["Believers of proactive nuclear deterrence, who say nuclear
weapons are indispensable to maintain peace, are only delaying the
progress toward nuclear disarmament," Hiroshimas governor added. ]
[[link removed]]

ON 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIROSHIMA BOMBING, MAYOR DECRIES ‘FOLLY’
OF DETERRENCE THEORY  
[[link removed]]


 

Olivia Rosane
August 6, 2023
Common Dreams
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ "Believers of proactive nuclear deterrence, who say nuclear weapons
are indispensable to maintain peace, are only delaying the progress
toward nuclear disarmament," Hiroshima's governor added. _

People attend the Peace Message Lantern Floating Ceremony at the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to pay tribute to the atomic bomb
victims in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 06, 2023, (Photo: David
Mareuil/Anadolu Agency).

 

Local, national, and global leaders warned of the dangers of nuclear
weapons as they commemorated the 78th anniversary of the dropping of
an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima Sunday.

This year's anniversary comes as the release of the
film _Oppenheimer _has offered
[[link removed]] a
high-profile reminder of the history of the atomic bomb and as nuclear
tensions in the current day have heightened, in part due to Russia's
invasion of Ukraine. At the start of the year, the _Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists _moved
[[link removed]] their
doomsday clock to 90 seconds to midnight.

"Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear
threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of
nuclear deterrence theory," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said during
his peace address at the commemoration ceremony in Hiroshima Sunday,
as _The Associated Press _reported
[[link removed]].
"They must immediately take concrete steps to lead us from the
dangerous present toward our ideal world."

Matsui's remarks responded in part to the Group of Seven summit in the
city in May, during which world leaders put out a statement that
anti-nuclear advocates considered
[[link removed]] a
major disappointment.

In that statement, the leaders agreed that no country should use
nuclear weapons, but that merely possessing the weapons could still
"serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war and
coercion," according to _AP_. Since then, former Russian President
and current deputy chair of that country's Security Council Dmitry
Medvedev threatened
[[link removed]] nuclear
war if a NATO-backed Ukrainian offensive reclaims land annexed
illegally by Russia.

Hiroshima's Gov. Hidehiko Yuzai agreed with its mayor that deterrence
had failed.

"Believers of proactive nuclear deterrence, who say nuclear weapons
are indispensable to maintain peace, are only delaying the progress
toward nuclear disarmament," Yuzai said, according to _AP._

The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, at
8:15 am local time. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9.
The two bombings killed
[[link removed]] between
110,000 and 210,000 people, according to the _Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists. _Those who survived, called hibakusha in Japan, still
contend with sickness and injury from the bombings even as they
advocate for a nuclear free world, according to_ AP._

"For 78 years, the city of Hiroshima and the hibakusha have worked
tirelessly to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again,"
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said
[[link removed]] in
remarks delivered at Sunday's ceremony by Under-Secretary-General and
High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu.

People began
[[link removed]] to
light candles and incense and pray at a memorial for the victims of
the Hiroshima bombings as the sun rose on Sunday, according to _The
Washington Post_. At the exact time of the bombing, a peace bell rang
out, followed by a moment of silence, _Reuters _reported
[[link removed]].
Around 50,000 people attended the ceremony in 86°F heat.

Among them was Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also called
for peace.

"The drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

"The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused by nuclear weapons
must never be repeated," he said
[[link removed]].
"As the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear
devastation in war, Japan will press on tirelessly with its efforts to
bring about 'a world without nuclear weapons' while continuing to
firmly uphold the 'Three Non-Nuclear Principles.'"

Kishida added that this work had become "more difficult," in part
because of disagreements over disarmament and threats from Russia.

"But it is precisely because of these circumstances that it is
imperative for us to reinvigorate international momentum once more
towards the realization of a 'world without nuclear weapons,'" he
continued.

Kishida has been criticized in Japan by survivors for not signing the
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, according to _AP_. The
prime minister, for his part, has argued such an act would not be
effective, since no country currently possessing nuclear weapons has
signed the agreement.

Guterres, through Nakamitsu, spoke out in favor of the treaty, as well
as the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

"World leaders have visited this city, seen its monuments, spoken with
its brave survivors, and emerged emboldened to take up the cause of
nuclear disarmament," Guterres said. "More should do so, because the
drums of nuclear war are beating once again."

And he was clear about what must be done to silence them.

"The only way to eliminate the nuclear risk," Guterres said, "is to
eliminate nuclear weapons."

_Common Dreams is a reader-supported independent news outlet created
in 1997 as a new media model. Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most
important news stories of the moment. Common Dreams free online
journalism keeps our millions of readers well-informed, inspired, and
engaged._

_We are optimists. We believe real change is possible. But only if
enough well-informed, well-intentioned—and just plain fed up and
fired-up—people demand it. We believe that together we can attain
our common dreams._

_Olivia Rosane is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* nuclear weapons
[[link removed]]
* nuclear non-proliferation treaty
[[link removed]]
* Hiroshima
[[link removed]]
* Oppenheimer
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]