankind," he said.
"The
U.S. government does not have the right to force 'Pax Americana' on
the rest of the world and to determine the fate of the world," he
said.
"In
this environment, only the weak become victims, many of them women,
children and the elderly," he said.
Meanwhile,
anti-U.S. demonstrations broke out in various parts of the world in
memory of the 57th anniversary of the atomic bombing.
In
Bombay, India, several non-governmental organizations and college
students marched Tuesday, August 6, in a peace rally to mark
'Hiroshima Day.' The demonstrators shouted anti-nuclear bomb slogans,
while covered in bandages and mock blood to symbolically show the
effects of war. They also took the occasion to urge the Indian and
Pakistani governments, both of which are nuclear powers, to refrain
from going to war.
In
Manila, Philippines, protesters were blocked by riot police from
holding a rally near the U.S. Embassy Thursday, August 8, to
commemorate the 57th anniversary of the U.S. Atomic bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The protesters shouted anti-U.S. slogans and
also called for a stop of "U.S. War of Aggression" in
deploying troops back into the country in the name of the so-called
war on terror.
And
in occupied Gaza, Palestine, children held paper lanterns during a
floating lantern ceremony Tuesday, August 6, commemorating victims of
the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ceremony was
also a demonstration against daily Israeli atrocities against the
Palestinian people.
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